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Sample records for mature single-positive sp

  1. Fine structure of acrosome biogenesis and of mature sperm in the bivalve molluscs Glycymeris sp. (Pteriomorphia) and Eurhomalea rufa (Heterodonta)

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    Guerra, Rosa; Sousa, Mário; Torres, Artur; Oliveira, Elsa; Baldaia, Luis

    2003-03-01

    Proacrosomal vesicles form during the pachytene stage, being synthetized by the Golgi complex in Glycymeris sp., and by both the Golgi and the rough endoplasmic reticulum in Eurhomalea rufa. During early spermiogenesis, a single acrosomal vesicle forms and its apex becomes linked to the plasma membrane while it migrates. In Glycymeris sp., the acrosomal vesicle then turns cap-shaped (1.8 μm) and acquires a complex substructure. In E. rufa, proacrosomal vesicles differentiate their contents while still at the premeiotic stage; as the acrosomal vesicle matures and its contents further differentiate, it elongates and becomes longer than the nucleus (3.2 μm), while the subacrosomal space develops a perforatorium. Before condensation, chromatin turns fibrillar in Glycymeris sp., whereas it acquires a cordonal pattern in E. rufa. Accordingly, the sperm nucleus of Glycymeris sp. is conical and elongated (8.3 μm), and that of E. rufa is short and ovoid (1.1 μm). In the midpiece (Glycymeris sp.: 1.1 μm; E. rufa: 0.8 μm), both species have four mitochondria encircling two linked orthogonal (Glycymeris sp.) or orthogonal and tilted (30-40°; E. rufa) centrioles. In comparison with other Arcoida species, sperm of Glycymeris sp. appear distinct due to the presence of an elongated nucleus, a highly differentiated acrosome, and four instead of five mitochondria. The same occurs with E. rufa regarding other Veneracea species, with the acrosome of the mature sperm strongly resembling that of the recent Mytilinae.

  2. The prototype HIV-1 maturation inhibitor, bevirimat, binds to the CA-SP1 cleavage site in immature Gag particles

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    Nguyen Albert T

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Bevirimat, the prototype Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1 maturation inhibitor, is highly potent in cell culture and efficacious in HIV-1 infected patients. In contrast to inhibitors that target the active site of the viral protease, bevirimat specifically inhibits a single cleavage event, the final processing step for the Gag precursor where p25 (CA-SP1 is cleaved to p24 (CA and SP1. Results In this study, photoaffinity analogs of bevirimat and mass spectrometry were employed to map the binding site of bevirimat to Gag within immature virus-like particles. Bevirimat analogs were found to crosslink to sequences overlapping, or proximal to, the CA-SP1 cleavage site, consistent with previous biochemical data on the effect of bevirimat on Gag processing and with genetic data from resistance mutations, in a region predicted by NMR and mutational studies to have α-helical character. Unexpectedly, a second region of interaction was found within the Major Homology Region (MHR. Extensive prior genetic evidence suggests that the MHR is critical for virus assembly. Conclusions This is the first demonstration of a direct interaction between the maturation inhibitor, bevirimat, and its target, Gag. Information gained from this study sheds light on the mechanisms by which the virus develops resistance to this class of drug and may aid in the design of next-generation maturation inhibitors.

  3. In vitro maturation of Drosophila melanogaster Spätzle protein with refolded Easter reveals a novel cleavage site within the prodomain.

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    Ursel, Christian; Fandrich, Uwe; Hoffmann, Anita; Sieg, Torsten; Ihling, Christian; Stubbs, Milton T

    2013-08-01

    Dorsoventral patterning during Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis is mediated by a well-defined gradient of the mature NGF-like ligand Spätzle. Easter, the ultimate protease of a ventrally-restricted serine protease cascade, plays a key role in the regulation of the morphogenic gradient, catalyzing the activation cleavage of proSpätzle. As a result of alternative splicing, proSpätzle exists in multiple isoforms, almost all of which differ only in their prodomain. Although this domain is unstructured in isolation, it has a stabilizing influence on the mature cystine knot domain and is involved in the binding to the Toll receptor. Here, we report the expression and refolding of Easter, and show that the renatured enzyme performs the activation cleavage of two Spätzle isoforms. We determine the affinity of the prodomain for the cystine knot domain, and show that Easter performs a previously unknown secondary cleavage in each prodomain.

  4. Homeostatic properties and phenotypic maturation of murine CD4+ pre-thymic emigrants in the thymus.

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    Jie Dong

    Full Text Available After a tightly regulated developmental program in the thymus, "mature" single positive (SP thymocytes leave the thymus and enter the periphery. These newly arrived recent thymic emigrants (RTEs are phenotypically and functionally immature, and will complete a dynamic maturation in the peripheral lymphoid organs before being licensed to be resident naïve T cells. To study the early events occurring in the RTE maturation process, we identified the phenotype of CD4(+ pre-RTEs, a population of CD4(+ SP thymocytes that have acquired the thymus egress capability. Compared to peripheral naïve T cells, CD4(+ pre-RTEs displayed superior survival capability in lymphoreplete mice and faster proliferation under lymphopenic condition. The differences in Bcl2/Bim expression and/or heightened IL-7 signaling pathway may account for the pre-RTEs' better responsiveness to homeostatic signals. Qa2, the expression of which indicates the phenotypic maturation of SPs and RTEs, was found to be upregulated in CD4(+ pre-RTEs in thymic perivascular space. Migratory dendritic cells that surround this region contribute to Qa2 expression in pre-RTEs. The dendritic cell-driven Qa2 induction of CD4(+ pre-RTEs is independent of MHC class II and Aire molecules.

  5. Differences in biological maturation, anthropometry and physical performance between playing positions in youth team handball.

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    Matthys, Stijn P J; Fransen, Job; Vaeyens, Roel; Lenoir, Matthieu; Philippaerts, Renaat

    2013-01-01

    It was the goal of this cross-sectional study to examine differences in maturity, anthropometry and physical performance between youth handball players across different playing positions (i.e. goalkeeper, back, pivot and wing). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), accounting for biological maturation, was used to assess positional differences in 472 male youth handball players from three age groups: U14, U15 and U16. Differences in age at peak height velocity were found in all age groups. Backs were significantly more mature than wings in U14 and U15 and than wings and pivots in U16. Furthermore, backs are overall taller, have a bigger arm span and perform best on tests for strength, agility and speed, especially in the U15 age group. Therefore, it can be concluded that youth players with the most advanced maturation status and the most favourable anthropometry and physical fitness scores, are consistently positioned in the back position. Players with a less advanced maturity status and an overall smaller stature are placed on the wing or pivot positions. In conclusion, it seems that anthropometrical and maturational characteristics are used by coaches to directly and/or indirectly select players for specific field positions. This strategy is risky since anthropometry and maturity status change over the years.

  6. S1P lyase in thymic perivascular spaces promotes egress of mature thymocytes via up-regulation of S1P receptor 1.

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    Maeda, Yasuhiro; Yagi, Hideki; Takemoto, Kana; Utsumi, Hiroyuki; Fukunari, Atsushi; Sugahara, Kunio; Masuko, Takashi; Chiba, Kenji

    2014-05-01

    Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and S1P receptor 1 (S1P1) play an important role in the egress of mature CD4 or CD8 single-positive (SP) thymocytes from the thymus. Fingolimod hydrochloride (FTY720), an S1P1 functional antagonist, induced significant accumulation of CD62L(high)CD69(low) mature SP thymocytes in the thymic medulla. Immunohistochemical staining using anti-S1P1 antibody revealed that S1P1 is predominantly expressed on thymocytes in the thymic medulla and is strongly down-regulated even at 3h after FTY720 administration. 2-Acetyl-4-tetrahydroxybutylimidazole (THI), an S1P lyase inhibitor, also induced accumulation of mature SP thymocytes in the thymic medulla with an enlargement of the perivascular spaces (PVS). At 6h after THI administration, S1P1-expressing thymocytes reduced partially as if to form clusters and hardly existed in the proximity of CD31-expressing blood vessels in the thymic medulla, suggesting S1P lyase expression in the cells constructing thymic medullary PVS. To determine the cells expressing S1P lyase in the thymus, we newly established a mAb (YK19-2) specific for mouse S1P lyase. Immunohistochemical staining with YK19-2 revealed that S1P lyase is predominantly expressed in non-lymphoid thymic stromal cells in the thymic medulla. In the thymic medullary PVS, S1P lyase was expressed in ER-TR7-positive cells (reticular fibroblasts and pericytes) and CD31-positive vascular endothelial cells. Our findings suggest that S1P lyase expressed in the thymic medullary PVS keeps the tissue S1P concentration low around the vessels and promotes thymic egress via up-regulation of S1P1.

  7. The SpTransformer Gene Family (Formerly Sp185/333) in the Purple Sea Urchin and the Functional Diversity of the Anti-Pathogen rSpTransformer-E1 Protein

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    Smith, L. Courtney; Lun, Cheng Man

    2017-01-01

    The complex innate immune system of sea urchins is underpinned by several multigene families including the SpTransformer family (SpTrf; formerly Sp185/333) with estimates of ~50 members, although the family size is likely variable among individuals of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. The genes are small with similar structure, are tightly clustered, and have several types of repeats in the second of two exons and that surround each gene. The density of repeats suggests that the genes are positioned within regions of genomic instability, which may be required to drive sequence diversification. The second exon encodes the mature protein and is composed of blocks of sequence called elements that are present in mosaics of defined element patterns and are the major source of sequence diversity. The SpTrf genes respond swiftly to immune challenge, but only a single gene is expressed per phagocyte. Many of the mRNAs appear to be edited and encode proteins with altered and/or missense sequence that are often truncated, of which some may be functional. The standard SpTrf protein structure is an N-terminal glycine-rich region, a central RGD motif, a histidine-rich region, and a C-terminal region. Function is predicted from a recombinant protein, rSpTransformer-E1 (rSpTrf-E1), which binds to Vibrio and Saccharomyces, but not to Bacillus, and binds tightly to lipopolysaccharide, β-1,3-glucan, and flagellin, but not to peptidoglycan. rSpTrf-E1 is intrinsically disordered but transforms to α helical structure in the presence of binding targets including lipopolysaccharide, which may underpin the characteristics of binding to multiple targets. SpTrf proteins associate with coelomocyte membranes, and rSpTrf-E1 binds specifically to phosphatidic acid (PA). When rSpTrf-E1 is bound to PA in liposome membranes, it induces morphological changes in liposomes that correlate with PA clustering and leakage of luminal contents, and it extracts or removes PA from the bilayer. The

  8. Sp1-CD147 positive feedback loop promotes the invasion ability of ovarian cancer.

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    Zhao, Jing; Ye, Wei; Wu, Juan; Liu, Lijuan; Yang, Lina; Gao, Lu; Chen, Biliang; Zhang, Fanglin; Yang, Hong; Li, Yu

    2015-07-01

    CD147 is a novel cancer biomarker that has been confirmed to be overexpressed in ovarian carcinoma, which is significantly associated with poor prognosis. Although the Sp1 protein regulates the expression level of CD147, it remains unclear whether Sp1 phosphorylation plays a role in this regulation. A dual-luciferase assay revealed that T453 and T739 mutations decreased the activity of Sp1 binding to the promoter of CD147, followed by a decrease in CD147 mRNA and protein expression. Western blot analysis showed that CD147 promoted Sp1 phosphorylation at T453 and T739 through the PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK pathways. In addition, blocking the Sp1-CD147 positive feedback loop reduced the invasion ability of HO-8910pm cells. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the components of the feedback loop were overexpressed in ovarian cancer tissues. The correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between phospho-Sp1 (T453), phospho-Sp1 (T739) and CD147 expression levels, with correlation coefficients of r=0.477 and r=0.461, respectively. Collectively, our results suggest that a Sp1-CD147 positive feedback loop plays a critical role in the invasion ability of ovarian cancer cells.

  9. Sp6 and Sp8 Transcription Factors Control AER Formation and Dorsal-Ventral Patterning in Limb Development

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    Haro, Endika; Delgado, Irene; Junco, Marisa; Yamada, Yoshihiko; Mansouri, Ahmed; Oberg, Kerby C.; Ros, Marian A.

    2014-01-01

    The formation and maintenance of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) is critical for the outgrowth and patterning of the vertebrate limb. The induction of the AER is a complex process that relies on integrated interactions among the Fgf, Wnt, and Bmp signaling pathways that operate within the ectoderm and between the ectoderm and the mesoderm of the early limb bud. The transcription factors Sp6 and Sp8 are expressed in the limb ectoderm and AER during limb development. Sp6 mutant mice display a mild syndactyly phenotype while Sp8 mutants exhibit severe limb truncations. Both mutants show defects in AER maturation and in dorsal-ventral patterning. To gain further insights into the role Sp6 and Sp8 play in limb development, we have produced mice lacking both Sp6 and Sp8 activity in the limb ectoderm. Remarkably, the elimination or significant reduction in Sp6;Sp8 gene dosage leads to tetra-amelia; initial budding occurs, but neither Fgf8 nor En1 are activated. Mutants bearing a single functional allele of Sp8 (Sp6−/−;Sp8+/−) exhibit a split-hand/foot malformation phenotype with double dorsal digit tips probably due to an irregular and immature AER that is not maintained in the center of the bud and on the abnormal expansion of Wnt7a expression to the ventral ectoderm. Our data are compatible with Sp6 and Sp8 working together and in a dose-dependent manner as indispensable mediators of Wnt/βcatenin and Bmp signaling in the limb ectoderm. We suggest that the function of these factors links proximal-distal and dorsal-ventral patterning. PMID:25166858

  10. MatureBayes: a probabilistic algorithm for identifying the mature miRNA within novel precursors.

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    Katerina Gkirtzou

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs are small, single stranded RNAs with a key role in post-transcriptional regulation of thousands of genes across numerous species. While several computational methods are currently available for identifying miRNA genes, accurate prediction of the mature miRNA remains a challenge. Existing approaches fall short in predicting the location of mature miRNAs but also in finding the functional strand(s of miRNA precursors. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we present a computational tool that incorporates a Naive Bayes classifier to identify mature miRNA candidates based on sequence and secondary structure information of their miRNA precursors. We take into account both positive (true mature miRNAs and negative (same-size non-mature miRNA sequences examples to optimize sensitivity as well as specificity. Our method can accurately predict the start position of experimentally verified mature miRNAs for both human and mouse, achieving a significantly larger (often double performance accuracy compared with two existing methods. Moreover, the method exhibits a very high generalization performance on miRNAs from two other organisms. More importantly, our method provides direct evidence about the features of miRNA precursors which may determine the location of the mature miRNA. We find that the triplet of positions 7, 8 and 9 from the mature miRNA end towards the closest hairpin have the largest discriminatory power, are relatively conserved in terms of sequence composition (mostly contain a Uracil and are located within or in very close proximity to the hairpin loop, suggesting the existence of a possible recognition site for Dicer and associated proteins. CONCLUSIONS: This work describes a novel algorithm for identifying the start position of mature miRNA(s produced by miRNA precursors. Our tool has significantly better (often double performance than two existing approaches and provides new insights about the potential use

  11. Anti-ATLA (antibody to adult T-cell leukemia virus-associated antigen), highly positive in OKT4-positive mature T-cell malignancies.

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    Tobinai, K; Nagai, M; Setoya, T; Shibata, T; Minato, K; Shimoyama, M

    1983-01-01

    Serum or plasma specimens from 252 patients with lymphoid malignancies were screened for reactivity with adult T-cell leukemia virus-associated antigen (ATLA), and the relationship between the immunologic phenotype of the tumor cells and ATLA reactivity was determined. Anti-ATLA antibodies were found in 24 (29.3%) of 82 patients with T-cell malignancy. In contrast, the antibodies were found in none of the 106 patients with B-cell malignancy and only rarely in patients with other lymphoid malignancies without blood transfusions. Among the patients with T-cell malignancy, anti-ATLA antibodies were found in 23 (45.1%) of the 51 patients with OKT4-positive mature T-cell (inducer/helper T-cell) malignancy, but in none of the patients with T-cell malignancy of pre-T, thymic T-cell or OKT8-positive mature T-cell (suppressor/cytotoxic T-cell) phenotype. Furthermore, among the OKT4-positive mature T-cell malignancies, the antibodies were found in 16 (84.2%) of 19 patients with ATL and in 5 (27.8%) of 18 patients with mature (peripheral) T-cell lymphoma, in none of four with typical T-chronic lymphocytic leukemia, in one of nine with mycosis fungoides and in the one patient with small-cell variant of Sézary's syndrome. These results suggest that anti-ATLA positive T-cell malignancies with OKT4-positive mature T-cell phenotype must be the same disease, because it is highly possible that they have the same etiology and the same cellular origin. In the atypical cases, it seems necessary to demonstrate monoclonal integration of proviral DNA of ATLV or HTLV into the tumor cells in order to establish the final diagnosis of ATL.

  12. SP-100 Position Multiplexer and Analog Input Processor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Syed, A.; Gilliland, K.; Shukla, J.N.

    1992-01-01

    This paper describes the design, implementation, and performance test results of an engineering model of the Position Multiplexer (MUX)-Analog Input Processor (AIP) System for the transmission and continuous measurements of Reflector Control Drive position in SP-100. This paper describes the work performed to determine the practical circuit limitations, investigate the circuit/component degradation of the multiplexer due to radiation, develop an interference cancellation technique, and evaluate the measurement accuracy as a function of resolver angle, temperature, radiation, and interference. The system developed performs a complex cross-correlation between the resolver excitation and the resolver sine cosine outputs, from which the precise resolver amplitude and phase can be determined while simultaneously eliminating virtually all uncorrelated interference

  13. Reproductive Strategies of the Insidious Fish Ectoparasite, Neobenedenia sp. (Capsalidae: Monogenea)

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    Dinh Hoai, Truong; Hutson, Kate S.

    2014-01-01

    Fish monogeneans are lethal parasites in aquaculture. We provide the first experimental evidence that a notorious fish monogenean, Neobenedenia sp., can produce viable eggs in isolation for three consecutive generations. We infected individual, isolated, farmed barramundi, Lates calcarifer (Bloch) with a single oncomiracidium (larva) of the hermaphroditic monogenean Neobenedenia sp. Isolated parasites reached sexual maturity at day 10 post-hatch (24°C, 35‰) and laid ∼3,300 embryonated eggs over 17 days. Egg production rapidly increased following sexually maturity on day 10 (58±15 eggs) and peaked on day 15 (496±68 eggs) before gradually decreasing. Neobenedenia sp. exhibited egg laying and egg hatching rhythms. Parasites laid eggs continuously, but egg production increased in periods of darkness (64.3%), while the majority of oncomiracidia (81%) emerged from eggs in the first three hours of light. Eggs laid by isolated ‘parent’ parasites hatched and individual emerging oncomiracidia were used to infect more individual, isolated fish, with three consecutive, isolated, parasite generations (F1, F2 and F3) raised in the laboratory. Infection success and egg hatching success did not differ between generations. Our data show that one parasite, in the absence of a mate, presents a severe threat to captive fish populations. PMID:25264931

  14. The role of laserpuncture exposure on gonad maturation mechanism of catfish (Clarias sp. through Ca2+, PKC and GABA neurotransmitter

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    Pungky Slamet Wisnu Kusuma

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Laser puncture exposure at reproduction acupoint is proven to increase cellular activity like Ca2+ in the skin tissues. The aim of the study is to determine the role of laserpuncture exposure on gonad maturation by evaluating Ca2+ stimulation and PKC activity in skin tissue and the release of GABA from GABAergic neurons of the brain tissue of catfish (Clarias sp.. A total of 36 females and 36 males of 8–9-month old of F1 catfish broodstock Sangkuriang (female and Paiton (male. This study used Completely Randomized Design (CDR experimental method. Expression analysis was conducted using immunohistochemical staining with a streptavidinbiotin method with calcineurin kit, PKC kit, and GABA kit. The results showed that laserpuncture can stimulate calcineurin and PKC expression in skin tissue, and GABA expression in the brain tissue on the condition pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn (P < .05. It can be concluded that laserpuncture stimulates gonad maturation through Ca2+, PKC, and GABA neurotransmitter.

  15. Role of maturity timing in selection procedures and in the specialisation of playing positions in youth basketball

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    te Wierike, Sanne Cornelia Maria; Elferink-Gemser, Marije Titia; Tromp, Eveline Jenny Yvonne; Vaeyens, Roel; Visscher, Chris

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the role of maturity timing in selection procedures and in the specialisation of playing positions in youth male basketball. Forty-three talented Dutch players (14.66 +/- 1.09years) participated in this study. Maturity timing (age at peak height velocity), anthropometric,

  16. Single Cystosorus Isolate Production and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Characterization of the Obligate Biotroph Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea.

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    Qu, Xinshun; Christ, Barbara J

    2006-10-01

    ABSTRACT Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea causes powdery scab in potatoes and is distributed worldwide. Genetic studies of this pathogen have been hampered due, in part, to its obligate parasitism and the lack of molecular markers for this pathogen. In this investigation, a single cystosorus inoculation technique was developed to produce large amounts of S. subterranea f. sp. subterranea plasmodia or zoosporangia in eastern black nightshade (Solanum ptycanthum) roots from which DNA was extracted. Cryopreservation of zoosporangia was used for long-term storage of the isolates. S. subterranea f. sp. subterranea-specific restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers were developed from randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fragments. Cystosori of S. subterranea f. sp. subterranea were used for RAPD assays and putative pathogen-specific RAPD fragments were cloned and sequenced. The fragments were screened for specificity by Southern hybridization and subsequent DNA sequence BLAST search. Four polymorphic S. subterranea f. sp. subterranea-specific probes containing repetitive elements, and one containing single copy DNA were identified. These RFLP probes were then used to analyze 24 single cystosorus isolates derived from eight geographic locations in the United States and Canada. Genetic variation was recorded among, but not within, geographic locations. Cluster analysis separated the isolates into two major groups: group I included isolates originating from western North America, with the exception of those from Colorado, and group II included isolates originating from eastern North America and from Colorado. The techniques developed in this study, i.e., production of single cystosorus isolates of S. subterranea f. sp. subterranea and development of RFLP markers for this pathogen, provide methods to further study the genetic structure of S. subterranea f. sp. subterranea.

  17. Designed optimization of a single-step extraction of fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides from Sargassum sp

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    Ale, Marcel Tutor; Mikkelsen, Jørn Dalgaard; Meyer, Anne S.

    2012-01-01

    Fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides can be extracted from the brown seaweed, Sargassum sp. It has been reported that fucose-rich sulfated polysaccharides from brown seaweeds exert different beneficial biological activities including anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, and anti-viral effects....... Classical extraction of fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides from brown seaweed species typically involves extended, multiple-step, hot acid, or CaCl2 treatments, each step lasting several hours. In this work, we systematically examined the influence of acid concentration (HCl), time, and temperature...... on the yield of fucosecontaining sulfated polysaccharides (FCSPs) in statistically designed two-step and single-step multifactorial extraction experiments. All extraction factors had significant effects on the fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides yield, with the temperature and time exerting positive...

  18. Short-term environmental enrichment exposure induces proliferation and maturation of doublecortin-positive cells in the prefrontal cortex

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    Fan, Chunling; Zhang, Mengqi; Shang, Lei; Cynthia, Ngobe Akume; Li, Zhi; Yang, Zhenyu; Chen, Dan; Huang, Jufang; Xiong, Kun

    2014-01-01

    Previous studies have demonstrated that doublecortin-positive immature neurons exist predominantly in the superficial layer of the cerebral cortex of adult mammals such as guinea pigs, and these neurons exhibit very weak properties of self-proliferation during adulthood under physiological conditions. To verify whether environmental enrichment has an impact on the proliferation and maturation of these immature neurons in the prefrontal cortex of adult guinea pigs, healthy adult guinea pigs were subjected to short-term environmental enrichment. Animals were allowed to play with various cognitive and physical stimulating objects over a period of 2 weeks, twice per day, for 60 minutes each. Immunofluorescence staining results indicated that the number of doublecortin-positive cells in layer II of the prefrontal cortex was significantly increased after short-term environmental enrichment exposure. In addition, these doublecortin-positive cells co-expressed 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (a marker of cell proliferation), c-Fos (a marker of cell viability) and NeuN (a marker of mature neurons). Experimental findings showed that short-term environmental enrichment can induce proliferation, activation and maturation of doublecortin-positive cells in layer II of the prefrontal cortex of adult guinea pigs. PMID:25206818

  19. Hepatozoon langii n. sp. and Hepatozoon vacuolatus n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Adele-orina: Hepatozoidae) from the crag lizard (Sauria: Cordylidae) Pseudocordylus langi from the North Eastern Drakensberg escarpment, Eastern Free State, South Africa.

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    Van As, Johann; Davies, Angela J; Smit, Nico J

    2013-01-22

    Two new haemogregarine species, Hepatozoon langii n. sp. and Hepatozoon vacuolatus n. sp., are described from the pe-ripheral blood of the high altitude crag lizard, Pseudocordylus langi, collected between October 2006 and April 2009 from the North Eastern Drakensberg, Eastern Free State. Hepatozoon langii n. sp. has maturing and mature gamonts that appear encapsulated and have narrow, curved tails. Their cytoplasm stains pinkish-purple with Giemsa, while their nuclei are pur-ple stained with stranded chromatin. Mature gamonts measure 19.1 ± 1.0 (15.4-28.1) μm long by 6.2 ± 1.1 (3.5-7.9) μm wide. Hepatozoon vacuolatus n. sp. gamonts are mostly broader at one pole than the other, have bluish-pink cytoplasm characterised by distinctive rounded and oval vacuoles, and demonstrate pink granules with Giemsa staining. Nuclei stain purple and are mainly coarsely granular. Mature gamonts measure 16.5 ± 1.0 (14.7 - 17.6) μm long by 5.9 ± 1.2 (4.0 - 7.7) μm wide. Both species parasitize erythroblasts, as well as erythrocytes and can dehaemoglobinize the cytoplasm of their host cells. Hepatozoon langii n. sp occurred in the absence of H. vacuolatus n. sp., but the latter haemogregarine always formed mixed infections with the former; no stages intermediate between the two haemogregarine types were observed.

  20. Novel genetic linkage of rat Sp6 mutation to Amelogenesis imperfecta

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    Muto Taro

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI is an inherited disorder characterized by abnormal formation of tooth enamel. Although several genes responsible for AI have been reported, not all causative genes for human AI have been identified to date. AMI rat has been reported as an autosomal recessive mutant with hypoplastic AI isolated from a colony of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat strain, but the causative gene has not yet been clarified. Through a genetic screen, we identified the causative gene of autosomal recessive AI in AMI and analyzed its role in amelogenesis. Methods cDNA sequencing of possible AI-candidate genes so far identified using total RNA of day 6 AMI rat molars identified a novel responsible mutation in specificity protein 6 (Sp6. Genetic linkage analysis was performed between Sp6 and AI phenotype in AMI. To understand a role of SP6 in AI, we generated the transgenic rats harboring Sp6 transgene in AMI (Ami/Ami + Tg. Histological analyses were performed using the thin sections of control rats, AMI, and Ami/Ami + Tg incisors in maxillae, respectively. Results We found the novel genetic linkage between a 2-bp insertional mutation of Sp6 gene and the AI phenotype in AMI rats. The position of mutation was located in the coding region of Sp6, which caused frameshift mutation and disruption of the third zinc finger domain of SP6 with 11 cryptic amino acid residues and a stop codon. Transfection studies showed that the mutant protein can be translated and localized in the nucleus in the same manner as the wild-type SP6 protein. When we introduced the CMV promoter-driven wild-type Sp6 transgene into AMI rats, the SP6 protein was ectopically expressed in the maturation stage of ameloblasts associated with the extended maturation stage and the shortened reduced stage without any other phenotypical changes. Conclusion We propose the addition of Sp6 mutation as a new molecular diagnostic criterion for the

  1. Novel genetic linkage of rat Sp6 mutation to Amelogenesis imperfecta

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is an inherited disorder characterized by abnormal formation of tooth enamel. Although several genes responsible for AI have been reported, not all causative genes for human AI have been identified to date. AMI rat has been reported as an autosomal recessive mutant with hypoplastic AI isolated from a colony of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat strain, but the causative gene has not yet been clarified. Through a genetic screen, we identified the causative gene of autosomal recessive AI in AMI and analyzed its role in amelogenesis. Methods cDNA sequencing of possible AI-candidate genes so far identified using total RNA of day 6 AMI rat molars identified a novel responsible mutation in specificity protein 6 (Sp6). Genetic linkage analysis was performed between Sp6 and AI phenotype in AMI. To understand a role of SP6 in AI, we generated the transgenic rats harboring Sp6 transgene in AMI (Ami/Ami + Tg). Histological analyses were performed using the thin sections of control rats, AMI, and Ami/Ami + Tg incisors in maxillae, respectively. Results We found the novel genetic linkage between a 2-bp insertional mutation of Sp6 gene and the AI phenotype in AMI rats. The position of mutation was located in the coding region of Sp6, which caused frameshift mutation and disruption of the third zinc finger domain of SP6 with 11 cryptic amino acid residues and a stop codon. Transfection studies showed that the mutant protein can be translated and localized in the nucleus in the same manner as the wild-type SP6 protein. When we introduced the CMV promoter-driven wild-type Sp6 transgene into AMI rats, the SP6 protein was ectopically expressed in the maturation stage of ameloblasts associated with the extended maturation stage and the shortened reduced stage without any other phenotypical changes. Conclusion We propose the addition of Sp6 mutation as a new molecular diagnostic criterion for the autosomal recessive AI patients

  2. Seroprevalencia de Leptospira sp., Rickettsia sp. Ehrlichia sp. en trabajadores rurales del departamento de Sucre, Colombia Seroprevalence of Leptospira sp., Rickettsia sp. and Ehrlichia sp. in rural workers of Sucre, Colombia

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    Rodrigo Ríos

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Determinar la seroprevalencia de Leptospira sp., Rickettsia sp. y Ehrlichia sp. en trabajadores de áreas rurales del departamento de Sucre. Material y métodos. Se realizó un estudio escriptivo, prospectivo, de corte transversal, que pretendió determinar la seroprevalencia e Leptospira sp., Rickettsia sp. y Ehrlichia sp. en 90 trabajadores de áreas rurales del departamento de Sucre. Se estableció la presencia de anticuerpos séricos anti-IgM específicos anti-Leptospira por la técnica de ELISA indirecta. Para la determinación de Rickettsia sp. y Ehrlichia sp. se uso la técnica de inmunofluorescencia indirecta. Resultados. La población evaluada estaba compuesta por 27 (30% ordeñadores, 21 (23% jornaleros, 18 (20% profesionales del campo y 24 (27% que realizaban otras actividades. Ventidós (24% muestras resultaron positivas en alguna de las pruebas. De éstas, 12 (13,3% fueron positivas para Leptospira sp., 7 (7,8% para Rickettsia sp. y 3 (3,3% ara Ehrlichia sp. Conclusión. Este fue el primer estudio que se llevó a cabo en el departamento de Sucre y permitió demostrar que existe una prevalencia importante de Leptospira p.,Rickettsia sp. y Ehrlichia sp.. Los factores de riesgo ocupacional fueron factores determinantes en la seropositividad.Objective. To determine the seroprevalence of Leptospira sp., Rickettsia sp. and Ehrlichia sp. in agricultural workers of Sucre. Methods. A descriptive prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in ninety rural workers of Sucre. Presence of serum antibodies anti-IgM specific anti-Leptospira by indirect ELISA was established. For the determination of Rickettsia and Ehrlichia indirect inmunoflorescence was used. Results.The population was composed by 27 (30% milkers, 21 (23% day workers, 18 farm professionals (20% and 24 (26% workers in others activities. A total of 22 (24% samples were positive to some test. Twelve (13.3% were positive to Leptospira sp., seven (7.8% to Rickettsia sp

  3. Insights into the functionality of the putative residues involved in enterocin AS-48 maturation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cebrián, Rubén; Maqueda, Mercedes; Neira, José Luis; Valdivia, Eva; Martínez-Bueno, Manuel; Montalbán-López, Manuel

    2010-11-01

    AS-48 is a 70-residue, α-helical, cationic bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus faecalis and is very singular in its circular structure and its broad antibacterial spectrum. The AS-48 preprotein consists of an N-terminal signal peptide (SP) (35 residues) followed by a proprotein moiety that undergoes posttranslational modifications to yield the mature and active circular protein. For the study of the specificity of the region of AS-48 that is responsible for maturation, three single mutants have been generated by site-directed mutagenesis in the as-48A structural gene. The substitutions were made just in the residues that are thought to constitute a recognition site for the SP cleavage enzyme (His-1, Met1) and in those involved in circularization (Met1, Trp70). Each derivative was expressed in the enterococcal JH2-2 strain containing the necessary native biosynthetic machinery for enterocin production. The importance of these derivatives in AS-48 processing has been evaluated on the basis of the production and structural characterization of the corresponding derivatives. Notably, only two of them (Trp70Ala and Met1Ala derivatives) could be purified in different forms and amounts and are characterized for their bactericidal activity and secondary structure. We could not detect any production of AS-48 in JH2-2(pAM401-81(His-1Ile)) by using the conventional chromatographic techniques, despite the high efficiency of the culture conditions applied to produce this enterocin. Our results underline the different important roles of the mutated residues in (i) the elimination of the SP, (ii) the production levels and antibacterial activity of the mature proteins, and (iii) protein circularization. Moreover, our findings suggest that His-1 is critically involved in cleavage site recognition, its substitution being responsible for the blockage of processing, thereby hampering the production of the specific protein in the cellular culture supernatant.

  4. Stability of sp{sup 2}-carbon single layer nanostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourgeois, L N; Bursill, L A [University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics

    1997-12-31

    Full text: Sp{sup 2}-hybridised carbon is quite versatile in its ability to build atomic structures. Although graphite is the most common and best known sp{sup 2}-carbon compound, recent discoveries of the C{sub 60} molecule and the related nanotubes have shown that networks of three-fold coordinated carbon atoms may result in a wide range of geometries. This has led to the postulation that structures such as the negatively curved schwarzites and tori may also be synthesized. In particular, theoretical calculations have shown the cohesive energy of schwarzites to be higher than that of C{sub 60}. Presented here is an analytical model describing the energetics of the most common sp{sup 2}-carbon single nanostructures as well as the hypothetical P-schwarzite. An expression for the energy with respect to a flat graphite sheet is written as the sum of a strain energy term (arising from curving of the carbon network) and a dangling bond energy term (not negligible in an inert environment). The relative stability of carbon spheres, tubes, planes and minimal surfaces is then investigated as a function of the dangling bond energy. In an inert atmosphere (large dangling bond energy), the cylinder appears to be the most stable geometry up to a certain size (about 40 atoms only). Above this number of atoms, the sphere is found to be energetically favoured. In a reactive environment, flat sheets are found to have the lowest energy, as expected. The other structures appeared to be always less stable than tubes, spheres and planes. However, small proportions of negatively curved sheets may occur at high temperatures. These results are compared with known experimental facts

  5. Single cell protein production of Chlorella sp. using food processing waste as a cultivation medium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putri, D.; Ulhidayati, A.; Musthofa, I. A.; Wardani, A. K.

    2018-03-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of various food processing wastes on the production of single cell protein by Chlorella sp. Three various food processing wastes i.e. tofu waste, tempeh waste and cheese whey waste were used as cultivation medium for Chlorella sp. growth. Sea water was used as a control of cultivation medium. The addition of waste into cultivation medium was 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. The result showed that the highest yield of cell mass and protein content was found in 50% tofu waste cultivation medium was 47.8 × 106 cell/ml with protein content was 52.24%. The 50% tofu waste medium showed improved cell yield as nearly as 30% than tempeh waste medium. The yield of biomass and protein content when 30% tempeh waste was used as cultivation medium was 37.1 × 106 cell/ml and 52%, respectively. Thus, food processing waste especially tofu waste would be a promising candidate for cultivation medium for single cell production from Chlorella sp. Moreover, the utilization of waste can reduce environmental pollution and increase protein supply for food supplement or animal feed.

  6. [Biofilm Formation by the Nonflagellated flhB1 Mutant of Azospirillum brasilense Sp245].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelud'ko, A V; Filip'echeva, Yu A; Shumiliva, E M; Khlebtsov, B N; Burov, A M; Petrova, L P; Katsy, E I

    2015-01-01

    Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 with mixed flagellation are able to form biofilms on various surfaces. A nonflagellated mutant of this strain with inactivated chromosomal copy of the flhB gene (flhB1) was shown to exhibit specific traits at the later stages of biofilm formation on a hydrophilic (glass) surface. Mature biofilms of the flhB1::Omegon-Km mutant Sp245.1063 were considerably thinner than those of the parent strain Sp245. The biofilms of the mutant were more susceptible to the forces of hydrodynamic shear. A. brasilense Sp245 cells in biofilms were not found to possess lateral flagella. Cells with polar flagella were, however, revealed by atomic force microscopy of mature native biofilms of strain Sp245. Preservation of a polar flagellum (probably nonmotile) on the cells of A. brasilense Sp245 may enhance the biofilm stability.

  7. Differences in biological maturation, anthropometry and physical performance between playing positions in youth team handball

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Matthys, S.P.; Fransen, J.; Vaeyens, R.; Lenoir, M.; Philippaerts, R.

    2013-01-01

    It was the goal of this cross-sectional study to examine differences in maturity, anthropometry and physical performance between youth handball players across different playing positions (i.e. goalkeeper, back, pivot and wing). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), accounting for biological

  8. Genome-wide, Single-Cell DNA Methylomics Reveals Increased Non-CpG Methylation during Human Oocyte Maturation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Yu

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The establishment of DNA methylation patterns in oocytes is a highly dynamic process marking gene-regulatory events during fertilization, embryonic development, and adulthood. However, after epigenetic reprogramming in primordial germ cells, how and when DNA methylation is re-established in developing human oocytes remains to be characterized. Here, using single-cell whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, we describe DNA methylation patterns in three different maturation stages of human oocytes. We found that while broad-scale patterns of CpG methylation have been largely established by the immature germinal vesicle stage, localized changes continue into later development. Non-CpG methylation, on the other hand, undergoes a large-scale, generalized remodeling through the final stage of maturation, with the net overall result being the accumulation of methylation as oocytes mature. The role of the genome-wide, non-CpG methylation remodeling in the final stage of oocyte maturation deserves further investigation.

  9. Structure-Activity Relationships of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Maturation Inhibitor PF-46396.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murgatroyd, Christopher; Pirrie, Lisa; Tran, Fanny; Smith, Terry K; Westwood, Nicholas J; Adamson, Catherine S

    2016-09-15

    HIV-1 maturation inhibitors are a novel class of antiretroviral compounds that consist of two structurally distinct chemical classes: betulinic acid derivatives and the pyridone-based compound PF-46396. It is currently believed that both classes act by similar modes of action to generate aberrant noninfectious particles via inhibition of CA-SP1 cleavage during Gag proteolytic processing. In this study, we utilized a series of novel analogues with decreasing similarity to PF-46396 to determine the chemical groups within PF-46396 that contribute to antiviral activity, Gag binding, and the relationship between these essential properties. A spectrum of antiviral activity (active, intermediate, and inactive) was observed across the analogue series with respect to CA-SP1 cleavage and HIV-1 (NL4-3) replication kinetics in Jurkat T cells. We demonstrate that selected inactive analogues are incorporated into wild-type (WT) immature particles and that one inactive analogue is capable of interfering with PF-46396 inhibition of CA-SP1 cleavage. Mutations that confer PF-46396 resistance can impose a defective phenotype on HIV-1 that can be rescued in a compound-dependent manner. Some inactive analogues retained the capacity to rescue PF-46396-dependent mutants (SP1-A3V, SP1-A3T, and CA-P157S), implying that they can also interact with mutant Gag. The structure-activity relationships observed in this study demonstrate that (i) the tert-butyl group is essential for antiviral activity but is not an absolute requirement for Gag binding, (ii) the trifluoromethyl group is optimal but not essential for antiviral activity, and (iii) the 2-aminoindan group is important for antiviral activity and Gag binding but is not essential, as its replacement is tolerated. Combinations of antiretroviral drugs successfully treat HIV/AIDS patients; however, drug resistance problems make the development of new mechanistic drug classes an ongoing priority. HIV-1 maturation inhibitors are novel as they

  10. Bentonite maturation with 'Águas de Lindóia' water (SP)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Torrecilha, Jefferson K.; Silva, Paulo S.C., E-mail: jeffkoy@usp.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2017-07-01

    This study aims to characterize the artificial peloid obtained by maturing bentonite with Águas de Lindóia water for periods of three, six and nine months. The pH, moisture, organic matter content, loss on ignition and swelling power of matured and non-matured samples were measured for physicochemical characterization. The elemental concentration was determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Results showed that water adsorption capacity, organic matter and swelling power is related to the maturation time and no significant differences occurs in the elemental concentration except for Na. (author)

  11. SP (4,R) symmetry in light nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, D.R.

    1979-01-01

    A classification of nuclear states according to the noncompact sympletic Lie algebras sp(2n,R), n = 1, 2, 3, is investigated. Such a classification has recently been shown to be physically meaningful. This classification scheme is the appropriate generalization fo Elliott's SU 3 model of rotational states in deformed light nuclei to include core excitations. A restricted classification according to the Lie algebra, sp(4,R), is motivated. Truncation of the model space to a single sp(4,R) irreducible representation allows the inclusion of states possessing very high excitation energy. An sp(4,R) model study is performed on S = T = 0 positive-parity rotational bands in the deformed light nuclei 16 O and 24 Mg. States are included in the model space that possess up to 10h ω in excitation energy. Results for the B(E2) transition rates compare favorable with experiment, without resort to effective charges

  12. Inheritance of Early Maturity in Some Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L. Walp. Genotypes under Rain Fed Conditions in Northern Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanuel Yaw Owusu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A field experiment was conducted at Savanna Agricultural Research Institute in 2015 cropping season to examine the inheritance of early maturity among an extra-early maturing landrace Sanzi and a medium maturing variety Padi-Tuya and their progenies. The results indicated highly significant (P0.05 were observed between F1 and RF1, implying absence of maternal effect. The segregation ratio in the F2 population for early and medium maturity fitted into the ratio 3 : 1, indicating single dominant gene mode of inheritance. Significant positive correlations were found between DNPM, DFFI, DFF, and DFPM; hence selection criteria to improve early maturity of cowpea should focus on these traits. Grain yield also had significant positive correlations with maturity indices indicating high grain yield is associated with late maturity; therefore, high grain yield should be considered alongside early maturity when selecting progenies for earliness.

  13. Maturity Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lasrado, Lester Allan; Vatrapu, Ravi

    2016-01-01

    Recent advancements in set theory and readily available software have enabled social science researchers to bridge the variable-centered quantitative and case-based qualitative methodological paradigms in order to analyze multi-dimensional associations beyond the linearity assumptions, aggregate...... effects, unicausal reduction, and case specificity. Based on the developments in set theoretical thinking in social sciences and employing methods like Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA), and set visualization techniques, in this position paper, we propose...... and demonstrate a new approach to maturity models in the domain of Information Systems. This position paper describes the set-theoretical approach to maturity models, presents current results and outlines future research work....

  14. Theory of single-photon echo (SP-echo) and the possibility of its experimental study in the gamma-region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moiseev, S.A.

    1997-01-01

    The single-photon echo (SP-echo) effect is predicted to appear in the case of three-level medium excitation by means of a single photon propagating to the medium along two optical paths with a mutual time delay surpassing the temporal duration of the photon wave packet. The quantum electrodynamical theory describing this interaction is presented and the S-matrix of the field is shown for infinite time (t=∞). Using the S-matrix approach, physical properties of the scattering field are studied. Hence, it is shown that the field has an echo signal at the ω 32 0 carrier frequency. It has been shown that the echo signal exists only in the field amplitude while being absent in its intensity behaviour. Thus, SP-echo is an interference effect and is not influenced by the energy irradiation. The problems of SP-echo detection in the gamma-region (where special generation difficulties appear) are discussed. The influence of the additional detection of theω 21 0 frequency field on the echo signal has been shown. A special case is the EPR-paradox which can appear within the echo phenomenon

  15. Theory of single-photon echo (SP-echo) and the possibility of its experimental study in the gamma-region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moiseev, S.A

    1997-05-15

    The single-photon echo (SP-echo) effect is predicted to appear in the case of three-level medium excitation by means of a single photon propagating to the medium along two optical paths with a mutual time delay surpassing the temporal duration of the photon wave packet. The quantum electrodynamical theory describing this interaction is presented and the S-matrix of the field is shown for infinite time (t={infinity}). Using the S-matrix approach, physical properties of the scattering field are studied. Hence, it is shown that the field has an echo signal at the {omega}{sub 32}{sup 0} carrier frequency. It has been shown that the echo signal exists only in the field amplitude while being absent in its intensity behaviour. Thus, SP-echo is an interference effect and is not influenced by the energy irradiation. The problems of SP-echo detection in the gamma-region (where special generation difficulties appear) are discussed. The influence of the additional detection of the{omega}{sub 21}{sup 0} frequency field on the echo signal has been shown. A special case is the EPR-paradox which can appear within the echo phenomenon.

  16. Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) Instrument Handbook

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sedlacek, Arthur [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

    2017-02-01

    The SP2 is an instrument that measures, in situ, the time-dependent scattering and incandescence signals produced by individual BC-containing particles as they travel through a continuous-wave laser beam. Any particle traversing the laser beam will scatter light, and the BC component of a BC-containing particle will absorb some of the laser energy until its temperature is raised to the point at which it incandesces (hereafter we adopt the standard terminology of the SP2 community and denote any substance determined by the SP2 to be BC as refractory black carbon (rBC)). The amplitude of the rBC incandescence signal is related to the amount of refractory material contained in the illuminated particle. By binning the individual incandescence signals per unit sample volume, the mass concentration [ng/m3] of rBC can be derived. By binning the individual signals by volume equivalent diameter the size distribution (dN/dlogDVED) per unit time can be derived. The rBC mass loading per unit time and the rBC size distribution unit time are the core data products produced by the SP2. Additionally, the scattering channel can be used to provide information on the rBC particle population-based mixing states within ambient aerosols. However, this data product is produced on a requested-basis since additional detailed analysis and QC/QA must be conducted.

  17. Lactobacillus micheneri sp. nov., Lactobacillus timberlakei sp. nov. and Lactobacillus quenuiae sp. nov., lactic acid bacteria isolated from wild bees and flowers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFrederick, Quinn S; Vuong, Hoang Q; Rothman, Jason A

    2018-04-12

    Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, non-spore forming bacteria have been isolated from flowers and the guts of adult wild bees in the families Megachilidae and Halictidae. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that these bacteria belong to the genus Lactobacillus, and are most closely related to the honey-bee associated bacteria Lactobacillus kunkeei (97.0 % sequence similarity) and Lactobacillus apinorum (97.0 % sequence similarity). Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA genes and six single-copy protein coding genes, in situ and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization, and fatty-acid profiling differentiates the newly isolated bacteria as three novel Lactobacillus species: Lactobacillus micheneri sp. nov. with the type strain Hlig3 T (=DSM 104126 T ,=NRRL B-65473 T ), Lactobacillus timberlakei with the type strain HV_12 T (=DSM 104128 T ,=NRRL B-65472 T ), and Lactobacillus quenuiae sp. nov. with the type strain HV_6 T (=DSM 104127 T ,=NRRL B-65474 T ).

  18. Ascoaphaera osmophila sp.nov. An Australian Spore Cyst

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skou, Jens-Peder; King, , J.

    1984-01-01

    Ascosphaera osmophila sp. nov. is described. Septa occur often close together and remain intact when the mycelium disintegrates. A fairly good production of mature spore cysts occurs only on media containing 10% sugar or more. A. osmophila lives in association with the mason bee, Chalicodoma...

  19. Amino acids in cell wall of Gram-positive bacterium Micrococcus sp. hsn08 with flocculation activity on Chlorella vulgaris biomass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yi; Xu, Yanting; Zheng, Tianling; Wang, Hailei

    2018-02-01

    The aim of this work was to investigate the flocculation mechanism by Gram-positive bacterium, Micrococcus sp. hsn08 as a means for harvesting Chlorella vulgaris biomass. Bacterial cells of Micrococcus sp. hsn08 were added into algal culture to harvest algal cells through direct contacting with algae to form flocs. Viability dependence test confirmed that flocculation activity does not depend on live bacteria, but on part of the peptidoglycan. The further investigation has determined that amino acids in cell wall play an important role to flocculate algal cells. Positively charged calcium can combine bacterial and algal cells together, and form a bridge between them, thereby forming the flocs, suggesting that ions bridging is the main flocculation mechanism. These results suggest that bacterial cells of Micrococcus sp. hsn08 can be applied to harvest microalgae biomass with the help of amino acids in cell wall. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Information system maturity and the hospitality enterprise performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Garbin Pranicevic

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the relationship between the maturity of hotels’ information systems and their performance. This study uses customized models of information system (IS maturity and hotel performance measurement. Since we wanted to include the intangible aspects of performance, we opted for an adapted application of the Balanced Scorecard model. In the empirical part of the paper, fundamental constructs of the model are verified, while the individual items are further evaluated by employing discriminant analysis to distinguish hotels with relatively low and high performance levels. The findings demonstrate the existence of a significant and positive relationship between IS maturity and two dimensions of performance in the hospitality industry – process quality and guest relationships. The level of employee development and financial performance do not seem to be related to IS maturity. Although representative, the sample is relatively small, and the primary data were collected in a single country. The paper provides a framework of IS maturity items in the hospitality industry which seem to contribute to hotels’ business performances. As such, it can serve as a practical framework relevant for IT management in tourism and hospitality. The paper addresses a topic already discussed in a range of industries, although it does not seem to have been empirically evaluated by many studies of the tourism and hospitality industry. In addition, a new theoretical model of IT maturity in tourism and hospitality is proposed.

  1. Innate Immune Complexity in the Purple Sea Urchin: Diversity of the Sp185/333 System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, L. Courtney

    2012-01-01

    The California purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is a long-lived echinoderm with a complex and sophisticated innate immune system. There are several large gene families that function in immunity in this species including the Sp185/333 gene family that has ∼50 (±10) members. The family shows intriguing sequence diversity and encodes a broad array of diverse yet similar proteins. The genes have two exons of which the second encodes the mature protein and has repeats and blocks of sequence called elements. Mosaics of element patterns plus single nucleotide polymorphisms-based variants of the elements result in significant sequence diversity among the genes yet maintains similar structure among the members of the family. Sequence of a bacterial artificial chromosome insert shows a cluster of six, tightly linked Sp185/333 genes that are flanked by GA microsatellites. The sequences between the GA microsatellites in which the Sp185/333 genes and flanking regions are located, are much more similar to each other than are the sequences outside the microsatellites suggesting processes such as gene conversion, recombination, or duplication. However, close linkage does not correspond with greater sequence similarity compared to randomly cloned and sequenced genes that are unlikely to be linked. There are three segmental duplications that are bounded by GAT microsatellites and include three almost identical genes plus flanking regions. RNA editing is detectible throughout the mRNAs based on comparisons to the genes, which, in combination with putative post-translational modifications to the proteins, results in broad arrays of Sp185/333 proteins that differ among individuals. The mature proteins have an N-terminal glycine-rich region, a central RGD motif, and a C-terminal histidine-rich region. The Sp185/333 proteins are localized to the cell surface and are found within vesicles in subsets of polygonal and small phagocytes. The coelomocyte proteome shows full

  2. Novel maturity parameters for mature to over-mature source rocks and oils based on the distribution of phenanthrene series compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zixiang Wang

    2016-03-01

    Two additional novel and an optimized maturation parameters based on the distribution of phenanthrene series compounds are proposed and their relationships to EasyRo% (x are established: log(MPs/P = 0.19x + 0.08 (0.9% < EasyRo% < 2.1%; log(MPs/P = 0.64x − 0.86 (2.1% < EasyRo% < 3.4%; log(DMPs/TMPs = 0.71x − 0.55 (0.9% < EasyRo% < 3.4%; log(MTR = 0.84x − 0.75 (0.9% < EasyRo% < 3.4%. These significant positive correlations are strong argument for using log(MPs/P, log(DMPs/TMPs and log(MTR as maturity parameters, especially for mature to over-mature source rocks.

  3. Experimentally induced, synergistic late effects of a single dose of radiation and aging: significance in LKS fraction as compared with mature blood cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirabayashi, Yoko; Tsuboi, Isao; Nakachi, Kei; Kusunoki, Yoichiro; Inoue, Tohru

    2015-03-01

    The number of murine mature blood cells recovered within 6 weeks after 2-Gy whole-body irradiation at 6 weeks of age, whereas in the case of the undifferentiated hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSC/HPC) compartment [cells in the lineage-negative, c-kit-positive and stem-cell-antigen-1-positive (LKS) fraction], the numerical differences between mice with and without irradiation remained more than a year, but conclusively the cells showed numerical recovery. When mice were exposed to radiation at 6 months of age, acute damages of mature blood cells were rather milder probably because of their maturation with age; but again, cells in the LKS fraction were specifically damaged, and their numerical recovery was significantly delayed probably as a result of LKS-specific cellular damages. Interestingly, in contrast to the recovery of the number of cells in the LKS fraction, their quality was not recovered, which was quantitatively assessed on the basis of oxidative-stress-related fluorescence intensity. To investigate why the recovery in the number of cells in the LKS fraction was delayed, expression levels of genes related to cellular proliferation and apoptosis of cells in the bone marrow and LKS fraction were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In the case of 21-month-old mice after radiation exposure, Ccnd1, PiK3r1 and Fyn were overexpressed solely in cells in the LKS fraction. Because Ccnd1and PiK3r1 upregulated by aging were further upregulated by radiation, single-dose radiation seemed to induce the acceleration of aging, which is related to the essential biological responses during aging based on a lifetime-dependent relationship between a living creature and xenobiotic materials. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. In Vitro Maturation and Embryo Development to blastocyst Mouse Germinal Vesicle Oocytes after Vitrification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Nikseresht

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background & aim: Vitrification is a simple and ultra rapid technique for the conservation of fertility. Improving pregnancy rate associate with the use of cryopreserved oocytes would be an important advanced in human assisted reproductive technology (ART. The purpose of this study was to evaluate survival, oocytes maturation and embryo development to the blastocyst stage after vitrification of oocytes germinal vesicle-stage and multi stage Methods: In the present experimental study, germinal vesicle oocytes with or without cumulus cells were transferred to vitrification solution containing 30% (v/v ethylene glycol, 18% (w/v Ficoll-70, and 0.3 M sucrose, either by single step or in a step-wise way. After vitrification and storage in liquid nitrogen, the oocytes were thawed and washed twice in culture medium TCM119, and then subjected to in vitro maturation, fertilization, and culture. Data analysis was performed by using One-way variance and Tukey tests. Results: Oocytes survival, metaphase 2 stage oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryo formed blastocyst in vitrification methods multistage were significantly higher than the single step procedure (P<0/05 Conclusion: The Germinal vesicle stage oocytes vitrified with cumulus cells and stepwise procedure had positive effect on the survival, maturation and developmental rate on blastocyst compared to oocytes without cumulus cell and single step procedure. Key words: Germinal Vesicle Oocyte, Blastocyst, Vitrification, Ethylene glycol

  5. Ground testing of an SP-100 prototypic reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Motwani, K.; Pflasterer, G.R.; Upton, H.; Lazarus, J.D.; Gluck, R.

    1988-01-01

    SP-100 is a space power system which is being developed by GE to meet future space electrical power requirements. The ground testing of an SP-100 prototypic reactor system will be conducted at the Westinghouse Hanford Company site located at Richland, Washington. The objective of this test is to demonstrate the performance of a full scale prototypic reactor system, including the reactor, control system and flight shield. The ground test system is designed to simulate the flight operating conditions while meeting all the necessary nuclear safety requirements in a gravity environment. The goal of the reactor ground test system is to establish confidence in the design maturity of the SP-100 space reactor power system and resolve the technical issues necessary for the development of a flight mission design

  6. Transcription of the extended hyp-operon in Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agervald, Åsa; Stensjö, Karin; Holmqvist, Marie; Lindblad, Peter

    2008-01-01

    Background The maturation of hydrogenases into active enzymes is a complex process and e.g. a correctly assembled active site requires the involvement of at least seven proteins, encoded by hypABCDEF and a hydrogenase specific protease, encoded either by hupW or hoxW. The N2-fixing cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120 may contain both an uptake and a bidirectional hydrogenase. The present study addresses the presence and expression of hyp-genes in Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120. Results RT-PCRs demonstrated that the six hyp-genes together with one ORF may be transcribed as a single operon. Transcriptional start points (TSPs) were identified 280 bp upstream from hypF and 445 bp upstream of hypC, respectively, demonstrating the existence of several transcripts. In addition, five upstream ORFs located in between hupSL, encoding the small and large subunits of the uptake hydrogenase, and the hyp-operon, and two downstream ORFs from the hyp-genes were shown to be part of the same transcript unit. A third TSP was identified 45 bp upstream of asr0689, the first of five ORFs in this operon. The ORFs are annotated as encoding unknown proteins, with the exception of alr0692 which is identified as a NifU-like protein. Orthologues of the four ORFs asr0689-alr0692, with a highly conserved genomic arrangement positioned between hupSL, and the hyp genes are found in several other N2-fixing cyanobacteria, but are absent in non N2-fixing cyanobacteria with only the bidirectional hydrogenase. Short conserved sequences were found in six intergenic regions of the extended hyp-operon, appearing between 11 and 79 times in the genome. Conclusion This study demonstrated that five ORFs upstream of the hyp-gene cluster are co-transcribed with the hyp-genes, and identified three TSPs in the extended hyp-gene cluster in Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120. This may indicate a function related to the assembly of a functional uptake hydrogenase, hypothetically in the assembly of the small subunit of

  7. Diversity and transcription of proteases involved in the maturation of hydrogenases in Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 and Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    Background The last step in the maturation process of the large subunit of [NiFe]-hydrogenases is a proteolytic cleavage of the C-terminal by a hydrogenase specific protease. Contrary to other accessory proteins these hydrogenase proteases are believed to be specific whereby one type of hydrogenases specific protease only cleaves one type of hydrogenase. In cyanobacteria this is achieved by the gene product of either hupW or hoxW, specific for the uptake or the bidirectional hydrogenase respectively. The filamentous cyanobacteria Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 and Nostoc sp strain PCC 7120 may contain a single uptake hydrogenase or both an uptake and a bidirectional hydrogenase respectively. Results In order to examine these proteases in cyanobacteria, transcriptional analyses were performed of hupW in Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 and hupW and hoxW in Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120. These studies revealed numerous transcriptional start points together with putative binding sites for NtcA (hupW) and LexA (hoxW). In order to investigate the diversity and specificity among hydrogeanse specific proteases we constructed a phylogenetic tree which revealed several subgroups that showed a striking resemblance to the subgroups previously described for [NiFe]-hydrogenases. Additionally the proteases specificity was also addressed by amino acid sequence analysis and protein-protein docking experiments with 3D-models derived from bioinformatic studies. These studies revealed a so called "HOXBOX"; an amino acid sequence specific for protease of Hox-type which might be involved in docking with the large subunit of the hydrogenase. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the hydrogenase specific proteases are under similar regulatory control as the hydrogenases they cleave. The result from the phylogenetic study also indicates that the hydrogenase and the protease have co-evolved since ancient time and suggests that at least one major horizontal gene transfer has occurred. This co

  8. Diversity and transcription of proteases involved in the maturation of hydrogenases in Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 and Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lindblad Peter

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The last step in the maturation process of the large subunit of [NiFe]-hydrogenases is a proteolytic cleavage of the C-terminal by a hydrogenase specific protease. Contrary to other accessory proteins these hydrogenase proteases are believed to be specific whereby one type of hydrogenases specific protease only cleaves one type of hydrogenase. In cyanobacteria this is achieved by the gene product of either hupW or hoxW, specific for the uptake or the bidirectional hydrogenase respectively. The filamentous cyanobacteria Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 and Nostoc sp strain PCC 7120 may contain a single uptake hydrogenase or both an uptake and a bidirectional hydrogenase respectively. Results In order to examine these proteases in cyanobacteria, transcriptional analyses were performed of hupW in Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 and hupW and hoxW in Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120. These studies revealed numerous transcriptional start points together with putative binding sites for NtcA (hupW and LexA (hoxW. In order to investigate the diversity and specificity among hydrogeanse specific proteases we constructed a phylogenetic tree which revealed several subgroups that showed a striking resemblance to the subgroups previously described for [NiFe]-hydrogenases. Additionally the proteases specificity was also addressed by amino acid sequence analysis and protein-protein docking experiments with 3D-models derived from bioinformatic studies. These studies revealed a so called "HOXBOX"; an amino acid sequence specific for protease of Hox-type which might be involved in docking with the large subunit of the hydrogenase. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the hydrogenase specific proteases are under similar regulatory control as the hydrogenases they cleave. The result from the phylogenetic study also indicates that the hydrogenase and the protease have co-evolved since ancient time and suggests that at least one major horizontal gene transfer

  9. Reproductive status of opisthoteuthis sp . Over an annual cycle ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The reproductive biology of deepwater cephalopods has received relatively little attention. The cirrate octopus Opisthoteuthis sp. is a regular bycatch in deep benthic trawls from 800 to 1 200 m deep west of Scotland. Specimens were sampled throughout the seasonal cycle. Mature females occurred over a broad size range ...

  10. Maturity of the PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bacher, P.; Rapin, M.; Aboudarham, L.; Bitsch, D.

    1983-03-01

    Figures illustrating the predominant position of the PWR system are presented. The question is whether on the basis of these figures the PWR can be considered to have reached maturity. The following analysis, based on the French program experience, is an attempt to pinpoint those areas in which industrial maturity of the PWR has been attained, and in which areas a certain evolution can still be expected to take place

  11. Generation of mature T cells from human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in artificial thymic organoids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seet, Christopher S; He, Chongbin; Bethune, Michael T; Li, Suwen; Chick, Brent; Gschweng, Eric H; Zhu, Yuhua; Kim, Kenneth; Kohn, Donald B; Baltimore, David; Crooks, Gay M; Montel-Hagen, Amélie

    2017-05-01

    Studies of human T cell development require robust model systems that recapitulate the full span of thymopoiesis, from hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) through to mature T cells. Existing in vitro models induce T cell commitment from human HSPCs; however, differentiation into mature CD3 + TCR-αβ + single-positive CD8 + or CD4 + cells is limited. We describe here a serum-free, artificial thymic organoid (ATO) system that supports efficient and reproducible in vitro differentiation and positive selection of conventional human T cells from all sources of HSPCs. ATO-derived T cells exhibited mature naive phenotypes, a diverse T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire and TCR-dependent function. ATOs initiated with TCR-engineered HSPCs produced T cells with antigen-specific cytotoxicity and near-complete lack of endogenous TCR Vβ expression, consistent with allelic exclusion of Vβ-encoding loci. ATOs provide a robust tool for studying human T cell differentiation and for the future development of stem-cell-based engineered T cell therapies.

  12. Conformational Stability of the NH2-Terminal Propeptide of the Precursor of Pulmonary Surfactant Protein SP-B.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ángeles Bañares-Hidalgo

    Full Text Available Assembly of pulmonary surfactant lipid-protein complexes depends on conformational changes coupled with proteolytic maturation of proSP-B, the precursor of pulmonary surfactant protein B (SP-B, along the surfactant biogenesis pathway in pneumocytes. Conformational destabilization of the N-terminal propeptide of proSP-B (SP-BN triggers exposure of the mature SP-B domain for insertion into surfactant lipids. We have studied the conformational stability during GdmCl- or urea-promoted unfolding of SP-BN with trp fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopies. Binding of the intermediate states to bis-ANS suggests their molten globule-like character. ΔG0H2O was ~ 12.7 kJ·mol-1 either with urea or GdmCl. None of the thermal transitions of SP-BN detected by CD correspond to protein unfolding. Differential scanning calorimetry of SP-BN evidenced two endothermic peaks involved in oligomer dissociation as confirmed with 2 M urea. Ionic strength was relevant since at 150 mM NaCl, the process originating the endotherm at the highest temperature was irreversible (Tm2 = 108.5°C with an activation energy of 703.8 kJ·mol-1. At 500 mM NaCl the process became reversible (Tm2 = 114.4°C and data were fitted to the Non-two States model with two subpeaks. No free thiols in the propeptide could be titrated by DTNB with or without 5.7 M GdmCl, indicating disulfide bonds establishment.

  13. Toward The Reconstitution of the Maturation of Okazaki Fragments Multiprotein Complex in Human At The Single Molecule Level

    KAUST Repository

    Joudeh, Luay

    2017-04-01

    The maturation of Okazaki fragments on the lagging strand in eukaryotes is mediated by a highly coordinated multistep process involving several proteins that ensure the accurate and efficient replication of genomic DNA. Human proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) that slides on double-stranded DNA is the key player that coordinates the access of various proteins to the different intermediary steps in this process. In this study, I am focusing on characterizing how PCNA recruits and stimulates the structure specific flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) to process the aberrant double flap (DF) structures that are produced during maturation of Okazaki fragments. FEN1 distorts the DF structures into a bent conformer to place the scissile phosphate into the active site for cleavage. The product is a nick substrate that can be sealed by DNA ligase I whose recruitment is also mediated by its interaction with PCNA. Using single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) measurements that simultaneously monitored bending and cleavage of various DF substrates by FEN1 alone or in the presence of PCNA, we found that FEN1 and PCNA bends cognate and non-cognate substrates but display remarkable selectivity to stabilize the bent conformer in cognate substrate while promoting the dissociation of non-cognate substrates. This mechanism provides efficiency and accuracy for FEN1 and PCNA to cleave the correct substrate while avoiding the deleterious cleavage of incorrect substrates. This work provides a true molecular level understanding of the key step during the maturation of Okazaki fragment and contributes towards the reconstitution of its entire activity at the single molecule level.

  14. A novel low-temperature-active β-glucosidase from symbiotic Serratia sp. TN49 reveals four essential positions for substrate accommodation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Junpei; Zhang, Rui; Shi, Pengjun; Huang, Huoqing; Meng, Kun; Yuan, Tiezheng; Yang, Peilong; Yao, Bin

    2011-10-01

    A 2,373-bp full-length gene (bglA49) encoding a 790-residue polypeptide (BglA49) with a calculated mass of 87.8 kDa was cloned from Serratia sp. TN49, a symbiotic bacterium isolated from the gut of longhorned beetle (Batocera horsfieldi) larvae. The deduced amino acid sequence of BglA49 showed the highest identities of 80.1% with a conceptually translated protein from Pantoea sp. At-9b (EEW02556), 38.3% with the identified glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 3 β-glucosidase from Clostridium stercorarium NCBI 11754 (CAB08072), and sp. G5 (ABL09836) and Paenibacillus sp. C7 (AAX35883). The recombinant enzyme (r-BglA49) was expressed in Escherichia coli and displayed the typical characteristics of low-temperature-active enzymes, such as low temperature optimum (showing apparent optimal activity at 35°C), activity at low temperatures (retaining approximately 60% of its maximum activity at 20°C and approximately 25% at 10°C). Compared with the thermophilic GH 3 β-glucosidase, r-BglA49 had fewer hydrogen bonds and salt bridges and less proline residues. These features might relate to the increased structure flexibility and higher catalytic activity at low temperatures of r-BglA49. The molecular docking study of four GH 3 β-glucosidases revealed five conserved positions contributing to substrate accommodation, among which four positions of r-BglA49 (R192, Y228, D260, and E449) were identified to be essential based on site-directed mutagenesis analysis.

  15. FTIR spectroscopic study of biofilms formed by the rhizobacterium Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 and its mutant Azospirillum brasilense Sp245.1610

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tugarova, Anna V.; Scheludko, Andrei V.; Dyatlova, Yulia A.; Filip'echeva, Yulia A.; Kamnev, Alexander A.

    2017-07-01

    Biofilms are spatially and metabolically structured communities of microorganisms, representing a mode of their existence which is ubiquitous in nature, with cells localised within an extracellular biopolymeric matrix, attached to each other, at an interface. For plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), the formation of biofilms is of special importance due to their primary localisation at the surface of plant root systems. In this work, FTIR spectroscopy was used, for the first time for bacteria of the genus Azospirillum, to comparatively study 6-day-mature biofilms formed on the surface of ZnSe discs by the rhizobacterium Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 and its mutant A. brasilense Sp245.1610. The mutant strain, having an Omegon Km insertion in the gene of lipid metabolism fabG1 on the plasmid AZOBR_p1, as compared to the wild-type strain Sp245 (see http://dx.doi.org/10.1134/S1022795413110112)

  16. Eimeria peltocephali n. sp., (Apicomplexa:Eimeriidae from the Freshwater Turtle Peltocephalus dumerilianus (Chelonia:Pelomusidae and Eimeria molossi n. sp., from the Bat, Molossus ater (Mammalia:Chiroptera

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lainson R

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available The oocyst is described of Eimeria peltocephali n.sp. from faeces of the freshwater turtle Peltocephalus dumerilianus from Barcelos, State of Amazonas, Brazil. Sporulation is exogenous and fully developed oocysts are elongate, ellipsoidal or cylindrical, frequently curved to a banana-shape, 54.4 x19.1 (37.5 - 68.7 x 18.7-20.0 µm, shape-index 2.8 (1.8 -3.9. The oocyst wall is a single thin, colourless layer about 1 µm thick, with no micropyle. There is a bulky oocyst residuum, at first spherical to ellipsoidal, 19 x 16 (16. 2 -26.2 x 16 - 21.5µm , but becoming dispersed on maturation. There are no polar bodies. The sporocysts, 19.1 x 6.8 ( 17.5 -21.2 x 6.2 -7.5 µm, shape- index 2.8 (2.3 -3.2, are usually disposed in pairs at each end of the oocyst, and bear an inconspicuous Stieda body in the form of a flat cap. The sporozoites are elongate and slightly curved around the residuum. No refractile bodies were seen. Eimeria molossi n.sp., is described from the molossid bat Molossus ater. Sporulation is exogenous and the mature oocysts are predominantly broadly ellipsoidal, 23.4 x 17.5 (18-30 x 15-22.5 µm, shape-index 1.3 (1-1.6. The oocyst wall is about 2 µm thick, and of three layers: an inner thin, colourless one and two outer layers which are thicker, yellowish-brown, prominently striated and in close apposition. There is no micropyle or oocyst residuum, but one and occasionally two polar bodies are usually present. Sporocysts are ellipsoidal, 10.2 x 7.5 (10-12.5 x 7.5 µm, shape-index 1.4 (1.3-1.7 with an inconspicuous Stieda body. Endogenous stages are described in the epithelial cells of the small intestine

  17. Real-time multi-GNSS single-frequency precise point positioning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Bakker, P.F.; Tiberius, C.C.J.M.

    2017-01-01

    Precise Point Positioning (PPP) is a popular Global Positioning System (GPS) processing strategy, thanks to its high precision without requiring additional GPS infrastructure. Single-Frequency PPP (SF-PPP) takes this one step further by no longer relying on expensive dual-frequency GPS receivers,

  18. Post hoc interlaboratory comparison of single particle ICP-MS size measurements of NIST gold nanoparticle reference materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montoro Bustos, Antonio R; Petersen, Elijah J; Possolo, Antonio; Winchester, Michael R

    2015-09-01

    Single particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) is an emerging technique that enables simultaneous measurement of nanoparticle size and number quantification of metal-containing nanoparticles at realistic environmental exposure concentrations. Such measurements are needed to understand the potential environmental and human health risks of nanoparticles. Before spICP-MS can be considered a mature methodology, additional work is needed to standardize this technique including an assessment of the reliability and variability of size distribution measurements and the transferability of the technique among laboratories. This paper presents the first post hoc interlaboratory comparison study of the spICP-MS technique. Measurement results provided by six expert laboratories for two National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) gold nanoparticle reference materials (RM 8012 and RM 8013) were employed. The general agreement in particle size between spICP-MS measurements and measurements by six reference techniques demonstrates the reliability of spICP-MS and validates its sizing capability. However, the precision of the spICP-MS measurement was better for the larger 60 nm gold nanoparticles and evaluation of spICP-MS precision indicates substantial variability among laboratories, with lower variability between operators within laboratories. Global particle number concentration and Au mass concentration recovery were quantitative for RM 8013 but significantly lower and with a greater variability for RM 8012. Statistical analysis did not suggest an optimal dwell time, because this parameter did not significantly affect either the measured mean particle size or the ability to count nanoparticles. Finally, the spICP-MS data were often best fit with several single non-Gaussian distributions or mixtures of Gaussian distributions, rather than the more frequently used normal or log-normal distributions.

  19. Effect injection of Ginger Extract on Development and Nucleus position of “Sangkuriang” Catfish Clarias sp. eggs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Zairin Junior

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available One of methods could be applied to continuously meet the need of fish fry including catfish (Clarias sp. is artificial propagation by inducing ovulation and spawning.   As an alternative of existing method, in this study, ginger extract was intramuscularly injected to induce development of catfish eggs.  Ginger is known as an important regulator of the balance of arachidonat cycle.  The dose of ginger extract injected was 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mL/kg broodstock.  The results of study showed that injection 100% of ginger extracts in all doses was insignificantly inducing development of egg diameter and its nucleus position of catfish.  Other chemicals exist in ginger extract might be functions as an obstacle for egg development of catfish. Keywords: catfish, Clarias sp., ginger, ovulation, egg   ABSTRAK Salah satu cara untuk memenuhi kebutuhan benih ikan termasuk lele (Clarias sp. secara kontinyu adalah penggunaan teknologi pembiakan buatan melalui perangsangan ovulasi dan pemijahan. Sebagai alternatif teknik yang sudah ada, dicobakan perangsangan perkembangan telur ikan lele menggunakan bahan ekstrak jahe yang dilakukan melalui penyuntikan secara intramuskular. Jahe telah dikenal sebagai suatu pengatur penting atas keseimbangan siklus arakidonat. Dosis ekstrak jahe yang disuntikkan adalah 0, 0,5, 1 dan 1,5 mL/kg induk. Penyuntikan 100% ekstrak jahe pada semua dosis perlakuan belum dapat merangsang perkembangan diameter dan posisi inti sel telur ikan lele sangkuriang. Adanya bahan lain yang terdapat pada jahe diduga sebagai penghambat bagi perkembangan telur ikan lele. Kata kunci: Ikan lele, Clarias sp., jahe, ovulasi,  sel telur

  20. Mode division multiplexing technology for single-fiber optical trapping axial-position adjustment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhihai; Wang, Lei; Liang, Peibo; Zhang, Yu; Yang, Jun; Yuan, Libo

    2013-07-15

    We demonstrate trapped yeast cell axial-position adjustment without moving the optical fiber in a single-fiber optical trapping system. The dynamic axial-position adjustment is realized by controlling the power ratio of the fundamental mode beam (LP01) and the low-order mode beam (LP11) generated in a normal single-core fiber. In order to separate the trapping positions produced by the two mode beams, we fabricate a special fiber tapered tip with a selective two-step method. A yeast cell of 6 μm diameter is moved along the optical axis direction for a distance of ~3 μm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the trapping position adjustment without moving the fiber for single-fiber optical tweezers. The excitation and utilization of multimode beams in a single fiber constitutes a new development for single-fiber optical trapping and makes possible more practical applications in biomedical research fields.

  1. Adult population dynamics of the bolivian fruit flies Anastrepha sp. (Diptera: Tephritidae at Municipality Coroico, Department of The La Paz, Bolivia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzáles Manuel

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The investigation was carried out in Paco (1603 msnm communities, it Marca (1511 msnm and Capellania (1720 msnm, of the Municipality of Coroico, department of La Paz, Bolivia. In orchards frutícolas semicomerciales, they settled 15 traps distributed McPhail in a similar way among areas, five for community, sampling" "points. The censuses were carried out with an interval of 15 days, they were identified and they quantified the mature flies of the fruit. For the captures of the individuals, they settled the traps McPhail, using the attractive (Buminal one and as conserving borax. The traps were distributed in representative parcels, having as main cultivations, orange, mandarin, grapefruit, guava and avocado. The identification taxonómica of the captured species was carried out in the laboratory of the National Program of Control of Flies of the fruit (PROMOSCA, clerk of the National Service of Agricultural Sanity and Alimentary (SENASAG Inocuidad. 1210 mature flies of the fruit were captures, those that grouped for species, sex, capture dates and community, corresponding to the seven carried out censuses. The species of Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedeman were identified, Anastrepha striata Schiner, Anastrepha serpentine (Wiedeman, Anastrepha sp, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, Blepharoneura sp Loew, Hexaresta sp Hering, Hexachaeta sp Loew, Tomoplagia sp Coquillett, Tetreuaresta sp Hendel, being that of more presence Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedeman with 818 and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, with 354. The temperature and presence of spices put up frutícolas of flies of the fruit in maturation state explain the observed fluctuations.

  2. SP Transcription Factor Paralogs and DNA-Binding Sites Coevolve and Adaptively Converge in Mammals and Birds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yokoyama, Ken Daigoro; Pollock, David D.

    2012-01-01

    Functional modification of regulatory proteins can affect hundreds of genes throughout the genome, and is therefore thought to be almost universally deleterious. This belief, however, has recently been challenged. A potential example comes from transcription factor SP1, for which statistical evidence indicates that motif preferences were altered in eutherian mammals. Here, we set out to discover possible structural and theoretical explanations, evaluate the role of selection in SP1 evolution, and discover effects on coregulatory proteins. We show that SP1 motif preferences were convergently altered in birds as well as mammals, inducing coevolutionary changes in over 800 regulatory regions. Structural and phylogenic evidence implicates a single causative amino acid replacement at the same SP1 position along both lineages. Furthermore, paralogs SP3 and SP4, which coregulate SP1 target genes through competitive binding to the same sites, have accumulated convergent replacements at the homologous position multiple times during eutherian and bird evolution, presumably to preserve competitive binding. To determine plausibility, we developed and implemented a simple model of transcription factor and binding site coevolution. This model predicts that, in contrast to prevailing beliefs, even small selective benefits per locus can drive concurrent fixation of transcription factor and binding site mutants under a broad range of conditions. Novel binding sites tend to arise de novo, rather than by mutation from ancestral sites, a prediction substantiated by SP1-binding site alignments. Thus, multiple lines of evidence indicate that selection has driven convergent evolution of transcription factors along with their binding sites and coregulatory proteins. PMID:23019068

  3. Hyperimmune bovine colostrum treatment of moribund Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) infected with Cryptosporidium sp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graczyk, T K; Cranfield, M R; Bostwick, E F

    1999-01-01

    Therapy based on the protective passive immunity of hyperimmune bovine colostrum (HBC) was applied to 12 moribund Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) infected with Cryptosporidium sp. The geckos were lethargic and moderately to severely emaciated, weighing on average 36% of the baseline body weight value. Seven gastric HBC treatments at 1-week intervals each decreased the relative output of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts and the prevalence of oocyst-positive fecal specimens. Histologically, after 8 weeks of therapy, seven out of 12 geckos had only single developmental stages of Cryptosporidium sp. in the intestinal epithelium, and three, one and one geckos had low, moderate and high numbers, respectively, of the pathogen developmental stages. The HBC therapy was efficacious in decreasing the parasite load in moribund geckos. Morphometric and immunologic analysis of Cryptosporidium sp. oocyst isolates originating from Leopard geckos (E. macularius) demonstrated differences between gecko-derived oocyst isolates and isolates of C. serpentis recovered from snakes.

  4. Radiation induced early maturing mutants in barley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, R.; Chauhan, S.V.S.; Sharma, R.P.

    1978-01-01

    In M 2 generation, two early maturing plants were screened from a single spike progeny of a plant obtained from 20 kR of gamma-ray irradiation of a six-rowed barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. Jyoti). Their true breeding nature was confirmed in M 3 generation. These mutants flower and mature 38 and 22 days earlier than those of control. (auth.)

  5. Optimization of single plate-serial dilution spotting (SP-SDS) with sample anchoring as an assured method for bacterial and yeast cfu enumeration and single colony isolation from diverse samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Pious; Sekhar, Aparna C; Upreti, Reshmi; Mujawar, Mohammad M; Pasha, Sadiq S

    2015-12-01

    We propose a simple technique for bacterial and yeast cfu estimations from diverse samples with no prior idea of viable counts, designated as single plate-serial dilution spotting (SP-SDS) with the prime recommendation of sample anchoring (10 0 stocks). For pure cultures, serial dilutions were prepared from 0.1 OD (10 0 ) stock and 20 μl aliquots of six dilutions (10 1 -10 6 ) were applied as 10-15 micro-drops in six sectors over agar-gelled medium in 9-cm plates. For liquid samples 10 0 -10 5 dilutions, and for colloidal suspensions and solid samples (10% w/v), 10 1 -10 6 dilutions were used. Following incubation, at least one dilution level yielded 6-60 cfu per sector comparable to the standard method involving 100 μl samples. Tested on diverse bacteria, composite samples and Saccharomyces cerevisiae , SP-SDS offered wider applicability over alternative methods like drop-plating and track-dilution for cfu estimation, single colony isolation and culture purity testing, particularly suiting low resource settings.

  6. Cdk5 regulates accurate maturation of newborn granule cells in the adult hippocampus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Jessberger

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Newborn granule cells become functionally integrated into the synaptic circuitry of the adult dentate gyrus after a morphological and electrophysiological maturation process. The molecular mechanisms by which immature neurons and the neurites extending from them find their appropriate position and target area remain largely unknown. Here we show that single-cell-specific knockdown of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5 activity in newborn cells using a retrovirus-based strategy leads to aberrant growth of dendritic processes, which is associated with an altered migration pattern of newborn cells. Even though spine formation and maturation are reduced in cdk5-deficient cells, aberrant dendrites form ectopic synapses onto hilar neurons. These observations identify cdk5 to be critically involved in the maturation and dendrite extension of newborn neurons in the course of adult neurogenesis. The data presented here also suggest a mechanistic dissociation between accurate dendritic targeting and subsequent synapse formation.

  7. Transcription of the extended hyp-operon in Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lindblad Peter

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The maturation of hydrogenases into active enzymes is a complex process and e.g. a correctly assembled active site requires the involvement of at least seven proteins, encoded by hypABCDEF and a hydrogenase specific protease, encoded either by hupW or hoxW. The N2-fixing cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120 may contain both an uptake and a bidirectional hydrogenase. The present study addresses the presence and expression of hyp-genes in Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120. Results RT-PCRs demonstrated that the six hyp-genes together with one ORF may be transcribed as a single operon. Transcriptional start points (TSPs were identified 280 bp upstream from hypF and 445 bp upstream of hypC, respectively, demonstrating the existence of several transcripts. In addition, five upstream ORFs located in between hupSL, encoding the small and large subunits of the uptake hydrogenase, and the hyp-operon, and two downstream ORFs from the hyp-genes were shown to be part of the same transcript unit. A third TSP was identified 45 bp upstream of asr0689, the first of five ORFs in this operon. The ORFs are annotated as encoding unknown proteins, with the exception of alr0692 which is identified as a NifU-like protein. Orthologues of the four ORFs asr0689-alr0692, with a highly conserved genomic arrangement positioned between hupSL, and the hyp genes are found in several other N2-fixing cyanobacteria, but are absent in non N2-fixing cyanobacteria with only the bidirectional hydrogenase. Short conserved sequences were found in six intergenic regions of the extended hyp-operon, appearing between 11 and 79 times in the genome. Conclusion This study demonstrated that five ORFs upstream of the hyp-gene cluster are co-transcribed with the hyp-genes, and identified three TSPs in the extended hyp-gene cluster in Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120. This may indicate a function related to the assembly of a functional uptake hydrogenase, hypothetically in the

  8. Cloning and characterisation of the SpToll gene from green mud crab, Scylla paramamosain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Zhongyang; Qiao, Jie; Zhang, Yueling; Guo, Lingling; Huang, He; Yan, Fang; Li, Yuanyou; Wang, Xiuying

    2012-05-01

    Toll/Toll-like receptors (TLRs), one of the most important pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), play a crucial role in innate immune responses in both invertebrates and vertebrates. In this study, we cloned and characterised a Toll gene from Scylla paramamosain (SpToll). Bioinformatic analysis predicted that SpToll contained one open reading frame of 3018bp and encoded a single-pass transmembrane domain protein of 1005 amino acids. Further, SpToll could be clustered into one branch along with other arthropod Tolls in a phylogenetic tree. SpToll transcripts could be detected by RT-PCR from all tissues examined including the heart, gill, hepatopancreas, stomach, intestine, muscle, eyestalk and hemocytes. Infection by Vibrio parahemolyticus up-regulated SpToll mRNA expression in hemocytes after 48h. The profile of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) domain of SpToll in three healthy crabs was then evaluated. Two hundred and twenty SNPs with a frequency of about 1.0-4.0% were identified in hemocyte DNA/cDNA. Surprisingly, the adenine to guanine transition at position 1372 (c.1372A>G) had a frequency of about 50%. Finally, the results showed that challenge with V. parahemolyticus stimulated the appearance of two sets of SNPs in crabs. More importantly, the c.1372A>G mutation could contribute to a low mortality after V. parahemolyticus infection and introduce variation of charge and secondary structure into the SpToll polypeptide. In summary, these studies suggested a novel Toll homologue in crab and identified a SNP with potential pathogen-resistant activities. The result will be important for the investigation of crab immune defense mechanisms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Draft genome sequences of six neonatal meningitis-causing escherichia coli isolates (SP-4, SP-5, SP-13, SP-16, SP-46, and SP-65)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neonatal meningitis Escherichia coli isolates (SP-4, SP-5, SP-13, SP-16, SP-46, and SP-65) were recovered from infants in the Netherlands from 1989 to 1997. Here, we report the draft genome sequences for these six E. coli isolates, which are currently being used to validate food safety processing te...

  10. Nanoscale transformation of sp2 to sp3 of graphite by slow highly charged ion irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meguro, T.; Hida, A.; Koguchi, Y.; Miyamoto, S.; Yamamoto, Y.; Takai, H.; Maeda, K.; Aoyagi, Y.

    2003-01-01

    Nanoscale transformation of electronic states by highly charged ion (HCI) impact on graphite surfaces is described. The high potential energy of slow HCI, which induces multiple emission of electrons from the surface, provides a strong modification of the electronic states of the local area upon graphite surfaces. The HCI impact and the subsequent surface treatment either by electron injection from a scanning tunneling microscopy tip or by He-Cd laser irradiation induce a localized transition from sp 2 to sp 3 hybridization in graphite, resulting in the formation of nanoscale diamond-like structures (nanodiamond) at the impact region. From Raman spectroscopic measurements on sp 2 related peaks, it is found that the HCI irradiation creates vacancy complexes in contrast to ions having a lower charge state, which generate single vacancies. It is of interest that a single impact of HCI creates one nanodiamond structure, suggesting potential applications of HCI in nanoscale material processing

  11. Biodegradation of benzalkonium chlorides singly and in mixtures by a Pseudomonas sp. isolated from returned activated sludge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, Adnan Hossain; Topp, Edward; Scott, Andrew; Sumarah, Mark; Macfie, Sheila M.; Ray, Madhumita B.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Pseudomonas sp. degraded two benzalkonium chlorides: BDDA and BDTA. • Although BDTA biodegraded at low concentration, it inhibited the degradation of BDDA. • For BDDA, two transformation products indicate two sites of bacterial activity. • "1"4C-labelled BDDA was mineralized to "1"4CO_2 within 300 h. - Abstract: Bactericidal cationic surfactants such as quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are widely detected in the environment, and found at mg kg"−"1 concentrations in biosolids. Although individual QACs are amenable to biodegradation, it is possible that persistence is increased for mixtures of QACs with varying structure. The present study evaluated the biodegradation of benzyl dimethyl dodecyl ammonium chloride (BDDA) singly and in the presence of benzyl dimethyl tetradecyl ammonium chloride (BDTA) using Pseudomonas sp., isolated from returned activated sludge. Growth was evaluated, as was biodegradation using "1"4C and HPLC-MS methods. BDTA was more toxic to growth of Pseudomonas sp. compared to BDDA, and BDTA inhibited BDDA biodegradation. The benzyl ring of [U-"1"4C-benzyl] BDDA was readily and completely mineralized. The detection of the transformation products benzyl methyl amine and dodecyl dimethyl amine in spent culture liquid was consistent with literature. Overall, this study demonstrates the antagonistic effect of interactions on biodegradation of two widely used QACs suggesting further investigation on the degradation of mixture of QACs in wastewater effluents and biosolids.

  12. Detection of Salmonella sp., Vibrio sp. and total plate count bacteria on blood cockle (Anadara granosa)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekawati, ER; Yusmiati, S. N. H.

    2018-01-01

    Blood cockle (Anadara granosa) has high level of zinc and protein, which is beneficial for therapeutic function for malnourished particularly stunting case in children. Zinc in animal foods is more absorbable than that from vegetable food. Blood cockle (Anadara granosa) is rich in nutrient and an excellent environment for the growth of microorganisms. This research aimed to identify the contamination of Salmonella sp., Vibrio sp. and total plate count bacteria on blood cockle (Anadara granosa). This was observation research with laboratory analysis. Salmonella sp. and Vibrio sp. were detected from blood cockle. Total plate count was determine of the total amount of the bacteria. Results detected from 20 samples of blood cockle showed that all samples were negative of Salmonella sp. and 1 sample positive Vibrio sp. The result of total plate count bacteria was < 5 x 105 colony/g sample.

  13. The effectiveness of Penicillium sp. mixed with silica nanoparticles in controlling Myzus persicae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hersanti, Hidayat, Syarif; Susanto, Agus; Virgiawan, Regi; Joni, I. Made

    2018-02-01

    Myzus persicae is one of the major potato plant pests, and also a vector of potato viruses. This pest may cause low quality as well as quantity of potato production. Entomopathogenic fungi can be used to control M. persicae. Penicillium sp. and has been reported as pathogenic to many insect pests. However, it was not that effective in controlling M. persicae. To increase its effectiveness, it can be mixed with plant micro nutrients such as silica, which also protects plants from biotic stress. This experiment was aimed to study the effect of applications of the mixture of Penicillium sp.+ nanosilica in various concentrations on the mortality of M. persicae. There were 8 treatments i.e., applications of single Penicillium sp, single nanosilica 1, 3, and 5 %, and the mixture of Penicillium sp.+ nanosilica 1, 3, and 5 %, and a control (without Penicillium sp.and nanosilica). Each cabbage plant grown in the greenhouse was infested with 20 Penicillium sp. instar II-III, and sprayed according to the treatments. Mortality of M. persicae was assessed after five days of application. The results showed that application of the mixture of Penicillium sp.106spora/ml+nanosilica 5%, and single nanosilica 5% increased the mortality of M. persicae. The mortalities were 37.5%, and 32.5% respectively, compared with 12.5% mortality on the treatment of single Penicillium sp.

  14. Single-baseline RTK GNSS Positioning for Hydrographic Surveying

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metin Alkan, Reha; Murat Ozulu, I.; Ilçi, Veli; Kahveci, Muzaffer

    2015-04-01

    Positioning with GNSS technique can be carried out in two ways, absolute and relative. It has been possible to reach a few meters absolute point positioning accuracies in real time after disabling SA permanently in May 2000. Today, accuracies obtainable from absolute point positioning using code observations are not sufficient for most surveying applications. Thus to meet higher accuracy requirements, differential methods using single or dual frequency geodetic-grade GNSS receivers that measure carrier phase have to be used. However, this method requires time-cost field and office works and if the measurement is not carried out with conventional RTK method, user needs a GNSS data processing software to estimate the coordinates. If RTK is used, at least two or more GNSS receivers are required, one as a reference and the other as a rover. Moreover, the distance between the receivers must not exceed 15-20 km in order to be able to rapidly and reliably resolve the carrier phase ambiguities. On the other hand, based on the innovations and improvements in satellite geodesy and GNSS modernization studies occurred within the last decade, many new positioning methods and new approaches have been developed. One of them is Network-RTK (or commonly known as CORS) and the other is Single-baseline RTK. These methods are widely used for many surveying applications in many countries. The user of the system can obtain his/her position within a few cm level of accuracy in real-time with only a single GNSS receiver that has Network RTK (CORS) capability. When compared with the conventional differential and RTK methods, this technique has several significant advantages as it is easy to use and it produces accurate, cost-effective and rapid solutions. In Turkey, establishment of a multi-base RTK network was completed and opened for civilian use in 2009. This network is called CORS-TR and consists of 146 reference stations having about 80-100 km interstation distances. It is possible

  15. Use of the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) as a pre-filter for ice nucleation measurements: effect of particle mixing state and determination of SP2 conditions to fully vaporize refractory black carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schill, Gregory P.; DeMott, Paul J.; Levin, Ezra J. T.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.

    2018-05-01

    Ice nucleation is a fundamental atmospheric process that impacts precipitation, cloud lifetimes, and climate. Challenges remain to identify and quantify the compositions and sources of ice-nucleating particles (INPs). Assessment of the role of black carbon (BC) as an INP is particularly important due to its anthropogenic sources and abundance at upper-tropospheric cloud levels. The role of BC as an INP, however, is unclear. This is, in part, driven by a lack of techniques that directly determine the contribution of refractory BC (rBC) to INP concentrations. One previously developed technique to measure this contribution uses the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) as a pre-filter to an online ice-nucleating particle counter. In this technique, rBC particles are selectively heated to their vaporization temperature in the SP2 cavity by a 1064 nm laser. From previous work, however, it is unclear under what SP2 conditions, if any, the original rBC particles were fully vaporized. Furthermore, previous work also left questions about the effect of the SP2 laser on the ice-nucleating properties of several INP proxies and their mixtures with rBC.To answer these questions, we sampled the exhaust of an SP2 with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer and a Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber. Using Aquadag® as an rBC proxy, the effect of several SP2 instrument parameters on the size distribution and physical properties of particles in rBC SP2 exhaust were explored. We found that a high SP2 laser power (930 nW/(220 nm PSL)) is required to fully vaporize a ˜ 0.76 fg rBC particle. We also found that the exhaust particle size distribution is minimally affected by the SP2 sheath-to-sample ratio; the size of the original rBC particle, however, greatly influences the size distribution of the SP2 exhaust. The effect of the SP2 laser on the ice nucleation efficiency of Snomax®, NX-illite, and Suwannee River Fulvic Acid was studied; these particles acted as proxies for biological, illite

  16. Rhodotorula rosulata sp. nov., Rhodotorula silvestris sp. nov. and Rhodotorula straminea sp. nov., novel myo-inositol-assimilating yeast species in the Microbotryomycetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golubev, Wladyslav I; Scorzetti, Gloria

    2010-10-01

    Three novel species are described as Rhodotorula rosulata sp. nov. (type strain VKM Y-2962(T) =CBS 10977(T)), Rhodotorula silvestris sp. nov. (type strain VKM Y-2971(T) =CBS 11420(T)) and Rhodotorula straminea sp. nov. (type strain VKM Y-2964(T) =CBS 10976(T)) based on the study of eight isolates from needle litter. The new species, phylogenetically located within the Microbotryomycetes, are related to glucuronate-assimilating species of the genus Rhodotorula. Sequencing of the D1/D2 domains of the LSU rDNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, as well as physiological characterization, revealed their distinct taxonomic positions.

  17. Pricing constant maturity credit default swaps under jumo dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jönsson, H.; Schoutens, W.

    2009-01-01

    In this paper we discuss the pricing of Constant Maturity Credit Default Swaps (CMCDS) under single sided jump models. The CMCDS offers default protection in exchange for a floating premium which is periodically reset and indexed to the market spread on a CDS with constant maturity tenor written on

  18. Maturity status influences the relative age effect in national top level youth alpine ski racing and soccer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Lisa; Gonaus, Christoph; Perner, Christoph; Müller, Erich; Raschner, Christian

    2017-01-01

    Since the relative age effect (RAE) characterizes a problem in all age categories of alpine ski racing and soccer and the fact that, yet, to date the underlying factors have not been well investigated, the aim of the present study was to assess the influence of the biological maturity status on the RAE among youth alpine ski racers (YSR) and soccer players (SP). In total, 183 male and female YSR selected for national final races and 423 male SP selected for Elite Youth Development Centres were investigated. Additionally, a comparison group of 413 non-athletes was evaluated. The birth months were split into four relative age quarters. The biological maturity status was assessed by the age at peak height velocity (APHV) method; according to the M±SD of the comparison group, the athletes were divided into normal, early and late maturing. Chi2-tests indicated a significant RAE among YSR (χ2(3,N = 183) = 18.0; psports are effectively based on early biological development and relatively older age, both of which should be considered in future in the talent selection process. In this context, the easy feasible method of assessing the APHV can be used. PMID:28759890

  19. Assessing organisational governance maturity: A retail industry case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hendrik Marius Wessels

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available For any business to operate effectively, a governance framework that operates at the relevant maturity level is required. An organisational governance maturity framework is a tool that leadership can use to determine governance maturity. This study aims to determine whether the organisational governance maturity framework (developed by Wilkinson can be applied to the selected retail industry organisation to assess the maturity of the organisation’s governance, limited to the ‘leadership’ attribute. Firstly, a high-level literature review on ethical leadership, ethical decision-making, ethical foundation and culture (‘tone at the top’, and organisational governance and maturity was conducted. Secondly, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE listed South African-based company was selected for the empirical part of the study using a single case study research design. The empirical results confirmed that the organisational governance maturity framework can be used to determine the maturity level of organisational governance for the selected attribute of ‘leadership’

  20. Surfactant protein D (SP-D) deficiency is attenuated in humanised mice expressing the Met(11)Thr short nucleotide polymorphism of SP-D

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Lars; Ochs, Katharina; Boxler, Laura

    2013-01-01

    Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is part of the innate immune system involved in lung homeostasis. SP-D knockout mice show accumulations of foamy alveolar macrophages, alveolar lipoproteinosis and pulmonary emphysema. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been described in the coding...

  1. Surgeon-Performed Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology (SP-US-FNAC) Shortens Time for Diagnosis of Thyroid Nodules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Wei Xiang; Tan, Chuen Seng; Ho, Thomas W T

    2014-06-01

    Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (US-FNAC) of thyroid nodules is an important diagnostic procedure. In most hospitals, patients are referred to radiologists for US-FNAC, but this often results in a long waiting time before results are available. Surgeon-performed US-FNAC (SP-US-FNAC) during the initial patient consultation attempts to reduce the waiting time but it is not known whether this is as accurate as radiologist-performed US-FNAC (RP-US-FNAC). The aim of this study is to compare the clinical efficiency between SP-US-FNAC and RP-US-FNAC. A retrospective study was performed on patients from the Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) who underwent an US-FNAC from August 2011 to May 2012. All cases of SP-US-FNAC were performed by a single surgeon. This study compared the rates of positive diagnoses achieved by SP-US-FNAC and RPUS- FNAC as well as the time interval to reach a cytological diagnosis by each group. A total of 40 cases of SP-US-FNAC and 72 cases of RP-US-FNAC were included in the study. SP-US-FNAC resulted in 28 (70%) positive diagnoses and 12 (30%) nondiagnoses while RP-US-FNAC resulted in 47 (65.3%) positive diagnoses and 25 (34.7%) non-diagnoses. These results were comparable (P=0.678). The median time taken to reach a cytological diagnosis was 1 working day for SP-US-FNAC and 29.5 working days for RP-US-FNAC resulting in a shorter interval to reaching a cytological diagnosis for SP-US-FNAC (P<0.001). In the workup of thyroid nodules, SP-US-FNAC is as accurate as RP-US-FNAC but significantly reduces the time taken to reach a cytological diagnosis. This leads to greater clinical efficiency in the management of patients with thyroid nodules, which in turn leads to other benefits such as decreased patient anxiety and increased patient satisfaction.

  2. Biodegradation of benzalkonium chlorides singly and in mixtures by a Pseudomonas sp. isolated from returned activated sludge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khan, Adnan Hossain, E-mail: akhan462@uwo.ca [Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9 (Canada); Topp, Edward, E-mail: Ed.Topp@AGR.GC.CA [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, ON N5V 4T3 (Canada); Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7 (Canada); Scott, Andrew, E-mail: Andrew.Scott@AGR.GC.CA [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, ON N5V 4T3 (Canada); Sumarah, Mark, E-mail: Mark.Sumarah@agr.gc.ca [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, ON N5V 4T3 (Canada); Macfie, Sheila M., E-mail: smacfie@uwo.ca [Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7 (Canada); Ray, Madhumita B., E-mail: mbhowmic@uwo.ca [Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9 (Canada)

    2015-12-15

    Highlights: • Pseudomonas sp. degraded two benzalkonium chlorides: BDDA and BDTA. • Although BDTA biodegraded at low concentration, it inhibited the degradation of BDDA. • For BDDA, two transformation products indicate two sites of bacterial activity. • {sup 14}C-labelled BDDA was mineralized to {sup 14}CO{sub 2} within 300 h. - Abstract: Bactericidal cationic surfactants such as quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are widely detected in the environment, and found at mg kg{sup −1} concentrations in biosolids. Although individual QACs are amenable to biodegradation, it is possible that persistence is increased for mixtures of QACs with varying structure. The present study evaluated the biodegradation of benzyl dimethyl dodecyl ammonium chloride (BDDA) singly and in the presence of benzyl dimethyl tetradecyl ammonium chloride (BDTA) using Pseudomonas sp., isolated from returned activated sludge. Growth was evaluated, as was biodegradation using {sup 14}C and HPLC-MS methods. BDTA was more toxic to growth of Pseudomonas sp. compared to BDDA, and BDTA inhibited BDDA biodegradation. The benzyl ring of [U-{sup 14}C-benzyl] BDDA was readily and completely mineralized. The detection of the transformation products benzyl methyl amine and dodecyl dimethyl amine in spent culture liquid was consistent with literature. Overall, this study demonstrates the antagonistic effect of interactions on biodegradation of two widely used QACs suggesting further investigation on the degradation of mixture of QACs in wastewater effluents and biosolids.

  3. Jeotgalibacillus soli sp. nov., a Gram-stain-positive bacterium isolated from soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunha, Sofia; Tiago, Igor; Paiva, Gabriel; Nobre, Fernanda; da Costa, Milton S; Veríssimo, António

    2012-03-01

    A Gram-staining-positive, motile, rod-shaped, spore-forming bacterium, designated P9(T), was isolated from soil in Portugal. This organism was aerobic and catalase- and oxidase-positive. It had an optimum growth temperature of about 35 °C and an optimum growth pH of about 8.0-8.5, and grew in medium with 0-9% (w/v) NaCl. The cell-wall peptidoglycan was of the A1α type, with L-lysine as the diagnostic diamino acid. The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7) and the major fatty acids were anteiso-C(15:0) (45.4%), iso-C(15:0) (22.0%) and anteiso-C(17:0) (11.2%). The genomic DNA G+C content was about 39.4 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain P9(T) was most closely related to Jeotgalibacillus campisalis DSM 18983(T) (96.8%) and Jeotgalibacillus marinus DSM 1297(T) (96.5%). These two recognized species formed a coherent cluster with strain P9(T) that was supported by a bootstrap value of 99%. On the basis of the phylogenetic analysis and physiological and biochemical characteristics, strain P9(T) (=DSM 23228(T)=LMG 25523(T)) represents a novel species of the genus Jeotgalibacillus, for which the name Jeotgalibacillus soli sp. nov. is proposed.

  4. Caracterização da curva de maturação de pêssegos 'Aurora-1', na região de Jaboticabal-SP Characterization of the maturation curve in 'Aurora-1' peaches in the region of Jaboticabal-SP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Carlos Cunha Junior

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar a curva de maturação de pêssegos 'Aurora-1' para a região de Jaboticabal-SP, através de avaliações físicas e químicas dos frutos. O experimento foi conduzido em pomar comercial, no município de Vista Alegre do Alto, onde foram marcados ramos de 15 plantas, com flores no estádio de "balão". Após 20 dias, iniciou-se a coleta dos frutos, com intervalos de 7 dias, até a sua maturação completa (111 dias. Através dos dados de altura e de diâmetro, verificou-se que os frutos da cultivar 'Aurora-1' seguiram o padrão de crescimento semelhante ao encontrado na literatura, que é de uma curva sigmoidal dupla, atingindo no final da maturação altura de 59,84±6,9 mm e diâmetro de 50,30±5,8 mm. Em relação ao peso dos frutos no período de 90 a 111 dias, houve incremento de 41,08 g para 58,82 g (43%. O teor de ácidos orgânicos e a firmeza diminuíram na mesma proporção em que ocorreu o aumento no conteúdo de sólidos solúveis e carboidratos solúveis durante o período de desenvolvimento. A coloração interna do fruto evoluiu, passando de amarelo-esverdeada para amarelo- intensa. A cor de fundo nas duas primeiras amostragens apresentaram valores semelhantes à cor interna, evoluindo a partir desse ponto de amarelo-esverdeada para alaranjada. Já a cor de recobrimento teve uma diferença mais pronunciada, passando de amarelo-esverdeada para vermelho-intensa, característica da cultivar. Esses resultados sinalizaram que, aos 90 e 97 dias, os frutos atingiram sua maturação fisiológica e que, aos 104 e 111 dias, encontravam-se sobremaduros.The aim of this work was to characterize the maturation stage of peaches 'Aurora-1' for the region of Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. The experiment was conduced in a commercial orchard in Vista Alegre do Alto, where branches of 15 trees were marked with flowers in "balloon" stage. After 20 days, fruits were harvested, every 7 days (or once a week until the

  5. Formulation of a minimal nutritional medium for enhanced lipid productivity in Chlorella sp. and Botryococcus sp. using response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishwakarma, Rashi; Dhar, Dolly Wattal; Pabbi, Sunil

    2018-03-01

    Chlorella sp. MCC 7 and Botryococcus sp. MCC 31 were investigated to enable large-scale biodiesel production from minimal constituents in the growth medium. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to maximise the biomass productivity and lipid yield using only nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) as urea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash. The optimum values were 0.42 g/L nitrogen; 0.14 g/L phosphorus and 0.22 g/L potassium for Chlorella sp.; and 0.46 g/L; 0.14 g/L and 0.25 g/L for Botryococcus sp. Lipid yield of 42% for Chlorella sp. and 52% in Botryococcus sp. was observed. An enhancement in lipid yield by approximately 55% for Chlorella sp. and 73% for Botryococcus sp. was registered as compared to original nutrient medium. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis of extracted lipids revealed characteristic bands for triglycerides. This study provided utilisation of a practicable nutrient recipe in the form of N, P, K input for enhanced lipid yield from the selected microalgal strains.

  6. Mac-1low early myeloid cells in the bone marrow-derived SP fraction migrate into injured skeletal muscle and participate in muscle regeneration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ojima, Koichi; Uezumi, Akiyoshi; Miyoshi, Hiroyuki; Masuda, Satoru; Morita, Yohei; Fukase, Akiko; Hattori, Akihito; Nakauchi, Hiromitsu; Miyagoe-Suzuki, Yuko; Takeda, Shin'ichi

    2004-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that bone marrow (BM) cells, including the BM side population (BM-SP) cells that enrich hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), are incorporated into skeletal muscle during regeneration, but it is not clear how and what kinds of BM cells contribute to muscle fiber regeneration. We found that a large number of SP cells migrated from BM to muscles following injury in BM-transplanted mice. These BM-derived SP cells in regenerating muscles expressed different surface markers from those of HSCs and could not reconstitute the mouse blood system. BM-derived SP/Mac-1 low cells increased in number in regenerating muscles following injury. Importantly, our co-culture studies with activated satellite cells revealed that this fraction carried significant potential for myogenic differentiation. By contrast, mature inflammatory (Mac-1 high ) cells showed negligible myogenic activities. Further, these BM-derived SP/Mac-1 low cells gave rise to mononucleate myocytes, indicating that their myogenesis was not caused by stochastic fusion with host myogenic cells, although they required cell-to-cell contact with myogenic cells for muscle differentiation. Taken together, our data suggest that neither HSCs nor mature inflammatory cells, but Mac-1 low early myeloid cells in the BM-derived SP fraction, play an important role in regenerating skeletal muscles

  7. A superhard sp3 microporous carbon with direct bandgap

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Yilong; Xie, Chenlong; Xiong, Mei; Ma, Mengdong; Liu, Lingyu; Li, Zihe; Zhang, Shuangshuang; Gao, Guoying; Zhao, Zhisheng; Tian, Yongjun; Xu, Bo; He, Julong

    2017-12-01

    Carbon allotropes with distinct sp, sp2, and sp3 hybridization possess various different properties. Here, a novel all-sp3 hybridized tetragonal carbon, namely the P carbon, was predicted by the evolutionary particle swarm structural search. It demonstrated a low density among all-sp3 carbons, due to the corresponding distinctive microporous structure. P carbon is thermodynamically stable than the known C60 and could be formed through the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) compression. P carbon is a direct bandgap semiconductor displaying a strong and superhard nature. The unique combination of electrical and mechanical properties constitutes P carbon a potential superhard material for semiconductor industrial fields.

  8. Role of FDG-PET scan in the management of pediatric mature B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. CCHE experience

    OpenAIRE

    Abdel Rahman, Hany; Sedky, Mohamed; Hamoda, Asmaa; Raafat, Tarek; Youssef, Ayda; Omar, Walid; Hassanein, Omneya; Moussa, Emad

    2016-01-01

    Aim of work: To evaluate the sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), and predictive values (PV) of PET scan during management of pediatric mature B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in comparison with conventional computed tomography (CT) scan. Patients and methods: A retrospective study enrolled on pediatric NHL patients at Children Cancer Hospital Egypt (CCHE) during the period from July 2007 to the end of June 2013. Results: For 115 pediatric patients diagnosed with mature B cell NHL, 15...

  9. Intestinal Coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae of Brazilian Lizards. Eimeria carmelinoi n.sp., from Kentropyx calcarata and Acroeimeria paraensis n.sp. from Cnemidophorus lemniscatus lemniscatus (Lacertilia: Teiidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ralph Lainson

    2002-03-01

    Full Text Available Eimeria carmelinoi n.sp., is described in the teiid lizard Kentropyx calcarata Spix, 1825 from north Brazil. Oocysts subspherical to spherical, averaging 21.25 x 20.15 µm. Oocyst wall smooth, colourless and devoid of striae or micropyle. No polar body or conspicuous oocystic residuum, but frequently a small number of fine granules in Brownian movement. Sporocysts, averaging 10.1 x 9 µm, are without a Stieda body. Endogenous stages characteristic of the genus: intra-cytoplasmic, within the epithelial cells of the ileum and above the host cell nucleus. A re-description is given of a parasite previously described as Eimeria cnemidophori, in the teiid lizard Cnemidophorus lemniscatus lemniscatus. A study of the endogenous stages in the ileum necessitates renaming this coccidian as Acroeimeria cnemidophori (Carini, 1941 nov.comb., and suggests that Acroeimeria pintoi Lainson & Paperna, 1999 in the teiid Ameiva ameiva is a synonym of A. cnemidophori. A further intestinal coccidian, Acroeimeria paraensis n.sp. is described in C. l. lemniscatus, frequently as a mixed infection with A. cnemidophori. Mature oocysts, averaging 24.4 x 21.8 µm, have a single-layered, smooth, colourless wall with no micropyle or striae. No polar body, but the frequent presence of a small number of fine granules exhibiting Brownian movements. Sporocysts 9 x 8, without a Stieda body. Endogenous stages epicytoplasmic, characteristic of the genus, in the upper ileum. The importance of a study of the endogenous stages of eimeriid coccidia is discussed.

  10. Single-visit endodontic treatment of mature teeth with chronic apical abscesses using mineral trioxide aggregate cement: a randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsulaimani, Reem Siraj

    2016-08-23

    Mature teeth with chronic apical abscesses characterized by intermittent discharge of pus through an associated sinus tract. This communication between oral mucosa and periapical inflammation is challenging for the sealing ability of root canal obturation material. Therefore, the study aim was to compare the outcomes of endodontic treatment using mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) cement to the conventional gutta-percha cone and root canal sealer as an obturation material in mature teeth with chronic apical abscesses. Mature teeth with chronic apical abscesses referred to our clinic for root canal treatment between 2010 and 2012 were treated in a single visit and distributed among treatment (T) and control (C) groups using a predetermined randomization block (TCTC). After chemo-mechanical preparation, teeth in group T received MTA cement mixed in a 0.26 water to powder ratio, and teeth group C received gutta-percha and root canal sealer using the warm vertical technique. The treatment outcomes were defined as obturation length, periapical healing, resorption of extruded material, and survival rate at least 2.5 years after treatment. Three endodontists blinded to the type of obturation material documented treatment outcomes. Statistical analysis at P chronic apical abscesses using MTA cement were better, but not statistically significant, compared to conventional treatment. ISRCTN15285974 . Registered retrospectively 23 June 2015.

  11. A Network of Local and Redundant Gene Regulation Governs Arabidopsis Seed Maturation

    Science.gov (United States)

    To, Alexandra; Valon, Christiane; Savino, Gil; Guilleminot, Jocelyne; Devic, Martine; Giraudat, Jérôme; Parcy, François

    2006-01-01

    In Arabidopsis thaliana, four major regulators (ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE3 [ABI3], FUSCA3 [FUS3], LEAFY COTYLEDON1 [LEC1], and LEC2) control most aspects of seed maturation, such as accumulation of storage compounds, cotyledon identity, acquisition of desiccation tolerance, and dormancy. The molecular basis for complex genetic interactions among these regulators is poorly understood. By analyzing ABI3 and FUS3 expression in various single, double, and triple maturation mutants, we have identified multiple regulatory links among all four genes. We found that one of the major roles of LEC2 was to upregulate FUS3 and ABI3. The lec2 mutation is responsible for a dramatic decrease in ABI3 and FUS3 expression, and most lec2 phenotypes can be rescued by ABI3 or FUS3 constitutive expression. In addition, ABI3 and FUS3 positively regulate themselves and each other, thereby forming feedback loops essential for their sustained and uniform expression in the embryo. Finally, LEC1 also positively regulates ABI3 and FUS3 in the cotyledons. Most of the genetic controls discovered were found to be local and redundant, explaining why they had previously been overlooked. This works establishes a genetic framework for seed maturation, organizing the key regulators of this process into a hierarchical network. In addition, it offers a molecular explanation for the puzzling variable features of lec2 mutant embryos. PMID:16731585

  12. Control of Branchionus sp. and Amoeba sp. in cultures of Arthrospira sp. Control de Branchionus sp. y Amoeba sp. en cultivos de Arthrospira sp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Méndez

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Cultivation of cyanobacterium Arthrospira sp. has been developed in many countries for the production of proteins, pigments and other compounds. Outdoor mass cultures are often affected by biological contamination, drastically reducing productivity as far as bringing death. This study evaluates the control of Branchionus sp. and Amoeba sp. with two chemical compounds: urea (U and ammonium bicarbonate (AB, in laboratory conditions and outdoor mass culture of Arthrospira sp. The lethal concentration 100 (LC100 at 24 h for Branchionus sp. and Amoeba sp. determined was of 60-80 mg L-1 (U and 100-150 mg L-1 (AB. The average effective inhibition concentration for 50% of the population (IC50 in Arthrospira sp., after 72 h, was 80 mg L-1 (U and 150 mg L-1 (AB. The application of doses of 60 mg L-1 (U or 100 mg L-1 (AB in the outdoor mass culture of this contaminated microalga, completely inhibited grazing and did not affect the growth of Arthrospira sp. but rather promoted rapid recovery of algal density at levels prior to infestation. These compounds provided an economical and effective control of predators in cultures of Arthrospira sp.El cultivo de la cianobacteria Arthrospira sp. ha sido desarrollado en muchos países para la obtención de proteínas, pigmentos y otros compuestos. Cultivo que a nivel industrial se ve afectado frecuentemente por contaminación biológica, reduciendo drásticamente la productividad hasta causar la muerte. Este estudio evalúa el control de Branchionus sp. y de Amoeba sp. con dos compuestos químicos, la urea (U y bicarbonato de amonio (AB en cultivos de Arthrospira sp. La concentración letal 100 (LC100 determinada a las 24 h para Branchionus sp. y Amoeba sp. fue de 60-80 mg L-1 (U y 100-150 mg L-1 (AB. La concentración media de inhibición efectiva, después de 72 h, para el 50% de la población (IC50 en Arthrospira fue de 80 mg L-1 (U y 150 mg L-1 (AB. La aplicación de dosis de 60 mg L-1 (U ó 100 mg L-1 (AB en

  13. Analisis Fosfor pada Cacing Tanah (Megascolex sp. dan Fridericia sp.) Secara Spektrofotometri Sinar Tampak

    OpenAIRE

    Safira, Cut Shafa

    2015-01-01

    Earthworm is natural resource which can be used for medication due to its highly amount of minerals. One of these minerals is phosphorus. The aim of this research are to identify, determine and know the difference content of phosphorus in Megascolex sp. and Fridericia sp. Qualitative analysis shows positive results with addition of ammonium molybdate 4% and BaCl2 5%. Quantitative analysis was done using visible spectrophotometer with ascorbic acid method, measuring blu-colored molybdenum ...

  14. ORGANIZATIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yana Derenskaya

    2017-11-01

    , and documenting best practices and potential difficulties. Practical implications. For the purposes of the present research, the level of organizational project management maturity of the enterprise in question is evaluated according to the three-level model developed by H. Кеrzner. The conclusion is made that project management maturity of this enterprise corresponds to maturity level 2. Besides, the defined maturity level is specified in more detail along the life cycle phases in order to determine more precisely the position of project management activity of the enterprise within the maturity model. Potential problems (the so-called “bottlenecks” of the enterprise in the field of project management are identified. Based on the results of the analysis, a number of recommendations are suggested for further development of the corporate system of project management at the given enterprise. The results of the research showed that in order to achieve a higher level of maturity, it is necessary to create a project team, organize a project office, and distribute project management functions among the team members, develop a procedure of involving experts with different professional backgrounds into the project implementation, improve the procedure of creating project teams, ensure the accumulation of best practices of project implementation, establish the corporate standard of project management, and improve the strategic planning for project management, project implementation control, managing changes, labour resources and communication. The suggested guidelines are expected to facilitate the achievement of a higher level of maturity. They also envisage the terms of this transition and the responsible executives. Further enhancement of maturity level is achieved by means of performing a set of activities for improving and aligning various project management sub-processes aimed at managing costs, time, quality, and risks. Another important condition of enhancing

  15. Effects of age, maturity and body dimensions on match running performance in highly trained under-15 soccer players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchheit, Martin; Mendez-Villanueva, Alberto

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to compare, in 36 highly trained under-15 soccer players, the respective effects of age, maturity and body dimensions on match running performance. Maximal sprinting (MSS) and aerobic speeds were estimated. Match running performance was analysed with GPS (GPSport, 1 Hz) during 19 international friendly games (n = 115 player-files). Total distance and distance covered >16 km h(-1) (D > 16 km h(-1)) were collected. Players advanced in age and/or maturation, or having larger body dimensions presented greater locomotor (Cohen's d for MSS: 0.5-1.0, likely to almost certain) and match running performances (D > 16 km h(-1): 0.2-0.5, possibly to likely) than their younger, less mature and/or smaller teammates. These age-, maturation- and body size-related differences were of larger magnitude for field test measures versus match running performance. Compared with age and body size (unclear to likely), maturation (likely to almost certainly for all match variables) had the greatest impact on match running performance. The magnitude of the relationships between age, maturation and body dimensions and match running performance were position-dependent. Within a single age-group in the present player sample, maturation had a substantial impact on match running performance, especially in attacking players. Coaches may need to consider players' maturity status when assessing their on-field playing performance.

  16. Bifidobacterium reuteri sp. nov., Bifidobacterium callitrichos sp. nov., Bifidobacterium saguini sp. nov., Bifidobacterium stellenboschense sp. nov. and Bifidobacterium biavatii sp. nov. isolated from faeces of common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) and red-handed tamarin (Saguinus midas).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endo, Akihito; Futagawa-Endo, Yuka; Schumann, Peter; Pukall, Rüdiger; Dicks, Leon M T

    2012-03-01

    Five strains of bifidobacteria were isolated from faeces of a common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) and a red-handed tamarin (Saguinus midas). The five isolates clustered inside the phylogenetic group of the genus Bifidobacterium but did not show high sequence similarities between the isolates and to known species in the genus by phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Sequence analyses of dnaJ1 and hsp60 also indicated their independent phylogenetic positions to each other in the Bifidobacterium cluster. DNA G+C contents of the species ranged from 57.3 to 66.3 mol%, which is within the values recorded for Bifidobacterium species. All isolates showed fructose-6-phosphate phosphoketolase activity. Based on the data provided, the five isolates represent five novel species, for which the names Bifidobacterium reuteri sp. nov. (type strain: AFB22-1(T) = JCM 17295(T) = DSM 23975(T)), Bifidobacterium callitrichos sp. nov. (type strain: AFB22-5(T) = JCM 17296(T) = DSM 23973(T)), Bifidobacterium saguini sp. nov. (type strain: AFB23-1(T) = JCM 17297(T) = DSM 23967(T)), Bifidobacterium stellenboschense sp. nov. (type strain: AFB23-3(T) = JCM 17298(T) = DSM 23968(T)) and Bifidobacterium biavatii sp. nov. (type strain: AFB23-4(T) = JCM 17299(T) = DSM 23969(T)) are proposed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  17. Neorickettsia risticii, Rickettsia sp. and Bartonella sp. in Tadarida brasiliensis bats from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cicuttin, Gabriel L; De Salvo, María N; La Rosa, Isabel; Dohmen, Federico E Gury

    2017-06-01

    Bats are potential reservoirs of many vector-borne bacterial pathogens. The aim of the present study was to detect species of Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Neorickettsia, Rickettsia, Borrelia and Bartonella in Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis, Molossidae) from Buenos Aires city, Argentina. Between 2012 and 2013, 61 T. brasiliensis from urban areas of Buenos Aires city were studied. The samples were molecularly screened by PCR and sequencing. Five bats (8.2%) were positive to Neorickettsia risticii, one (1.6%) was positive to Rickettsia sp. and three bats (4.9%) to Bartonella sp. For molecular characterization, the positive samples were subjected to amplification and sequencing of a fragment of p51 gene for N. risticii, a fragment of citrate synthase gene (gltA) for Rickettsia genus and a fragment of gltA for Bartonella genus. Phylogenetic tree was constructed using the maximum-likelihood method. Phylogenetic analysis of N. risticii detect in our study revealed that it relates to findings in the USA West Coast; Rickettsia sp. detected is phylogenetically within R. bellii group, which also includes many other Rickettsia endosymbionts of insects; and Bartonella sp. found is related to various Bartonella spp. described in Vespertilionidae bats, which are phylogenetically related to Molossidae. Our results are in accordance to previous findings, which demonstrate that insectivorous bats could be infected with vector-borne bacteria representing a potential risk to public health. Future research is necessary to clarify the circulation of these pathogens in bats from Buenos Aires. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Jealousy and Moral Maturity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathes, Eugene W.; Deuger, Donna J.

    Jealousy may be perceived as either good or bad depending upon the moral maturity of the individual. To investigate this conclusion, a study was conducted testing two hypothesis: a positive relationship exists between conventional moral reasoning (reference to norms and laws) and the endorsement and level of jealousy; and a negative relationship…

  19. Maturation of Shark Single-Domain (IgNAR) Antibodies: Evidence for Induced-Fit Binding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanfield, R.L.; Dooley, H.; Verdino, P.; Flajnik, M.F.; Wilson, I.A.; /Scripps Res. Inst. /Maryland U.

    2007-07-13

    Sharks express an unusual heavy-chain isotype called IgNAR, whose variable regions bind antigen as independent soluble domains. To further probe affinity maturation of the IgNAR response, we structurally characterized the germline and somatically matured versions of a type II variable (V) region, both in the presence and absence of its antigen, hen egg-white lysozyme. Despite a disulfide bond linking complementarity determining regions (CDRs) 1 and 3, both germline and somatically matured V regions displayed significant structural changes in these CDRs upon complex formation with antigen. Somatic mutations in the IgNAR V region serve to increase the number of contacts with antigen, as reflected by a tenfold increase in affinity, and one of these mutations appears to stabilize the CDR3 region. In addition, a residue in the HV4 loop plays an important role in antibody-antigen interaction, consistent with the high rate of somatic mutations in this non-CDR loop.

  20. In vitro differentiation and maturation of mouse embryonic stem cells into hepatocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishii, Takamichi; Yasuchika, Kentaro; Fujii, Hideaki; Hoppo, Toshitaka; Baba, Shinji; Naito, Masato; Machimoto, Takafumi; Kamo, Naoko; Suemori, Hirofumi; Nakatsuji, Norio; Ikai, Iwao

    2005-01-01

    It is difficult to induce the maturation of embryonic stem (ES) cells into hepatocytes in vitro. We previously reported that Thy1-positive mesenchymal cells derived from the mouse fetal liver promote the maturation of hepatic progenitor cells. Here, we isolated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing cells from mouse ES cells for subsequent differentiation into hepatocytes in vitro by coculture with Thy1-positive cells. ES cells expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of an AFP promoter were cultured under serum- and feeder layer-free culture conditions. The proportion of GFP-positive cells plateaued at 41.6 ± 12.2% (means ± SD) by day 7. GFP-positive cells, isolated by flow cytometry, were cultured in the presence or absence of Thy1-positive cells as a feeder layer. Isolated GFP-positive cells were stained for AFP, Foxa2, and albumin. The expression of mRNAs encoding tyrosine amino transferase, tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase were only detected following coculture with Thy1-positive cells. Following coculture with Thy1-positive cells, the isolated cells produced and stored glycogen. Ammonia clearance activity was also enhanced following coculture. Electron microscopic analysis indicated that the cocultured cells exhibited the morphologic features of mature hepatocytes. In conclusion, coculture with Thy1-positive cells in vitro induced the maturation of AFP-producing cells isolated from ES cell cultures into hepatocytes

  1. Morphological and maturational predictors of technical performance in young soccer players

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo de Oliveira Matta

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the present study is to describe the association between chronological age, morphology, biological maturation and sport experience in relation to technical performance in young Brazilian soccer players. Technical, maturation and anthropometric variables were assessed in 119 soccer players, 74 and 45 in the under-15 and under-17 categories, respectively. Data were analyzed using a multiple linear regression model. Adiposity was negatively associated with technical performance regardless the age-category. Weight was negatively associated with technical performance in under-15 and positively with the under-17 category, respectively. In under-17 biological maturation was negatively related to the dribbling test and positively associated with the ball control test. Years of experience proved to be positively associated with technique taught to soccer player in the under-17 category. The explained variance was different between categories. The technical performance of Brazilian soccer players aged 14-to-17 seems to be related to biological maturation, adiposity, weight and years of experience.

  2. Ultrastructure and Development of Pasteuria sp. (S-1 strain), an Obligate Endoparasite of Belonolaimus longicaudatus (Nemata: Tylenchida).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giblin-Davis, R M; Williams, D S; Wergin, W P; Dickson, D W; Hewlett, T E; Bekal, S; Becker, J O

    2001-12-01

    Pasteuria sp., strain S-1, is a gram-positive, obligate endoparasitic bacterium that uses the phytoparasitic sting nematode, Belonolaimus longicaudatus, as its host in Florida. The host attachment of S-1 appears to be specific to the genus Belonolaimus with development occurring only in juveniles and adults of B. longicaudatus. This bacterium is characterized from other described species of Pasteuria using ultrastructure of the mature endospore. Penetration, development, and sporogenesis were elucidated with TEM, LTSEM, and SEM and are similar to other nematode-specific Pasteuria. Recent analysis of 16S rDNA sequence homology confirms its congeneric ranking with other Pasteuria species and strains from nematodes and cladocerans, and corroborates ultrastructural, morphological, morphometric, and host-range evidence suggesting separate species status.

  3. A photon position sensor consisting of single-electron circuits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kikombo, Andrew Kilinga; Amemiya, Yoshihito; Tabe, Michiharu

    2009-01-01

    This paper proposes a solid-state sensor that can detect the position of incident photons with a high spatial resolution. The sensor consists of a two-dimensional array of single-electron oscillators, each coupled to its neighbors through coupling capacitors. An incident photon triggers an excitatory circular wave of electron tunneling in the oscillator array. The wave propagates in all directions to reach the periphery of the array. By measuring the arrival time of the wave at the periphery, we can know the position of the incident photon. The tunneling wave's generation, propagation, arrival at the array periphery, and the determination of incident photon positions are demonstrated with the results of Monte Carlo based computer simulations.

  4. Correlation between dental maturity and cervical vertebral maturity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jianwei; Hu, Haikun; Guo, Jing; Liu, Zeping; Liu, Renkai; Li, Fan; Zou, Shujuan

    2010-12-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the association between dental and skeletal maturity. Digital panoramic radiographs and lateral skull cephalograms of 302 patients (134 boys and 168 girls, ranging from 8 to 16 years of age) were examined. Dental maturity was assessed by calcification stages of the mandibular canines, first and second premolars, and second molars, whereas skeletal maturity was estimated by the cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) stages. The Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient was used to measure the association between CVM stage and dental calcification stage of individual teeth. The mean chronologic age of girls was significantly lower than that of boys in each CVM stage. The Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients between dental maturity and cervical vertebral maturity ranged from 0.391 to 0.582 for girls and from 0.464 to 0.496 for boys (P cervical vertebral maturation stage. The development of the mandibular second molar in females and that of the mandibular canine in males had the strongest correlations with cervical vertebral maturity. Therefore, it is practical to consider the relationship between dental and skeletal maturity when planning orthodontic treatment. Copyright © 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Self triggered single pulse beam position monitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothman, J.L.; Blum, E.B.

    1993-01-01

    A self triggered beam position monitor (BPM) has been developed for the NSLS injection system to provide single pulse orbit measurements in the booster synchrotron, linac, and transport lines. The BPM integrates the negative going portion of 3 nS wide bipolar pickup electrode signals. The gated, self triggering feature confines critical timing components to the front end, relaxing external timing specifications. The system features a low noise high speed FET sampler, a fiber optic gate for bunch and turn selection, and an inexpensive interface to a standard PC data acquisition system

  6. Single-staged uniportal VATS in the supine position for simultaneous bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyung Soo

    2017-05-15

    Simultaneous bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax (SBPSP) is rare, but requires surgery on both sides, in patients with definite bilateral bullae to prevent life-threatening conditions. Recently, uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been widely accepted as a less invasive technique for the treatment of pneumothorax. Thus, we introduced single-staged uniportal VATS technique in the supine position, for the management of two cases of SBPSP. A 17-year-old boy presented with bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax and he underwent single-staged uniportal VATS in the supine position. Single wide draping in consecutive bilateral approaches removes the needs of changing patients' position. Whole thoracoscopic procedure for wedge resection of bullae lesions was conducted without difficulty. The total operation time took 65 min and the patient discharged 3 days after the operation. The patient was followed for 24 months without recurrence of both sides. Another 18-year-old boy was admitted with bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax and single-staged uniportal VATS was also performed in the supine position. The total operation time took 79 min and the patient discharged on postoperative day 4. He was followed for 19 months without recurrence of both sides. Single-staged uniportal VATS approach yielded satisfactory results from simplicity that not requires position change compared to conventional multi-ports VATS in the lateral position, and with better cosmetics. This technique is thought to be a feasible procedure in selective patients with SBPSP or with contralateral bullae for preventive role.

  7. Analysis of business process maturity and organisational performance relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalinowski T. Bartosz

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims to present results of the study on business process maturity in relation to organisational performance. A two-phase methodology, based on literature review and survey was used. The literature is a source of knowledge about business process maturity and organisational performance, whereas the research on process maturity vs organisational performance in Polish Enterprises provides findings based on 84 surveyed companies. The main areas of the research covered: identification and analysis of maturity related variables and identification of organisational performance perspectives and its relation to process maturity. The study shows that there is a significant positive relation between process maturity and organisational performance. Although there are research on such relation available, they are scarce and have some significant limitations in terms of research sample or the scope of maturity or organisational performance covered. This publication is part of a project funded by the National Science Centre awarded by decision number DEC-2011/01/D/HS4/04070.

  8. Tapered fiber coupling of single photons emitted by a deterministically positioned single nitrogen vacancy center

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liebermeister, Lars, E-mail: lars.liebermeister@physik.uni-muenchen.de; Petersen, Fabian; Münchow, Asmus v.; Burchardt, Daniel; Hermelbracht, Juliane; Tashima, Toshiyuki [Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80799 München (Germany); Schell, Andreas W.; Benson, Oliver [Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Meinhardt, Thomas; Krueger, Anke [Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg (Germany); Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen Research Center for Complex Materials Systems, Universität Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg (Germany); Stiebeiner, Ariane; Rauschenbeutel, Arno [Atominstitut, Technische Universität Wien, 1020 Wien (Austria); Weinfurter, Harald; Weber, Markus, E-mail: markusweber@lmu.de [Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80799 München (Germany); Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, 85748 Garching (Germany)

    2014-01-20

    A diamond nano-crystal hosting a single nitrogen vacancy (NV) center is optically selected with a confocal scanning microscope and positioned deterministically onto the subwavelength-diameter waist of a tapered optical fiber (TOF) with the help of an atomic force microscope. Based on this nano-manipulation technique, we experimentally demonstrate the evanescent coupling of single fluorescence photons emitted by a single NV-center to the guided mode of the TOF. By comparing photon count rates of the fiber-guided and the free-space modes and with the help of numerical finite-difference time domain simulations, we determine a lower and upper bound for the coupling efficiency of (9.5 ± 0.6)% and (10.4 ± 0.7)%, respectively. Our results are a promising starting point for future integration of single photon sources into photonic quantum networks and applications in quantum information science.

  9. Calicotyle californiensis n. sp. and Calicotyle urobati n. sp. (Monogenea: Calicotylinae) from elasmobranchs in the Gulf of California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullard, S A; Overstreet, R M

    2000-10-01

    Two new species of Calicotyle (Monocotylidae: Calicotylinae) are described from elasmobranchs in the western Gulf of California. Calicotyle californiensis n. sp. is described from a single specimen collected from a gray smoothhound shark (Mustelus californicus, Carcharhiniformes: Triakidae). It is distinguished from its congeners by the combination of having vaginal pores opening within the intercecal space, distal regions of the vaginae twisting, proximal regions of the vaginae fusing medially to form a kidney bean-shaped structure, and a relatively long male copulatory organ recurving 3 times and passing between the distal penis bulb and the seminal vesicle. Calicotyle urobati n. sp. is described from 16 specimens collected from at least the cloaca and rectum of the round rays Urobatis halleri and Urobatis maculatus (Rajiformes: Urolophidae). It is distinguished from its congeners by the combination of having vaginal pores opening outside the intercecal space and proximal regions of the vaginae terminating at the level of the ceca. Members of Calicotyle have not been reported previously from the eastern Pacific Ocean or from these hosts. In the past, species of Calicotyle have been distinguished based primarily on the shape and length of the male copulatory organ and hamuli. Divisions of the vaginae and the positions of the vaginal pores are also useful in distinguishing members of the genus.

  10. Strategies for real-time position control of a single atom in cavity QED

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lynn, T W; Birnbaum, K; Kimble, H J

    2005-01-01

    Recent realizations of single-atom trapping and tracking in cavity QED open the door for feedback schemes which actively stabilize the motion of a single atom in real time. We present feedback algorithms for cooling the radial component of motion for a single atom trapped by strong coupling to single-photon fields in an optical cavity. Performance of various algorithms is studied through simulations of single-atom trajectories, with full dynamical and measurement noise included. Closed loop feedback algorithms compare favourably to open loop 'switching' analogues, demonstrating the importance of applying actual position information in real time. The high optical information rate in current experiments enables real-time tracking that approaches the standard quantum limit for broadband position measurements, suggesting that realistic active feedback schemes may reach a regime where measurement backaction appreciably alters the motional dynamics

  11. A high-order positivity-preserving single-stage single-step method for the ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christlieb, Andrew J.; Feng, Xiao; Seal, David C.; Tang, Qi

    2016-07-01

    We propose a high-order finite difference weighted ENO (WENO) method for the ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations. The proposed method is single-stage (i.e., it has no internal stages to store), single-step (i.e., it has no time history that needs to be stored), maintains a discrete divergence-free condition on the magnetic field, and has the capacity to preserve the positivity of the density and pressure. To accomplish this, we use a Taylor discretization of the Picard integral formulation (PIF) of the finite difference WENO method proposed in Christlieb et al. (2015) [23], where the focus is on a high-order discretization of the fluxes (as opposed to the conserved variables). We use the version where fluxes are expanded to third-order accuracy in time, and for the fluid variables space is discretized using the classical fifth-order finite difference WENO discretization. We use constrained transport in order to obtain divergence-free magnetic fields, which means that we simultaneously evolve the magnetohydrodynamic (that has an evolution equation for the magnetic field) and magnetic potential equations alongside each other, and set the magnetic field to be the (discrete) curl of the magnetic potential after each time step. In this work, we compute these derivatives to fourth-order accuracy. In order to retain a single-stage, single-step method, we develop a novel Lax-Wendroff discretization for the evolution of the magnetic potential, where we start with technology used for Hamilton-Jacobi equations in order to construct a non-oscillatory magnetic field. The end result is an algorithm that is similar to our previous work Christlieb et al. (2014) [8], but this time the time stepping is replaced through a Taylor method with the addition of a positivity-preserving limiter. Finally, positivity preservation is realized by introducing a parameterized flux limiter that considers a linear combination of high and low-order numerical fluxes. The choice of the free

  12. Mature students' perspectives of studying radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, M.; Decker, S.

    2009-01-01

    The study set out to explore the experiences of all final year mature students on a diagnostic radiography course, in one United Kingdom University. The aims were to identify any difficulties they may have had and to make recommendations to improve mature students' learning experiences with the hope of lowering attrition rates in this group. A qualitative study involving one-to-one audio recorded interviews was utilised. Analysis of the transcripts of interviews suggested that the group believed that their maturity and previous experiences helped them in the clinical environment and put them in a good position, when asked, to counsel younger students. However for some of the mature students these experiential skills did not extend fully into seeking appropriate support for themselves. The mature students were found to be highly motivated but there was a conflict between balancing clinical and academic aspects of studying as well as balancing studying with home life. The group was found to be unprepared for the volume of academic work and its detrimental effect on family life as they sacrificed other aspects of their lives in order to complete the course. It is recommended that forewarning and forearming prospective mature students be considered by radiography education providers. Setting up and utilising an on-line forum providing a 24/7 peer support environment would aid in coping with academic, clinical or personal problems

  13. Physicochemical evaluation of cooking and dessert bananas (Musa sp.) varieties

    OpenAIRE

    Rosales-Reynoso, O. Lidia; Agama-Acevedo, Edith; Aguirre-Cruz, Andres; Bello-Perez, Luis A.; Dufour, Dominique; Gibert, Olivier

    2014-01-01

    In México, banana (Musa sp.) varieties ate used for human consumption as well as for traditional medicine, but the literature lacks information on local diversity and functional justification for their use. Three varieties of dessert bananas (Valery, Morado, and Enano) and one cooking banana (Macho) were collected in a commercial farm in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, México, at the agronomic maturity stage, and they were physically and chemically evaluated. A random sampling, ANOVA, and Tukey tests were ...

  14. Robust balancing and position control of a single spherical wheeled mobile platform

    OpenAIRE

    Yavuz, Fırat; Yavuz, Firat; Ünel, Mustafa; Unel, Mustafa

    2016-01-01

    Self-balancing mobile platforms with single spherical wheel, generally called ballbots, are suitable example of underactuated systems. Balancing control of a ballbot platform, which aims to maintain the upright orientation by rejecting external disturbances, is important during station keeping or trajectory tracking. In this paper, acceleration based balancing and position control of a single spherical wheeled mobile platform that has three single-row omniwheel drive m...

  15. A Drosophila Model to Image Phagosome Maturation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas A. Brooks

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Phagocytosis involves the internalization of extracellular material by invagination of the plasma membrane to form intracellular vesicles called phagosomes, which have functions that include pathogen degradation. The degradative properties of phagosomes are thought to be conferred by sequential fusion with endosomes and lysosomes; however, this maturation process has not been studied in vivo. We employed Drosophila hemocytes, which are similar to mammalian professional macrophages, to establish a model of phagosome maturation. Adult Drosophila females, carrying transgenic Rab7-GFP endosome and Lamp1-GFP lysosome markers, were injected with E. coli DH5α and the hemocytes were collected at 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes after infection. In wild-type females, E. coli were detected within enlarged Rab7-GFP positive phagosomes at 15 to 45 minutes after infection; and were also observed in enlarged Lamp1-GFP positive phagolysosomes at 45 minutes. Two-photon imaging of hemocytes in vivo confirmed this vesicle morphology, including enlargement of Rab7-GFP and Lamp1-GFP structures that often appeared to protrude from hemocytes. The interaction of endosomes and lysosomes with E. coli phagosomes observed in Drosophila hemocytes was consistent with that previously described for phagosome maturation in human ex vivo macrophages. We also tested our model as a tool for genetic analysis using 14-3-3e mutants, and demonstrated altered phagosome maturation with delayed E. coli internalization, trafficking and/or degradation. These findings demonstrate that Drosophila hemocytes provide an appropriate, genetically amenable, model for analyzing phagosome maturation ex vivo and in vivo.

  16. ANALISIS OMNICHANNEL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MATURITY DI PT. TELEKOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas W. Yanuardi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Customer Experience yang baik mampu meningkatkan kepuasan pelanggan, sehingga membuat pelanggan menjadi setia terhadap penyedia jasa. Pentingnya Customer Experience ini membuat banyak perusahaan ber fokus dalam membangun strategi Customer Experience - nya. Salah satu strategi C ustomer Experience untuk meningkatkan kepuasan pelanggan adalah dengan Omnichannel Customer Experience . Prinsip Omnichannel adalah melakukan integrasi data di semua saluran komunikasi pelanggan sehingga perusahaan mendapatkan pandangan 360 o terhadap pelang gan, atau disebut “ single customer view ”. Integrasi data memungkinkan pelanggan melakukan interaksi dengan perusahaan melalui saluran manapun yang diinginkannya, tanpa harus mengulang informasi ketika ia berpindah saluran. Single customer view kemudian mem ungkinkan perusahaan melakukan personalisasi, yaitu memberikan pelayanan kepada pelanggan secara personal sesuai profil, aktivitas, perilaku, dan ketertarikan pelanggan tersebut. PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk , sebagai salah satu Communication Service Provider (CSP , telah mengimplementasikan strategi Omnichannel . Penelitian ini bertujuan mengukur maturity level dari implementasi Omnichannel Customer Experience PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk berdasarkan aspek - aspek dalam Omnichannel Maturity Model , men ggunakan metode expert judgment. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa Telkom telah melakukan inisiasi implementasi Omnichannel Customer Experience dengan diterapkannya platform single window yang terintegrasi di semua saluran pelanggan dan dari sembilan dimensi p engukuran Omnichannel Maturity Model mayoritas sudah berada pada level Cross Channel .

  17. Maturity and maturity models in lean construction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claus Nesensohn

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In recent years there has been an increasing interest in maturity models in management-related disciplines; which reflects a growing recognition that becoming more mature and having a model to guide the route to maturity can help organisations in managing major transformational change. Lean Construction (LC is an increasingly important improvement approach that organisations seek to embed. This study explores how to apply the maturity models to LC. Hence the attitudes, opinions and experiences of key industry informants with high levels of knowledge of LC were investigated. To achieve this, a review of maturity models was conducted, and data for the analysis was collected through a sequential process involving three methods. First a group interview with seven key informants. Second a follow up discussion with the same individuals to investigate some of the issues raised in more depth. Third an online discussion held via LinkedIn in which members shared their views on some of the results. Overall, we found that there is a lack of common understanding as to what maturity means in LC, though there is general agreement that the concept of maturity is a suitable one to reflect the path of evolution for LC within organisations.

  18. Water relations in culture media influence maturation of avocado somatic embryos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Márquez-Martín, Belén; Sesmero, Rafael; Quesada, Miguel A; Pliego-Alfaro, Fernando; Sánchez-Romero, Carolina

    2011-11-15

    Application of transformation and other biotechnological tools in avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is hampered by difficulties in obtaining mature somatic embryos capable of germination at an acceptable rate. In this work, we evaluated the effect of different compounds affecting medium water relations on maturation of avocado somatic embryos. Culture media were characterized with respect to gel strength, water potential and osmotic potential. Improved production of mature somatic embryos was achieved with gelling agent concentrations higher than those considered standard. The osmotic agents such as sorbitol and PEG did not have positive effects on embryo maturation. The number of w-o mature somatic embryos per culture was positively correlated with medium gel strength. Gel strength was significantly affected by gelling agent type as well as by gelling agent and PEG concentration. Medium water potential was influenced by sorbitol concentration; incorporation of PEG to a culture medium did not affect medium water potential. The highest maturation results were achieved on a medium gelled with 10 gl(-1) agar. Moreover, these somatic embryos had improved germination rates. These results corroborate the role of water restriction as a key factor controlling maturation of somatic embryos. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  19. Validation of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being-Expanded (FACIT-Sp-Ex) Across English and Spanish-Speaking Hispanics/Latinos: Results From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brintz, Carrie E; Birnbaum-Weitzman, Orit; Merz, Erin L; Penedo, Frank J; Daviglus, Martha L; Fortmann, Adelaide L; Gallo, Linda C; Gonzalez, Patricia; Johnson, Timothy P; Navas-Nacher, Elena L; Youngblood, Marston E; Llabre, Maria M

    2017-11-01

    The validity of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp) has been examined in primarily non-Hispanics/Latinos with chronic illness. This study assessed the psychometric properties of the non-illness, expanded FACIT-Sp (FACIT-Sp-Ex) in 5,163 U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults. Measures were interviewer-administered in English or Spanish. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated four factors: Meaning, Peace, Faith, and Relational. The scale demonstrated measurement invariance across English and Spanish. Subscales displayed adequate internal and test-retest reliability. Scores were positively associated with Duke Religion Index (DUREL) subscales. When all subscales were entered in a single model, Meaning and Peace were inversely associated with depressive symptoms and positively associated with HRQOL. Faith was positively associated with depressive symptoms and inversely associated with HRQOL. Relational was not associated with any outcome. FACIT-Sp-Ex subscales were generally more strongly associated than DUREL subscales with well-being. The FACIT-Sp-Ex appears to be a valid measure of spiritual well-being in U.S. Hispanics/Latinos.

  20. First test of SP{sup 2}: A novel active neutron spectrometer condensing the functionality of Bonner spheres in a single moderator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bedogni, R. [INFN-LNF Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Bortot, D. [Politecnico di Milano—Dipartimento di Energia, Via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milano (Italy); INFN—sezione di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Buonomo, B.; Esposito, A. [INFN-LNF Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Gómez-Ros, J.M. [INFN-LNF Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); CIEMAT, Av. Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Introini, M.V.; Lorenzoli, M.; Pola, A. [Politecnico di Milano—Dipartimento di Energia, Via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milano (Italy); INFN—sezione di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Sacco, D. [INFN-LNF Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Via E. Fermi 40, 00044 Frascati (Italy); INAIL—DPIA Via di Fontana Candida n.1, 00040 Monteporzio C. (Italy)

    2014-12-11

    The NESCOFI@BTF (2011–2013) international collaboration was established to develop realtime neutron spectrometers to simultaneously cover all energy components of neutron fields, from thermal up to hundreds MeV. This communication concerns a new spherical spectrometer, called SP^2, which condenses the functionality of an Extended Range Bonner Sphere Spectrometer (ERBSS) into a single moderator embedding multiple active thermal neutron detectors. The possibility of achieving the complete spectrometric information in a single exposure constitutes a great advantage compared to the ERBSS. The first experimental test of the instrument, performed with a reference 241Am–Be source in different irradiation geometries, is described. The agreement between observed and simulated response is satisfactory for all tested geometries.

  1. C-type lectin B (SpCTL-B) regulates the expression of antimicrobial peptides and promotes phagocytosis in mud crab Scylla paramamosain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Xiaoyuan; Wang, Limin; Sun, Wanwei; Zhang, Ming; Ma, Hongyu; Zhang, Yueling; Zhang, Xinxu; Li, Shengkang

    2018-07-01

    As pattern recognition receptors, C-type lectins (CTLs) play important roles in immune system of crustaceans through identifying and binding to the conservative pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) on pathogen surfaces. In this study, a new CTL, SpCTL-B, was identified from the hemocytes of mud crab Scylla paramamosain. The full-length of SpCTL-B cDNA was 1278 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 348 bp. The predicted SpCTL-B protein contains a single carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD). SpCTL-B transcripts were distributed in all examined tissues with the highest levels in hepatopancreas. After challenged with Vibrio parahaemolyticus, LPS, polyI:C and white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), the mRNA levels of SpCTL-B in hemocytes and hepatopancreas were up-regulated. The recombinant SpCTL-B (rSpCTL-B) purified by Ni-affinity chromatography showed stronger binding activities with Staphylococcus aureus, β-hemolytic Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila, Vibrio alginolyticus than those with V. parahaemolyticus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. rSpCTL-B exhibited a broad spectrum of microorganism-agglutination activities against Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus, β-hemolytic Streptococcus) and Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, V. parahaemolyticus, A. hydrophila, V. alginolyticus) in a Ca 2+ -dependent manner. The agglutination activities of rSpCTL-B could be inhibited by D-mannose and LPS, but not by d-fructose and galactose. The antimicrobial assay showed that rSpCTL-B exhibited the growth inhibition against all examined gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria. When SpCTL-B was silenced by RNAi, the bacterial clearance ability in mud crab was decreased and the transcript levels of five antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) (SpCrustin, SpHistin, SpALF4 (anti-lipopolysaccharide factor), SpALF5 and SpALF6) were significantly decreased in hemocytes. In our study, knockdown of SpCTL-B could down-regulate the expression of SpSTAT at m

  2. Positive Regulation of RNA Metabolic Process” Ontology Group Highly Regulated in Porcine Oocytes Matured In Vitro: A Microarray Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piotr Celichowski

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs growth and development during folliculogenesis and oogenesis are accompanied by changes involving synthesis and accumulation of large amount of RNA and proteins. In this study, the transcriptomic profile of genes involved in “oocytes RNA synthesis” in relation to in vitro maturation in pigs was investigated for the first time. The RNA was isolated from oocytes before and after in vitro maturation (IVM. Interactions between differentially expressed genes/proteins belonging to “positive regulation of RNA metabolic process” ontology group were investigated by STRING10 software. Using microarray assays, we found expression of 12258 porcine transcripts. Genes with fold change higher than 2 and with corrected p value lower than 0.05 were considered as differentially expressed. The ontology group “positive regulation of RNA metabolic process” involved differential expression of AR, INHBA, WWTR1, FOS, MEF2C, VEGFA, IKZF2, IHH, RORA, MAP3K1, NFAT5, SMARCA1, EGR1, EGR2, MITF, SMAD4, APP, and NR5A1 transcripts. Since all of the presented genes were downregulated after IVM, we suggested that they might be significantly involved in regulation of RNA synthesis before reaching oocyte MII stage. Higher expression of “RNA metabolic process” related genes before IVM indicated that they might be recognized as important markers and specific “transcriptomic fingerprint” of RNA template accumulation and storage for further porcine embryos growth and development.

  3. Integrative Gene Cloning and Expression System for Streptomyces sp. US 24 and Streptomyces sp. TN 58 Bioactive Molecule Producing Strains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samiha Sioud

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Streptomyces sp. US 24 and Streptomyces sp. TN 58, two strains producing interesting bioactive molecules, were successfully transformed using E. coli ET12567 (pUZ8002, as a conjugal donor, carrying the integrative plasmid pSET152. For the Streptomyces sp. US 24 strain, two copies of this plasmid were tandemly integrated in the chromosome, whereas for Streptomyces sp. TN 58, the integration was in single copy at the attB site. Plasmid pSET152 was inherited every time for all analysed Streptomyces sp. US 24 and Streptomyces sp. TN 58 exconjugants under nonselective conditions. The growth, morphological differentiation, and active molecules production of all studied pSET152 integrated exconjugants were identical to those of wild type strains. Consequently, conjugal transfer using pSET152 integration system is a suitable means of genes transfer and expression for both studied strains. To validate the above gene transfer system, the glucose isomerase gene (xylA from Streptomyces sp. SK was expressed in strain Streptomyces sp. TN 58. Obtained results indicated that heterologous glucose isomerase could be expressed and folded effectively. Glucose isomerase activity of the constructed TN 58 recombinant strain is of about eighteenfold higher than that of the Streptomyces sp. SK strain. Such results are certainly of importance due to the potential use of improved strains in biotechnological process for the production of high-fructose syrup from starch.

  4. Cigarette Smoke Decreases the Maturation of Lung Myeloid Dendritic Cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Arellano-Orden

    Full Text Available Conflicting data exist on the role of pulmonary dendritic cells (DCs and their maturation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD. Herein, we investigated whether disease severity and smoking status could affect the distribution and maturation of DCs in lung tissues of patients undergoing elective pneumectomy or lobectomy for suspected primary lung cancer.A total of 75 consecutive patients were included. Spirometry testing was used to identify COPD. Lung parenchyma sections anatomically distant from the primary lesion were examined. We used flow cytometry to identify different DCs subtypes-including BDCA1-positive myeloid DCs (mDCs, BDCA3-positive mDCs, and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs-and determine their maturation markers (CD40, CD80, CD83, and CD86 in all participants. We also identified follicular DCs (fDCs, Langerhans DCs (LDCs, and pDCs in 42 patients by immunohistochemistry.COPD was diagnosed in 43 patients (16 current smokers and 27 former smokers, whereas the remaining 32 subjects were classified as non-COPD (11 current smokers, 13 former smokers, and 8 never smokers. The number and maturation of DCs did not differ significantly between COPD and non-COPD patients. However, the results of flow cytometry indicated that maturation markers CD40 and CD83 of BDCA1-positive mDCs were significantly decreased in smokers than in non-smokers (P = 0.023 and 0.013, respectively. Immunohistochemistry also revealed a lower number of LDCs in COPD patients than in non-COPD subjects.Cigarette smoke, rather than airflow limitation, is the main determinant of impaired DCs maturation in the lung.

  5. Single Black Working Mothers' Perceptions: The Journey to Achieve Leadership Positions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raglin, Sherrell

    2017-01-01

    Single Black working mothers faced significant challenges in achieving high-level or senior-level leadership positions. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to collect, analyze and code the stories told by 10 participants to understand the perceptions and insights of the challenges and barriers single Black working mothers faced in…

  6. A Kind of Single-frequency Precise Point Positioning Algorithm Based on the Raw Observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    WANG Li

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A kind of single-frequency precise point positioning (PPP algorithm based on the raw observations is presented in this paper. By this algorithm, the ionospheric delays were corrected efficiently by means of adding the ionospheric delay prior information and the virtual observation equations with the spatial and temporal constraints, and they were estimated as the unknown parameters simultaneously with other positioning parameters. Then, a dataset of 178 International GNSS Service (IGS stations at day 72 in 2012 was used to evaluate the convergence speed, the positioning accuracy and the accuracy of the retrieved ionospheric VTEC. The series of results have shown that the convergence speed and stability of the new algorithm are much better than the traditional PPP algorithm, and the positioning accuracy of about 2-3 cm and 2-3 dm can be achieved respectively for static and kinematic positioning with the single-frequency observations' daily solution. The average bias of ionospheric total electron content retrieved by the single-frequency PPP and dual-frequency PPP is less than 5 TECU. So the ionospheric total electron content can be used as a kind of auxiliary products in GPS positioning.

  7. Application of TaiWan Ionosphere Model to Single-Frequency Ionospheric Delay Correction for GPS Static Position Positioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macalalad, E. P.; Tsai, L.; Wu, J.

    2011-12-01

    Ionospheric delay is one of the major sources of error in GPS positioning and navigation. This error in both pseudorange and phase ranges can vary depending on the location of observation, local time, season, solar cycle and geomagnetic activity. This effect can be practically removed using dual-frequency receivers. However, these types of receivers are very expensive and thus, impractical for most users. Therefore, for single-frequency receivers, ionosphere is usually modeled to attempt to remove this effect analytically. Numerous ionosphere models have been introduced in the past. Some of which are the Klobuchar (or broadcast) model and the global ionosphere map (GIM) provided by the International GNSS Service (IGS). In this paper, another model, called the TaiWan Ionosphere Model (TWIM) was used to correct this effect. TWIM is a three dimensional ionospheric electron (ne) density model derived from FormoSat3/COSMIC GPS Radio Occultation measurements, was used to calculate ionospheric delay for GPS single-frequency positioning. The ne profiles were used to calculate the slant TEC (STEC) between a receiver and each GPS satellite and correct the pseudorange single-frequency observations. The corrected pseudorange for every epoch was used to calculate the position of the receiver. Observations were made in a low-latitude location near one of the peaks of the equatorial anomaly. It was shown that TEC maps generated using TWIM exhibited detailed structure of the ionosphere, whereas Klobuchar and GIM only provided the basic diurnal and geographic features of the ionosphere. Also, it was shown that for static point positioning TWIM provides more accurate and more precise positioning than the Klobuchar and GIM models. That is, on the average, the horizontal accuracy, represented by the circular error probable (CEP), distance RMS (DRMS) and twice the DRMS (2DRMS), were better by 15-18% as compared with the CEP, DRMS and 2DRMS of uncorrected, Klobuchar and GIM. Moreover

  8. Transcriptional maturation of the mouse auditory forebrain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hackett, Troy A; Guo, Yan; Clause, Amanda; Hackett, Nicholas J; Garbett, Krassimira; Zhang, Pan; Polley, Daniel B; Mirnics, Karoly

    2015-08-14

    The maturation of the brain involves the coordinated expression of thousands of genes, proteins and regulatory elements over time. In sensory pathways, gene expression profiles are modified by age and sensory experience in a manner that differs between brain regions and cell types. In the auditory system of altricial animals, neuronal activity increases markedly after the opening of the ear canals, initiating events that culminate in the maturation of auditory circuitry in the brain. This window provides a unique opportunity to study how gene expression patterns are modified by the onset of sensory experience through maturity. As a tool for capturing these features, next-generation sequencing of total RNA (RNAseq) has tremendous utility, because the entire transcriptome can be screened to index expression of any gene. To date, whole transcriptome profiles have not been generated for any central auditory structure in any species at any age. In the present study, RNAseq was used to profile two regions of the mouse auditory forebrain (A1, primary auditory cortex; MG, medial geniculate) at key stages of postnatal development (P7, P14, P21, adult) before and after the onset of hearing (~P12). Hierarchical clustering, differential expression, and functional geneset enrichment analyses (GSEA) were used to profile the expression patterns of all genes. Selected genesets related to neurotransmission, developmental plasticity, critical periods and brain structure were highlighted. An accessible repository of the entire dataset was also constructed that permits extraction and screening of all data from the global through single-gene levels. To our knowledge, this is the first whole transcriptome sequencing study of the forebrain of any mammalian sensory system. Although the data are most relevant for the auditory system, they are generally applicable to forebrain structures in the visual and somatosensory systems, as well. The main findings were: (1) Global gene expression

  9. Occurrence of the internal parasite Portunion sp. (Isopoda: Entoniscidae) and its effect on reproduction in intertidal crabs (Decapoda: Grapsidae) from New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brockerhoff, A M

    2004-12-01

    The parasite fauna of 4 intertidal grapsid crabs from New Zealand was studied between 1998 and 2000. The occurrence of an undescribed entoniscid species, Portunion sp. (Isopoda: Epicaridea), is presented. Portunion sp. was found in Cyclograpsus lavauxi (34.1%, n = 1650), Hemigrapsus crenulatus (19.0%, n = 2300), and Helice crassa (11.6%, n = 825) but was absent from Hemigrapsus sexdentatus (n = 636). Parasitized hosts contained mostly 1 female Portunion sp. but occasionally up to 7 females were found. One to 3 dwarf males typically occurred on each mature female Portunion sp. Most developmental stages of female Portunion sp. were found throughout the year, demonstrating that reproduction and infection occurred continuously. Portunion sp. differentially affected male and female hosts. Prevalence was generally higher in male hosts than in female hosts and increased significantly with host size. Female hosts were castrated, whereas males were not. Portunion sp., therefore, influenced the operational sex ratio in its host species, causing a more male-biased ratio.

  10. KIN SP: A boundary element method based code for single pile kinematic bending in layered soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefano Stacul

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In high seismicity areas, it is important to consider kinematic effects to properly design pile foundations. Kinematic effects are due to the interaction between pile and soil deformations induced by seismic waves. One of the effect is the arise of significant strains in weak soils that induce bending moments on piles. These moments can be significant in presence of a high stiffness contrast in a soil deposit. The single pile kinematic interaction problem is generally solved with beam on dynamic Winkler foundation approaches (BDWF or using continuous models. In this work, a new boundary element method (BEM based computer code (KIN SP is presented where the kinematic analysis is preceded by a free-field response analysis. The analysis results of this method, in terms of bending moments at the pile-head and at the interface of a two-layered soil, are influenced by many factors including the soil–pile interface discretization. A parametric study is presented with the aim to suggest the minimum number of boundary elements to guarantee the accuracy of a BEM solution, for typical pile–soil relative stiffness values as a function of the pile diameter, the location of the interface of a two-layered soil and of the stiffness contrast. KIN SP results have been compared with simplified solutions in literature and with those obtained using a quasi-three-dimensional (3D finite element code.

  11. A Rational Engineering Strategy for Designing Protein A-Binding Camelid Single-Domain Antibodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Kevin A.; Sulea, Traian; van Faassen, Henk; Hussack, Greg; Purisima, Enrico O.; MacKenzie, C. Roger; Arbabi-Ghahroudi, Mehdi

    2016-01-01

    Staphylococcal protein A (SpA) and streptococcal protein G (SpG) affinity chromatography are the gold standards for purifying monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in therapeutic applications. However, camelid VHH single-domain Abs (sdAbs or VHHs) are not bound by SpG and only sporadically bound by SpA. Currently, VHHs require affinity tag-based purification, which limits their therapeutic potential and adds considerable complexity and cost to their production. Here we describe a simple and rapid mutagenesis-based approach designed to confer SpA binding upon a priori non-SpA-binding VHHs. We show that SpA binding of VHHs is determined primarily by the same set of residues as in human mAbs, albeit with an unexpected degree of tolerance to substitutions at certain core and non-core positions and some limited dependence on at least one residue outside the SpA interface, and that SpA binding could be successfully introduced into five VHHs against three different targets with no adverse effects on expression yield or antigen binding. Next-generation sequencing of llama, alpaca and dromedary VHH repertoires suggested that species differences in SpA binding may result from frequency variation in specific deleterious polymorphisms, especially Ile57. Thus, the SpA binding phenotype of camelid VHHs can be easily modulated to take advantage of tag-less purification techniques, although the frequency with which this is required may depend on the source species. PMID:27631624

  12. Scalability of Parallel Spatial Direct Numerical Simulations on Intel Hypercube and IBM SP1 and SP2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joslin, Ronald D.; Hanebutte, Ulf R.; Zubair, Mohammad

    1995-01-01

    The implementation and performance of a parallel spatial direct numerical simulation (PSDNS) approach on the Intel iPSC/860 hypercube and IBM SP1 and SP2 parallel computers is documented. Spatially evolving disturbances associated with the laminar-to-turbulent transition in boundary-layer flows are computed with the PSDNS code. The feasibility of using the PSDNS to perform transition studies on these computers is examined. The results indicate that PSDNS approach can effectively be parallelized on a distributed-memory parallel machine by remapping the distributed data structure during the course of the calculation. Scalability information is provided to estimate computational costs to match the actual costs relative to changes in the number of grid points. By increasing the number of processors, slower than linear speedups are achieved with optimized (machine-dependent library) routines. This slower than linear speedup results because the computational cost is dominated by FFT routine, which yields less than ideal speedups. By using appropriate compile options and optimized library routines on the SP1, the serial code achieves 52-56 M ops on a single node of the SP1 (45 percent of theoretical peak performance). The actual performance of the PSDNS code on the SP1 is evaluated with a "real world" simulation that consists of 1.7 million grid points. One time step of this simulation is calculated on eight nodes of the SP1 in the same time as required by a Cray Y/MP supercomputer. For the same simulation, 32-nodes of the SP1 and SP2 are required to reach the performance of a Cray C-90. A 32 node SP1 (SP2) configuration is 2.9 (4.6) times faster than a Cray Y/MP for this simulation, while the hypercube is roughly 2 times slower than the Y/MP for this application. KEY WORDS: Spatial direct numerical simulations; incompressible viscous flows; spectral methods; finite differences; parallel computing.

  13. Characterization and Optimization of Bioflocculant Exopolysaccharide Production by Cyanobacteria Nostoc sp. BTA97 and Anabaena sp. BTA990 in Culture Conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiwari, Onkar Nath; Khangembam, Romi; Shamjetshabam, Minerva; Sharma, Aribam Subhalaxmi; Oinam, Gunapati; Brand, Jerry J

    2015-08-01

    Bioflocculant exopolysaccharide (EPS) production by 40 cyanobacterial strains during their photoautotrophic growth was investigated. Highest levels of EPS were produced by Nostoc sp. BTA97 and Anabaena sp. BTA990. EPS production was maximum during stationary growth phase, when nitrogenase activity was very low. Maximum EPS production occurred at pH 8.0 in the absence of any combined nitrogen source. The cyanobacterial EPS consisted of soluble protein and polysaccharide that included substantial amounts of neutral sugars and uronic acid. The EPS isolated from Anabaena sp. BTA990 and Nostoc sp. BTA97 demonstrated high flocculation capacity. There was a positive correlation between uronic acid content and flocculation activity. The flocculant bound a cationic dye, Alcian Blue, indicating it to be polyanionic. The 16S rRNA gene sequences for Nostoc sp. BTA97 and Anabaena sp. BTA990 were deposited at NCBI GenBank, and accession numbers were obtained as KJ830951 and KJ830948, respectively. The results of these experiments indicate that strains Anabaena sp. BTA990 and Nostoc sp. BTA97 are good candidates for the commercial production of EPS and might be utilized in industrial applications as an alternative to synthetic and abiotic flocculants.

  14. Lending to Small Businesses : The Role of Loan Maturity in Adressing Information Problems

    OpenAIRE

    Ortiz-Molina, H.; Penas, M.F.

    2004-01-01

    We investigate what determines the maturity of loans to small, informationally opaque businesses.We find that longer maturities are associated with collateral pledges, better financial condition, good credit history, and less informational opacity of the borrower.However, we do not find a positive association between stronger firm-creditor relationships (which can attenuate these information asymmetries) and longer maturities.The evidence suggests that creditors use shorter maturities to indu...

  15. An extended set-value observer for position estimation using single range measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marcal, Jose; Jouffroy, Jerome; Fossen, Thor I.

    the observability of the system is briefly discussed and an extended set-valued observer is presented, with some discussion about the effect of the measurements noise on the final solution. This observer estimates bounds in the errors assuming that the exogenous signals are bounded, providing a safe region......The ability of estimating the position of an underwater vehicle from single range measurements is important in applications where one transducer marks an important geographical point, when there is a limitation in the size or cost of the vehicle, or when there is a failure in a system...... of transponders. The knowledge of the bearing of the vehicle and the range measurements from a single location can provide a solution which is sensitive to the trajectory that the vehicle is following, since there is no complete constraint on the position estimate with a single beacon. In this paper...

  16. Extracellular Electron Transfer Mediated by Flavins in Gram-positive Bacillus sp. WS-XY1 and Yeast Pichia stipitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Song; Xiao, Yong; Wang, Lu; Zheng, Yue; Chang, Kenlin; Zheng, Zhiyong; Yang, Zhaohui; Varcoe, John R.; Zhao, Feng

    2014-01-01

    Extracellular electron transfer (EET) of microorganisms represents a communicative bridge between the interior and exterior of the cells. Most prior EET studies have focused on Gram-negative bacteria. However, fungi and Gram-positive bacteria, that contain dense cellular walls, have rarely been reported. Herein, two model dense cell wall microorganisms (Bacillus sp. WS-XY1 and the yeast Pichia stipitis) were identified to be electrochemically active. Further analysis indicated that the two microorganisms were able to secrete flavins to mediate their EET. The discovery, that dense cell wall containing microorganisms can undertake mediated EET, adds to the body of knowledge towards building a comprehensive understanding of biogeochemical and bioelectrical processes

  17. Radioimmunologic determination of SP-1 (gestational beta-1-glycoprotein) in the serum and amniotic fluid during normal and pathological courses of gestation. Radioimmunologische Bestimmung von SP-1 (schwangerschaftsspezifisches. beta. 1-Glycoprotein) im Serum und Fruchtwasser bei normalen und pathologischen Schwangerschaften

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Courtial, A

    1986-07-18

    While determinations of SP-1 in the amniotic fluid were found to be of rather limited diagnostic usefulness, both single and repeated measurements in the serum provided valuable information that permitted to predict the presumable patient outcome in cases of imminent abortion attributable to such conditions as diabetic fetopathy or severe gestosis associated with deficient fetal development (one limitation of the method's usefulness being a comparatively high percentage of false-positive results). (TRV).

  18. [Maturation diagnosis in full term hypotrophic fetuses].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scharnke, H D; Gartzke, J; Fleischer, G; Isbruch, E

    1977-01-01

    Foam-Test by Clements is a valuable method for determining the foetus maturity of lungs. We introduce this test along with other parameters for the maturity-diagnosis since one year. In 15% result, the Foam-Test was not applicable because of blood, or meconic amniotic fluid, other wise wrong negative and in 0% wrong positive results. By unmatured child, there was doubtable results with Foam-Test. Since it is important to determine the early delivery of unmatured children, particularly the case of foetus maturity of lungs must be exact, we therefore decided to use the Lecithin/Sphingomyelinquotients in some cases. The results of Lecithin/Sphingomyelinquotient in unmatured children are almost with the approximated date under two. From this, one must deduce from these children, that the intrauterine unmatured lungs lately took place.

  19. Biomass Burning Research Using DOE ARM Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Onasch, Timothy B [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States); Sedlacek, Arthur J [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lewis, Ernie [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

    2017-03-01

    The focus of this laboratory study was to investigate the chemical and optical properties, and the detection efficiencies, of tar balls generated in the laboratory using the same instruments deployed on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Gulfstream-1 (G-1) aircraft during the 2013 Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) field study, during which tar balls were observed in wildland biomass burning particulate emissions. Key goals of this laboratory study were: (a) measuring the chemical composition of tar balls to provide insights into the atmospheric processes that form (evaporation/oxidation) and modify them in biomass burning plumes, (b) identifying whether tar balls contain refractory black carbon, (c) determining the collection efficiencies of tar balls impacting on the 600oC heated tungsten vaporizer in the Aerodyne Soot Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (SP-AMS) (i.e., given the observed low volatilities, AMS measurements might underestimate organic biomass burning plume loadings), and (d) measuring the wavelength-dependent, mass-specific absorption cross-sections of brown carbon components of tar balls. This project was funded primarily by the DOE Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program, and the ARM Facility made their single-particle soot photometer (SP2) available for September 1-September 31, 2016 in the Aerodyne laboratories. The ARM mentor (Dr. Sedlacek) requested no funds for mentorship or data reduction. All ARM SP2 data collected as part of this project are archived in the ARM Data Archive in accordance with established protocols. The main objectives of the ARM Biomass Burning Observation Period (BBOP, July-October, 2013) field campaign were to (1) assess the impact of wildland fires in the Pacific Northwest on climate, through near-field and regional intensive measurement campaigns, and (2) investigate agricultural burns to determine how those biomass burn plumes differ from

  20. Determinants of relative skeletal maturity in South African children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawley, Nicola L; Rousham, Emily K; Johnson, William; Norris, Shane A; Pettifor, John M; Cameron, Noël

    2012-01-01

    The variation of skeletal maturity about chronological age is a sensitive indicator of population health. Age appropriate or advanced skeletal maturity is a reflection of adequate environmental and social conditions, whereas delayed maturation suggests inadequate conditions for optimal development. There remains a paucity of data, however, to indicate which specific biological and environmental factors are associated with advancement or delay in skeletal maturity. The present study utilises longitudinal data from the South African Birth to Twenty (Bt20) study to indentify predictors of relative skeletal maturity (RSM) in early adolescence. A total of 244 black South African children (n=131 male) were included in this analysis. Skeletal maturity at age 9/10 years was assessed using the Tanner and Whitehouse III RUS technique. Longitudinal data on growth, socio-economic position and pubertal development were entered into sex-specific multivariable general linear regression models with relative skeletal maturity (skeletal age-chronological age) as the outcome. At 9/10 years of age males showed an average of 0.66 years delay in skeletal maturation relative to chronological age. Females showed an average of 1.00 year delay relative to chronological age. In males, being taller at 2 years (pdetermining the rate of skeletal maturation during childhood independently of current stature. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Differential Postnatal Expression of Neuronal Maturation Markers in the Dentate Gyrus of Mice and Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tijana Radic

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The dentate gyrus (DG is a unique structure of the hippocampus that is distinguished by ongoing neurogenesis throughout the lifetime of an organism. The development of the DG, which begins during late gestation and continues during the postnatal period, comprises the structural formation of the DG as well as the establishment of the adult neurogenic niche in the subgranular zone (SGZ. We investigated the time course of postnatal maturation of the DG in male C57BL/6J mice and male Sprague-Dawley rats based on the distribution patterns of the immature neuronal marker doublecortin (DCX and a marker for mature neurons, calbindin (CB. Our findings demonstrate that the postnatal DG is marked by a substantial maturation with a high number of DCX-positive granule cells (GCs during the first two postnatal weeks followed by a progression toward more mature patterns and increasing numbers of CB-positive GCs within the subsequent 2 weeks. The most substantial shift in maturation of the GC population took place between P7 and P14 in both mice and rats, when young, immature DCX-positive GCs became confined to the innermost part of the GC layer (GCL, indicative of the formation of the SGZ. These results suggest that the first month of postnatal development represents an important transition phase during which DG neurogenesis and the maturation course of the GC population becomes analogous to the process of adult neurogenesis. Therefore, the postnatal DG could serve as an attractive model for studying a growing and functionally maturing neural network. Direct comparisons between mice and rats revealed that the transition from immature DCX-positive to mature CB-positive GCs occurs more rapidly in the rat by approximately 4–6 days. The remarkable species difference in the speed of maturation on the GC population level may have important implications for developmental and neurogenesis research in different rodent species and strains.

  2. Global Application of TaiWan Ionospheric Model to Single-Frequency GPS Positioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macalalad, E.; Tsai, L. C.; Wu, J.

    2012-04-01

    Ionospheric delay is one the major sources of error in GPS positioning and navigation. This error in both pseudorange and phase ranges vary depending on the location of observation, local time, season, solar cycle and geomagnetic activity. For single-frequency receivers, this delay is usually removed using ionospheric models. Two of them are the Klobuchar, or broadcast, model and the global ionosphere map (GIM) provided by the International GNSS Service (IGS). In this paper, a three dimensional ionospheric electron (ne) density model derived from FormoSat3/COSMIC GPS Radio Occultation measurements, called the TaiWan Ionosphere Model, is used. It was used to calculate the slant total electron content (STEC) between receiver and GPS satellites to correct the pseudorange single-frequency observations. The corrected pseudorange for every epoch was used to determine a more accurate position of the receiver. Observations were made in July 2, 2011(Kp index = 0-2) in five randomly selected sites across the globe, four of which are IGS stations (station ID: cnmr, coso, irkj and morp) while the other is a low-cost single-frequency receiver located in Chungli City, Taiwan (ID: isls). It was illustrated that TEC maps generated using TWIM exhibited a detailed structure of the ionosphere, whereas Klobuchar and GIM only provided the basic diurnal and geographic features of the ionosphere. Also, it was shown that for single-frequency static point positioning TWIM provides more accurate and more precise positioning than the Klobuchar and GIM models for all stations. The average %error of the corrections made by Klobuchar, GIM and TWIM in DRMS are 3.88%, 0.78% and 17.45%, respectively. While the average %error in VRMS for Klobuchar, GIM and TWIM are 53.55%, 62.09%, 66.02%, respectively. This shows the capability of TWIM to provide a good global 3-dimensional ionospheric model.

  3. Does Grade Level Matter for the Assessment of Business Process Management Maturity?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabryelczyk Renata

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to create and test the practical application of a business process management maturity assessment conducted at two different grade levels (management and professional level in an organization. The conceptual framework for this research includes creating a business process maturity indicator (BPMI for six process areas: strategy, documentation, optimization, implementation, execution, and controlling. The comparative analysis of the business process management maturity is performed using the BPMI on two cases: inside a single organization and the sector internally.

  4. Hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein-5A activates sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c through transcription factor Sp1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiang, Zhonghua; Qiao, Ling; Zhou, Yan [Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E3 (Canada); Babiuk, Lorne A. [University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada); Liu, Qiang, E-mail: qiang.liu@usask.ca [Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E3 (Canada)

    2010-11-19

    Research highlights: {yields} A chimeric subgenomic HCV replicon expresses HCV-3a NS5A in an HCV-1b backbone. {yields} HCV-3a NS5A increases mature SREBP-1c protein level. {yields} HCV-3a NS5A activates SREBP-1c transcription. {yields} Domain II of HCV-3a NS5A is more effective in SREBP-1c promoter activation. {yields} Transcription factor Sp1 is required for SREBP-1c activation by HCV-3a NS5A. -- Abstract: Steatosis is an important clinical manifestation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The molecular mechanisms of HCV-associated steatosis are not well understood. Sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) is a key transcription factor which activates the transcription of lipogenic genes. Here we showed that the nuclear, mature SREBP-1c level increases in the nucleus of replicon cells expressing HCV-3a nonstructural protein-5A (NS5A). We further showed that HCV-3a NS5A up-regulates SREBP-1c transcription. Additional analysis showed that transcriptional factor Sp1 is involved in SREBP-1c activation by HCV-3a NS5A because inhibition of Sp1 activity by mithramycin A or a dominant-negative Sp1 construct abrogated SREBP-1c promoter activation by HCV-3a NS5A. In addition, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay demonstrated enhanced binding of Sp1 on the SREBP-1c promoter in HCV-3a NS5A replicon cells. These results showed that HCV-3a NS5A activates SREBP-1c transcription through Sp1. Taken together, our results suggest that HCV-3a NS5A is a contributing factor for steatosis caused by HCV-3a infection.

  5. Hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein-5A activates sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c through transcription factor Sp1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiang, Zhonghua; Qiao, Ling; Zhou, Yan; Babiuk, Lorne A.; Liu, Qiang

    2010-01-01

    Research highlights: → A chimeric subgenomic HCV replicon expresses HCV-3a NS5A in an HCV-1b backbone. → HCV-3a NS5A increases mature SREBP-1c protein level. → HCV-3a NS5A activates SREBP-1c transcription. → Domain II of HCV-3a NS5A is more effective in SREBP-1c promoter activation. → Transcription factor Sp1 is required for SREBP-1c activation by HCV-3a NS5A. -- Abstract: Steatosis is an important clinical manifestation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The molecular mechanisms of HCV-associated steatosis are not well understood. Sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) is a key transcription factor which activates the transcription of lipogenic genes. Here we showed that the nuclear, mature SREBP-1c level increases in the nucleus of replicon cells expressing HCV-3a nonstructural protein-5A (NS5A). We further showed that HCV-3a NS5A up-regulates SREBP-1c transcription. Additional analysis showed that transcriptional factor Sp1 is involved in SREBP-1c activation by HCV-3a NS5A because inhibition of Sp1 activity by mithramycin A or a dominant-negative Sp1 construct abrogated SREBP-1c promoter activation by HCV-3a NS5A. In addition, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay demonstrated enhanced binding of Sp1 on the SREBP-1c promoter in HCV-3a NS5A replicon cells. These results showed that HCV-3a NS5A activates SREBP-1c transcription through Sp1. Taken together, our results suggest that HCV-3a NS5A is a contributing factor for steatosis caused by HCV-3a infection.

  6. Merozoite proteins from Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) as potential antigens for serodiagnosis by ELISA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, G Q; Chauvin, A; Rogniaux, H; Luo, J X; Yin, H; Moreau, E

    2010-05-01

    Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) is a Babesia isolated from sheep infested with Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis in China, and is closely related to B. motasi based on the 18S rRNA gene sequence. In the present study, an ELISA was developed with merozoite antigens of Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) (BQMA) purified from in vitro culture. When the positive threshold was chosen as 30% of the antibodies rate, evaluated with 198 negative sera, the specificity was 95.5%. Except for Babesia sp. Tianzhu, there was no cross-reaction between BQMA and positive sera from Babesia sp. BQ1 (Ningxian)-, Babesia sp. Hebei-, Babesia sp. Xinjiang-, Theileria luwenshuni-, T. uilenbergi-, or Anaplasma ovis-infected sheep, which are the dominant haemoparasites of small ruminants in China. Specific antibodies against Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) were produced 1 or 2 weeks post-infection and a high level of antibodies persisted for more than 8 months in experimentally infected sheep. This ELISA was tested on 974 sera collected from field-grazing sheep in 3 counties of Gansu province, northwestern China to evaluate the seroprevalence of Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan) infection and the average positive rate was 66.84%. The feasibility of increasing the specificity of this BQMA-based ELISA, by using some BQMA antigens for serodiagnosis is discussed.

  7. Hepatozoon silvestris sp. nov.: morphological and molecular characterization of a new species of Hepatozoon (Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) from the European wild cat (Felis silvestris silvestris).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodžić, Adnan; Alić, Amer; Prašović, Senad; Otranto, Domenico; Baneth, Gad; Duscher, Georg Gerhard

    2017-04-01

    Based on morphological and genetic characteristics, we describe a new species of Hepatozoon in the European wild cat (Felis silvestris silvestris), herein named Hepatozoon silvestris sp. nov. The study also provides the first data on the occurrence of H. felis in this wild felid. Hepatozoon meronts were observed in multiple cross-sections of different organs of four (44%) cats. Additionally, extracellular forms, resembling mature gamonts of Hepatozoon, were found in the spleen and myocardium of two cats. Furthermore, tissues of six animals (67%) were positive by PCR. Hepatozoon felis was identified infecting one cat (11%), whereas the 18S rRNA sequences of the remaining five cats (56%) were identical, but distinct from the sequences of H. felis. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that those sequences form a highly supported clade distant from other Hepatozoon spp. Future studies should include domestic cats from the areas where the wild cats positive for H. silvestris sp. nov. were found, in order to investigate their potential role to serve as intermediate hosts of this newly described species. Identification of its definitive host(s) and experimental transmission studies are required for elucidating the full life cycle of this parasite and the possible alternative routes of its transmission.

  8. Maturity group classification and maturity locus genotyping of early-maturing soybean varieties from high-latitude cold regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Hongchang; Jiang, Bingjun; Wu, Cunxiang; Lu, Wencheng; Hou, Wensheng; Sun, Shi; Yan, Hongrui; Han, Tianfu

    2014-01-01

    With the migration of human beings, advances of agricultural sciences, evolution of planting patterns and global warming, soybeans have expanded to both tropical and high-latitude cold regions (HCRs). Unlike other regions, HCRs have much more significant and diverse photoperiods and temperature conditions over seasons or across latitudes, and HCR soybeans released there show rich diversity in maturity traits. However, HCR soybeans have not been as well classified into maturity groups (MGs) as other places. Therefore, it is necessary to identify MGs in HCRs and to genotype the maturity loci. Local varieties were collected from the northern part of Northeast China and the far-eastern region of Russia. Maturity group reference (MGR) soybeans of MGs MG000, MG00, and MG0 were used as references during field experiments. Both local varieties and MGR soybeans were planted for two years (2010-2011) in Heihe (N 50°15', E 127°27', H 168.5 m), China. The days to VE (emergence), R1 (beginning bloom) and R7 (beginning maturity) were recorded and statistically analyzed. Furthermore, some varieties were further genotyped at four molecularly-identified maturity loci E1, E2, E3 and E4. The HCR varieties were classified into MG0 or even more early-maturing. In Heihe, some varieties matured much earlier than MG000, which is the most early-maturing known MG, and clustered into a separate group. We designated the group as MG0000, following the convention of MGs. HCR soybeans had relatively stable days to beginning bloom from emergence. The HCR varieties diversified into genotypes of E1, E2, E3 and E4. These loci had different effects on maturity. HCRs diversify early-maturing MGs of soybean. MG0000, a new MG that matures much earlier than known MGs, was developed. HCR soybean breeding should focus more on shortening post-flowering reproductive growth. E1, E2, E3, and E4 function differentially.

  9. Single-phase ProtoDUNE, the Prototype of a Single-Phase Liquid Argon TPC for DUNE at the CERN Neutrino Platform

    CERN Document Server

    Cavanna, F; Touramanis, C

    2017-01-01

    ProtoDUNE-SP is the single-phase DUNE Far Detector prototype that is under construction and will be operated at the CERN Neutrino Platform (NP) starting in 2018. It was proposed to the CERN SPSC in June 2015 (SPSC-P-351) and was approved in December 2015 as experiment NP04 (ProtoDUNE). ProtoDUNE-SP, a crucial part of the DUNE effort towards the construction of the first DUNE 10-kt fiducial mass far detector module (17 kt total LAr mass), is a significant experiment in its own right. With a total liquid argon (LAr) mass of 0.77 kt, it represents the largest monolithic single phase LArTPC detector to be built to date. It is housed in an extension to the EHN1 hall in the North Area, where the CERN NP is providing a new dedicated charged-particle test beamline. ProtoDUNE-SP aims to take its first beam data before the LHC long shutdown (LS2) at the end of 2018. ProtoDUNE-SP prototypes the designs of most of the single-phase DUNE far detector module (DUNE-SP) components at a 1:1 scale, with an extrapolation of abo...

  10. Network type sp3 boron-based single-ion conducting polymer electrolytes for lithium ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Kuirong; Wang, Shuanjin; Ren, Shan; Han, Dongmei; Xiao, Min; Meng, Yuezhong

    2017-08-01

    Electrolytes play a vital role in modulating lithium ion battery performance. An outstanding electrolyte should possess both high ionic conductivity and unity lithium ion transference number. Here, we present a facile method to fabricate a network type sp3 boron-based single-ion conducting polymer electrolyte (SIPE) with high ionic conductivity and lithium ion transference number approaching unity. The SIPE was synthesized by coupling of lithium bis(allylmalonato)borate (LiBAMB) and pentaerythritol tetrakis(2-mercaptoacetate) (PETMP) via one-step photoinitiated in situ thiol-ene click reaction in plasticizers. Influence of kinds and content of plasticizers was investigated and the optimized electrolytes show both outstanding ionic conductivity (1.47 × 10-3 S cm-1 at 25 °C) and high lithium transference number of 0.89. This ionic conductivity is among the highest ionic conductivity exhibited by SIPEs reported to date. Its electrochemical stability window is up to 5.2 V. More importantly, Li/LiFePO4 cells with the prepared single-ion conducting electrolytes as the electrolyte as well as the separator display highly reversible capacity and excellent rate capacity under room temperature. It also demonstrates excellent long-term stability and reliability as it maintains capacity of 124 mA h g-1 at 1 C rate even after 500 cycles without obvious decay.

  11. Production of Cold Active Lipase from Bacillus sp.

    OpenAIRE

    Yasemin, Sara; Arabacı, Nihan; Korkmaz Güvenmez, Hatice

    2018-01-01

    A cold active lipase producing Bacillus sp. strains were isolated from sewage of oil. Bacillus sp. strain SY-7 was determined as the best lipase producing isolate. The highest enzyme production was found at 20°C and pH 8.0 on tributyrin media. Analyses of molecular mass of the partial purified lipase was carried out by SDS-PAGE which revealed a single band as 110.5 kDa. The enzyme activity and stability were determined by spectrophotometric and titrimetric methods. The enzyme was active betwe...

  12. Rhipidocotyle gibsoni n. sp. from a Brazilian Freshwater Fish and Rhipidocotyle froesi n.sp. for r. baculum (linton, 1905 of Eckmann (1932 (Bucephalidae; Digenea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Kohn

    1994-12-01

    Full Text Available Rhipidocotyle gibsoni n.sp. is described from Acestrorhynchus lacustris from Paraná River, brazil. It is most closely related to r. froesi n. sp. and to R. eckmanni in the shape of the cephalic hood, differing in the extent of the uterus, in the position of the vitelline follicles and in that the host is a freshwater fish. Rhipidocotyle froesi n. sp. is proposed for the marine specimens described by Eckmann (1932 as R. baculum (Linton, 1905.

  13. NanoCrySP technology for generation of drug nanocrystals: translational aspects and business potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shete, Ganesh; Bansal, Arvind Kumar

    2016-08-01

    Drug nanocrystals have rapidly evolved into a mature drug delivery strategy in the last decade, with almost 16 products currently on the market. Several "top-down" technologies are available in the market for generation of nanocrystals. Despite several advantages, very few bottom-up technologies have been explored for commercial purpose. This short communication highlights a novel, bottom-up, spray drying based technology-NanoCrySP-to generate drug nanocrystals. Nanocrystals are generated in the presence of non-polymeric excipients that act as crystallization inducer for the drug. Excipients encourage crystallization of drug by plasticization, primary heterogeneous nucleation, and imparting physical barrier to crystal growth. Nanocrystals have shown significant improvement in dissolution and thereby oral bioavailability. NanoCrySP technology is protected through patents in India, the USA, and the European Union. NanoCrySP can be utilized for (i) pharmaceutical development of new chemical entities, (ii) differentiated products of existing molecules, and (iii) generic drug products. The aggregation of drug nanocrystals generated using NanoCrySP poses significant challenges in the nanocrystal-based product development. Addition of stabilizers either during spray drying or during dissolution has shown beneficial effects.

  14. Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Glycoprotein B Requires a Cysteine Residue at Position 633 for Folding, Processing, and Incorporation into Mature Infectious Virus Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laquerre, Sylvie; Anderson, Dina B.; Argnani, Rafaela; Glorioso, Joseph C.

    1998-01-01

    Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein B (gB) resides in the virus envelope in an oligomeric form and plays an essential role in virus entry into susceptible host cells. The oligomerizing domain is a movable element consisting of amino acids 626 to 653 in the gB external domain. This domain contains a single cysteine residue at position 633 (Cys-633) that is predicted to form an intramolecular disulfide bridge with Cys-596. In this study, we examined gB oligomerization, processing, and incorporation into mature virus during infection by two mutant viruses in which either the gB Cys-633 [KgB(C633S)] or both Cys-633 and Cys-596 [KgB(C596S/C633S)] residues were mutated to serine. The result of immunofluorescence studies and analyses of released virus particles showed that the mutant gB molecules were not transported to the cell surface or incorporated into mature virus envelopes and thus infectious virus was not produced. Immunoprecipitation studies revealed that the mutant gB molecules were in an oligomeric configuration and that these mutants produced hetero-oligomers with a truncated form of gB consisting of residues 1 to 43 and 595 to 904, the latter containing the oligomerization domain. Pulse-chase experiments in combination with endoglycosidase H treatment determined that the mutant molecules were improperly processed, having been retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Coimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed that the cysteine mutations resulted in gB misfolding and retention by the molecular chaperones calnexin, calreticulin, and Grp78 in the ER. The altered conformation of the gB mutant glycoproteins was directly detected by a reduction in monoclonal antibody recognition of two previously defined distinct antigenic sites located within residues 381 to 441 and 595 to 737. The misfolded molecules were not transported to the cell surface as hetero-oligomers with wild-type gB, suggesting that the conformational change could not be corrected by

  15. INMUNOTOXICIDAD DE MALATIÓN Y CLORPIRIFOS EN LA LOMBRIZ DE TIERRA Eisenia sp. (ANNELIDA: OLIGOCHAETA | IMMUNOTOXICITY OF MALATHION AND CHLORPYRIFOS IN THE EARTHWORM Eisenia sp. (ANNELIDA: OLIGOCHAETA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen Cortesia

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The effects of malathion and chlorpyrifos on immune responses of Eisenia sp. were assessed using standard toxicity assays. In plastic containers with natural soils as substrate, mature sexually earthworms were exposed to malathion (300 mg kg-1of soil and chlorpyrifos (300 mg kg-1of soil during 7 and 21 days. After exposure periods, cellular viability, total number of coelomocytes (NTC, percentage of phagocytic cells (PCF, lysozyme activity and hemolytic percentage were determined. Malathion and chlorpyrifos exposures caused a significant decrease in NTC, lysozyme and hemolytic activities, but these variables were not affected by time of exposure. PCF declined in earthworms exposed to both pesticides; this decline was dependent of the time-exposure. The results suggest an immunotoxic action of both agrochemicals on humoral and cellular immune responses of Eisenia sp., which could intensify the detrimental effects caused by biotic stressors, such as pathogens microrganisms that live in the soil. The immune responses mediated by the coelocmocytes of Eisenia sp. evaluated in this study were negatively affected by malathion and chlorpyrifos, demonstrating their sensitivity as potential biomarkers useful in early detection of environmental impact by organophosphate pesticides.

  16. Mature Microsatellites: Mechanisms Underlying Dinucleotide Microsatellite Mutational Biases in Human Cells

    OpenAIRE

    Baptiste, Beverly A.; Ananda, Guruprasad; Strubczewski, Noelle; Lutzkanin, Andrew; Khoo, Su Jen; Srikanth, Abhinaya; Kim, Nari; Makova, Kateryna D.; Krasilnikova, Maria M.; Eckert, Kristin A.

    2013-01-01

    Dinucleotide microsatellites are dynamic DNA sequences that affect genome stability. Here, we focused on mature microsatellites, defined as pure repeats of lengths above the threshold and unlikely to mutate below it in a single mutational event. We investigated the prevalence and mutational behavior of these sequences by using human genome sequence data, human cells in culture, and purified DNA polymerases. Mature dinucleotides (?10 units) are present within exonic sequences of >350 genes, re...

  17. PedonnanceofE3rly MatUring MutantS Derived from ''SuPa'~ Rice ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Vienna, Austria in 1994. The dry seeds were in-adiated with gamma rays using three doses (170, 210. --iifid 24OC;Y).frOm C.obalt 60 (lCO) in order shorten the plant height and maturity period. From the resulting mutant. PoPulations ortgindtiriifroni modified single seed descent method, five Jery early maturing lines plus the ...

  18. Design of a box trainer for objective assessment of technical skills in single-port surgery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Horeman, Tim; Sun, Siyu; Tuijthof, Gabrielle J. M.; Jansen, Frank William; Meijerink, Jeroen W. J. H. J.; Dankelman, Jenny

    2015-01-01

    Laparoscopic single-port (SP) surgery uses only a single entry point for all instruments. The approach of SP has been applied in multiple laparoscopic disciplines owing to its improved cosmetic result. However, in SP surgery, instrument movements are further restricted, resulting in increased

  19. "Mature Regionalism" and the Genesis of "Functional Projects": "Educational Regionalism" in Small (and Micro-States)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jules, Tavis D.

    2017-01-01

    This article advances that the movement towards "deeper" Caribbean integration has generated a shift from "immature" regionalism to a "mature" form of regionalism. Thus, mature regionalism, a new governance mechanism, in regulating the institutional and legal framework of Caribbean Single Market and Economy is…

  20. Tightly-Coupled Integration of Multi-GNSS Single-Frequency RTK and MEMS-IMU for Enhanced Positioning Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tuan; Zhang, Hongping; Niu, Xiaoji; Gao, Zhouzheng

    2017-10-27

    Dual-frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) Real-time Kinematics (RTK) has been proven in the past few years to be a reliable and efficient technique to obtain high accuracy positioning. However, there are still challenges for GPS single-frequency RTK, such as low reliability and ambiguity resolution (AR) success rate, especially in kinematic environments. Recently, multi-Global Navigation Satellite System (multi-GNSS) has been applied to enhance the RTK performance in terms of availability and reliability of AR. In order to further enhance the multi-GNSS single-frequency RTK performance in terms of reliability, continuity and accuracy, a low-cost micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement unit (IMU) is adopted in this contribution. We tightly integrate the single-frequency GPS/BeiDou/GLONASS and MEMS-IMU through the extended Kalman filter (EKF), which directly fuses the ambiguity-fixed double-differenced (DD) carrier phase observables and IMU data. A field vehicular test was carried out to evaluate the impacts of the multi-GNSS and IMU on the AR and positioning performance in different system configurations. Test results indicate that the empirical success rate of single-epoch AR for the tightly-coupled single-frequency multi-GNSS RTK/INS integration is over 99% even at an elevation cut-off angle of 40°, and the corresponding position time series is much more stable in comparison with the GPS solution. Besides, GNSS outage simulations show that continuous positioning with certain accuracy is possible due to the INS bridging capability when GNSS positioning is not available.

  1. Tracking transparent monogenean parasites on fish from infection to maturity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro Trujillo-González

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The infection dynamics and distribution of the ectoparasitic fish monogenean Neobenedenia sp. (Monogenea: Capsalidae throughout its development was examined on barramundi, Lates calcarifer (Bloch (Latidae, by labelling transparent, ciliated larvae (oncomiracidia with a fluorescent dye. Replicate fish were each exposed to approximately 50 fluorescent oncomiracidia and then examined for parasites using an epifluorescence stereomicroscope at 10 time intervals post-exposure (15, 30, 60, 120 min, 24, 48 h, four, eight, 12, and 16 days. Fluorescent labelling revealed that parasites attached underneath and on the surface of the scales of host fish. Parasite infection success was 20% within 15 min, and peaked at 93% two days post-exposure, before gradually declining between four and sixteen days. Differences in parasite distribution on L. calcarifer over time provided strong evidence that Neobenedenia sp. larvae settled opportunistically and then migrated to specific microhabitats. Parasites initially attached (<24 h in greater mean numbers on the body surface (13 ± 1.5 compared to the fins (4 ± 0.42 and head region (2 ± 0.41. Once larvae recruitment had ceased (48 h, there were significantly higher mean post-larvae counts on the head (5 ± 3.4 and fins (12 ± 3 compared to previous time intervals. Neobenedenia sp. aggregated on the eyes, fins, and dorsal and ventral extremities on the main body. As parasites neared sexual maturity, there was a marked aggregation on the fins (22 ± 2.35 compared to the head (4 ± 0.97 and body (9 ± 1.33, indicating that Neobenedenia sp. may form mating aggregations.

  2. Hypothalamic ER–associated degradation regulates POMC maturation, feeding, and age-associated obesity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Geun Hyang; Somlo, Diane R.M.; Haataja, Leena; Song, Soobin; Nillni, Eduardo A.

    2018-01-01

    Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons function as key regulators of metabolism and physiology by releasing prohormone-derived neuropeptides with distinct biological activities. However, our understanding of early events in prohormone maturation in the ER remains incomplete. Highlighting the significance of this gap in knowledge, a single POMC cysteine-to-phenylalanine mutation at position 28 (POMC-C28F) is defective for ER processing and causes early onset obesity in a dominant-negative manner in humans through an unclear mechanism. Here, we report a pathologically important role of Sel1L-Hrd1, the protein complex of ER-associated degradation (ERAD), within POMC neurons. Mice with POMC neuron–specific Sel1L deficiency developed age-associated obesity due, at least in part, to the ER retention of POMC that led to hyperphagia. The Sel1L-Hrd1 complex targets a fraction of nascent POMC molecules for ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation, preventing accumulation of misfolded and aggregated POMC, thereby ensuring that another fraction of POMC can undergo normal posttranslational processing and trafficking for secretion. Moreover, we found that the disease-associated POMC-C28F mutant evades ERAD and becomes aggregated due to the presence of a highly reactive unpaired cysteine thiol at position 50. Thus, this study not only identifies ERAD as an important mechanism regulating POMC maturation within the ER, but also provides insights into the pathogenesis of monogenic obesity associated with defective prohormone folding. PMID:29457782

  3. Lending to Small Businesses : The Role of Loan Maturity in Adressing Information Problems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ortiz-Molina, H.; Penas, M.F.

    2004-01-01

    We investigate what determines the maturity of loans to small, informationally opaque businesses.We find that longer maturities are associated with collateral pledges, better financial condition, good credit history, and less informational opacity of the borrower.However, we do not find a positive

  4. Survival and maturation rates of the African rodent Mastomys natalensis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sluydts, Vincent; Crespin, Laurent; Davis, Stephen

    2008-01-01

    the model fit. On the other hand we showed that maturation rates were correlated negatively with density the previous month and positively to cumulative rainfall over the past three months. Survival estimates of both adults and subadults varied seasonally, with higher estimates during the increase phase......Survival and maturation rates of female Mastomys natalensis were analysed based on a ten-year onthly capture-recapture data set. We investigated whether direct and delayed density dependent and independent (rainfall) variables accounted for the considerable variation in demographic traits....... It was estimated that seasonal and annual covariates accounted for respectively 29 and 26% of the total variation in maturation rates and respectively 17 and 11% of the variation in survival rates. Explaining the between-year differences in maturation rates with annual past rainfall or density did not improve...

  5. Pertumbuhan Chlorella sp. pada beberapa konsentrasi limbah batubara (The growth rate of the Chlorella sp. at different concentrations of coal waste water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zerli Selvika

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Chlorella sp. is a single-celled microalga that mostly grows in marine waters. Chlorella sp. can grow in heavy polluted waters and therefore it has potency as a bioremediation agent. This study aimed was to analyze the effect of coal on the growth of Chlorella sp. in plant isolation media and the quality of water in plant isolation media for Chlorella sp. The complete randomized design with 4 treatments of coal concentration was used in this study. Four concentration concentrations were tested namely, 0 ppt, 1 ppt, 3 ppt and 5 ppt. The results revealed that coal with different concentrations gave no significant effect on the growth of Chlorella sp. (p> 0.05. The density among the concentrations of 0 ppt, 1 ppt, 3 ppt and 5 ppt were not significantly different. In addition, the coal concentration gave no significant effect on temperature, salinity and potential hydrogen (pH (p>0.05. The Chlorella sp. can grow in the polluted water by coal, and therefore this alga can be used as potential organisms for bioremediation of coal waste. Chlorella sp. merupakan mikroalga bersel satu yang banyak tumbuh di perairan laut. Chlorella sp. dapat tumbuh di perairan yang tercemar berat sehingga berpotensi sebagai bioremediator. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh konsentrasi batubara terhadap pertumbuhan Chlorella sp. dan kualitas air pada media kultur Chlorella sp. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode eksperimen skala laboratorium. Rancangan percobaan yang digunakan adalah rancangan acak lengkap dengan 4 perlakuan konsentrasi batubara 0 ppt, 1 ppt, 3 ppt dan 5 ppt. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa batubara dengan konsentrasi yang berbeda tidak berpengaruh nyata terhadap laju pertumbuhan Chlorella sp (P>0,05. Kepadatan antara konsentrasi 0 ppt, 1 ppt, 3 ppt dan 5 ppt tidak terlalu jauh berbeda. Konsentrasi batubara juga tidak berpengaruh nyata terhadap parameter suhu, salinitas dan derajat keasaman (pH (p>0,05. Chlorella sp

  6. Quercetin Efficacy on in vitro Maturation of Porcine Oocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delia Orlovschi

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The present study proposed to examine the effects of a polyphenol (quercetin on in vitro maturated parameters. Quercetin it has been extensively studied by researchers on animals over the 35 years. It is a plant derived flavonoid from fruits and vegetables that has antioxidant action as a free radical scavenger. Immature porcine oocytes were untreated and treated with 5, 15, 25, 35 µg/ml quercetin during in vitro maturation. After then the mature oocytes were fertilized. It was observed that cumulus cell expansion of COCs cultured in maturation media supplemented with 5 µg/ml quercetin in grad 3 could be very significantly increased (p<0.001. In grad 4 could be significantly between different levels of quercetin (5 vs. 25, 5 vs. 35, p<0.001. The rates of embryos cultured in medium supplemented with different levels of quercetin did not presented significantly statistically different. The presence of 25 µg/ml quercetin in the maturation medium increased the percentage of embryos in the morula stage compared with the control. In the morula stage all the concentrations of quercetin resulted percentages increased to control. This results shows that quercetin added during in vitro maturation has a positive effect on future embryos development.

  7. Human cytomegalovirus alters localization of MHC class II and dendrite morphology in mature Langerhans cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Andrew W; Hertel, Laura; Louie, Ryan K; Burster, Timo; Lacaille, Vashti; Pashine, Achal; Abate, Davide A; Mocarski, Edward S; Mellins, Elizabeth D

    2006-09-15

    Hemopoietic stem cell-derived mature Langerhans-type dendritic cells (LC) are susceptible to productive infection by human CMV (HCMV). To investigate the impact of infection on this cell type, we examined HLA-DR biosynthesis and trafficking in mature LC cultures exposed to HCMV. We found decreased surface HLA-DR levels in viral Ag-positive as well as in Ag-negative mature LC. Inhibition of HLA-DR was independent of expression of unique short US2-US11 region gene products by HCMV. Indeed, exposure to UV-inactivated virus, but not to conditioned medium from infected cells, was sufficient to reduce HLA-DR on mature LC, implicating particle binding/penetration in this effect. Reduced surface levels reflected an altered distribution of HLA-DR because total cellular HLA-DR was not diminished. Accumulation of HLA-DR was not explained by altered cathepsin S activity. Mature, peptide-loaded HLA-DR molecules were retained within cells, as assessed by the proportion of SDS-stable HLA-DR dimers. A block in egress was implicated, as endocytosis of surface HLA-DR was not increased. Immunofluorescence microscopy corroborated the intracellular retention of HLA-DR and revealed markedly fewer HLA-DR-positive dendritic projections in infected mature LC. Unexpectedly, light microscopic analyses showed a dramatic loss of the dendrites themselves and immunofluorescence revealed that cytoskeletal elements crucial for the formation and maintenance of dendrites are disrupted in viral Ag-positive cells. Consistent with these dendrite effects, HCMV-infected mature LC exhibit markedly reduced chemotaxis in response to lymphoid chemokines. Thus, HCMV impedes MHC class II molecule trafficking, dendritic projections, and migration of mature LC. These changes likely contribute to the reduced activation of CD4+ T cells by HCMV-infected mature LC.

  8. Efficient Maturation and Cytokine Production of Neonatal DCs Requires Combined Proinflammatory Signals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doreen Krumbiegel

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Specific functional properties of dendritic cells (DCs have been suspected as being responsible for the impaired specific immune responses observed in human neonates. To analyze stimulatory requirements for the critical transition from immature, antigen-processing DCs to mature, antigen-presenting DCs, we investigated the effect of different proinflammatory mediators and antigens on phenotype and cytokine secretion of human neonatal DCs derived from hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs. Whereas single proinflammatory mediators were unable to induce the maturation of neonatal DCs, various combinations of IFNγ, CD40L, TNFα, LPS and antigens, induced the maturation of neonatal DCs documented by up-regulation of HLA-DR, CD83 and CD86. Combinations of proinflammatory mediators also increased cytokine secretion by neonatal DCs. Especially combined stimulation with LPS and IFNγ proved to be very efficient in inducing maturation and cytokine synthesis of neonatal DCs. In conclusion, neonatal DCs can be stimulated to express maturation as well as costimulatory surface molecules. However, induction of maturation requires combined stimulation with multiple proinflammatory signals.

  9. The Development of Marital Maturity Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammed YILDIZ

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, validity, reliability and item analysis studies of the Marital Maturity Scale prepared to test whether individuals are ready for marriage have been done. Studies of the development of the scale were made on 623 individuals, consisting of single adults. In the validity studies of the scale, explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses and criterion related validity studies were performed. Factor analysis revealed that the scale had four dimensions. The four factors in the measurement account for 60.91% of the total variance. The factor loadings of the items in the scale range from 0.42 to 0.86. Inonu Marriage Attitude Scale was used in the criterion related validity studies. Correlation value of the two scales r=0.72 (p=0.000 was found significant. It was determined that the subscales of the scale had a significant correlation with the total scale. The cronbach alpha value of the first dimension of the scale was 0.85, the cronbach alpha value of the second dimension of the scale was 0.68, the cronbach alpha value of the third dimension of the scale was 0.80, the cronbach alpha value of the fourth dimension of the scale was 0.91 and the cronbach alpha value of the total scale was 0.90. Test retest results r=0.70, (p=0.000 were found significant. In the item analysis studies, it was revealed that in the lower 27% group, the individuals in the upper 27% group were significantly different in all items (p=0.000. The item total correlation value of the items in the scale was between 0.40 and 0.63. As a result of the assessments, it was concluded that the Marital Maturity Scale was a reliable and valid instrument to measure marital maturity of single adults

  10. Ultrastructure and molecular phylogenetic position of a novel phagotrophic stramenopile from low oxygen environments: Rictus lutensis gen. et sp. nov. (Bicosoecida, incertae sedis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yubuki, Naoji; Leander, Brian S; Silberman, Jeffrey D

    2010-04-01

    A novel free free-living phagotrophic flagellate, Rictus lutensis gen. et sp. nov., with two heterodynamic flagella, a permanent cytostome and a cytopharynx was isolated from muddy, low oxygen coastal sediments in Cape Cod, MA, USA. We cultivated and characterized this flagellate with transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and molecular phylogenetic analyses inferred from small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences. These data demonstrated that this organism has the key ultrastructural characters of the Bicosoecida, including similar transitional zones and a similar overall flagellar apparatus consisting of an x fiber and an L-shape microtubular root 2 involved in food capture. Although the molecular phylogenetic analyses were concordant with the ultrastructural data in placing R. lutensis with the bicosoecid clade, the internal position of this relatively divergent sequence within the clade was not resolved. Therefore, we interpret R. lutensis gen. et sp. nov. as a novel bicosoecid incertae sedis. Copyright 2009 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  11. NORIA-SP: A finite element computer program for analyzing liquid water transport in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hopkins, P.L.; Eaton, R.R.; Bixler, N.E.

    1991-12-01

    A family of finite element computer programs has been developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) most recently, NORIA-SP. The original NORIA code solves a total of four transport equations simultaneously: liquid water, water vapor, air, and energy. Consequently, use of NORIA is computer-intensive. Since many of the applications for which NORIA is used are isothermal, we decided to ''strip'' the original four-equation version, leaving only the liquid water equation. This single-phase version is NORIA-SP. The primary intent of this document is to provide the user of NORIA-SP an accurate user's manual. Consequently, the reader should refer to the NORIA manual if additional detail is required regarding the equation development and finite element methods used. The single-equation version of the NORIA code (NORIA-SP) has been used most frequently for analyzing various hydrological scenarios for the potential underground nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in western Nevada. These analyses are generally performed assuming a composite model to represent the fractured geologic media. In this model the material characteristics of the matrix and the fractures are area weighted to obtain equivalent material properties. Pressure equilibrium between the matrix and fractures is assumed so a single conservation equation can be solved. NORIA-SP is structured to accommodate the composite model. The equations for water velocities in both the rock matrix and the fractures are presented. To use the code for problems involving a single, nonfractured porous material, the user can simply set the area of the fractures to zero

  12. Microencapsulation of single-cell protein from various microalgae species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purnama Sukardi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The objective of the research was to evaluate nutritional values of microencapsulated diet made from single cell protein of microalgae. Complete randomized design was applied using three different types of microalgae for inclusion trials i.e. (A Nannochloropsis sp., (B Chlorella sp., and (C Spirulina sp. with five replications respectively. Microencapsulated diet was produced by a modification method based on thermal cross-linking with stable temperature. Phytoplankton was cultured in sea water for which fertilized by a modification of Walne and Guillard fertilizer. The results showed that the highest value of nutrition content was Spirulina sp. and the average composition of protein, crude lipid, carbohydrate, ash, nitrogen free extract, and water content was 34.80%, 0.30%, 18.53%, 20.09%, 26.29%, and 13.32%, respectively. Organoleptically, microcapsule showed that the color of capsule was dark green and smell fresh phytoplankton. Keywords: microcapsule, single-cell protein, thermal cross-linking, microalgae, phytoplankton  ABSTRAK Tujuan penelitian adalah mengevaluasi kandungan nutrisi pakan mikrokapsul protein sel tunggal (single cell protein yang berasal dari berbagai jenis mikroalga (fitoplankton. Rancangan percobaan yang digunakan adalah rancangan acak lengkap, dengan perlakuan inklusi mikrokapsul dari jenis fitoplankton (A Nannochloropsis sp., (B Chlorella sp., dan (C Spirulina sp., masing-masing diulang lima kali. Pembuatan mikrokapsul dilakukan dengan menggunakan modifikasi metode dasar thermal cross-linking, serta menerapkan teknik pengeringan suhu konstan. Proses pembuatan mikrokapsul protein diawali dengan kultur fitoplankton jenis Nannochloropsis sp., Chlorella sp., dan Spirulina sp. Kultur dilakukan di dalam laboratorium menggunakan media air laut dan modifikasi pupuk Walne dan Guillard. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kandungan nutrisi tertinggi terdapat pada jenis mikrokapsul protein sel tunggal yang berasal dari

  13. Single-cell sequencing unveils the lifestyle and CRISPR-based population history of Hydrotalea sp. in acid mine drainage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medeiros, J D; Leite, L R; Pylro, V S; Oliveira, F S; Almeida, V M; Fernandes, G R; Salim, A C M; Araújo, F M G; Volpini, A C; Oliveira, G; Cuadros-Orellana, S

    2017-10-01

    Acid mine drainage (AMD) is characterized by an acid and metal-rich run-off that originates from mining systems. Despite having been studied for many decades, much remains unknown about the microbial community dynamics in AMD sites, especially during their early development, when the acidity is moderate. Here, we describe draft genome assemblies from single cells retrieved from an early-stage AMD sample. These cells belong to the genus Hydrotalea and are closely related to Hydrotalea flava. The phylogeny and average nucleotide identity analysis suggest that all single amplified genomes (SAGs) form two clades that may represent different strains. These cells have the genomic potential for denitrification, copper and other metal resistance. Two coexisting CRISPR-Cas loci were recovered across SAGs, and we observed heterogeneity in the population with regard to the spacer sequences, together with the loss of trailer-end spacers. Our results suggest that the genomes of Hydrotalea sp. strains studied here are adjusting to a quickly changing selective pressure at the microhabitat scale, and an important form of this selective pressure is infection by foreign DNA. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Fine structure of spermatogenesis in polyopisthocotylid monogeneans (Protomicrocotyle ivoriensis, Gastrocotyle sp.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmahl, G; Obiekezie, A

    1991-01-01

    The development of spermatozoa in the polyopisthocotylean fish-gill flukes Protomicrocotyle ivoriensis and Gastrocotyle sp. was investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy. In both species the spermatogonia were undifferentiated cells, the cytoplasm of which contained numerous free ribosomes, and successive mitoses gave rise to primary spermatocytes, which are clearly identified by the presence of synaptonemal complexes in their nuclei. As compared with that of the spermatogonia, the cytoplasm of the primary spermatocytes contained an increased number of ribosomes. Golgi complexes were frequently seen in the spermatocytes of P. ivoriensis but not in Gastrocotyle sp. In P. ivoriensis the secondary spermatocytes were separated by interspaces between the irregularly shaped cell surfaces. In both species a syncytial mass of spermatids developed, which gave rise to 64 spermatozoa. Cross sections of the mature spermatozoa of both species revealed the presence of numerous submembranous microtubules and two axonemes showing a pattern of 9 doublet peripheral microtubules plus a central one. In contrast to microtubules plus a central one. In contrast to P. ivoriensis, in Gastrocotyle sp. the axonemes originated from different places at the axis of the spermatozoon. With respect to the other results obtained, the spermiogenesis and the fine structure of spermatozoa of both species studied were similar to previous findings in other polyopisthocotyleans.

  15. Six New Polyacetylenic Alcohols from the Marine Sponges Petrosia sp. and Halichondria sp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabriel, Adeyemi Francis; Li, Zhen; Kusuda, Ryouhei; Tanaka, Chiaki; Miyamoto, Tomofumi

    2015-01-01

    Six new polyacetylenic alcohols, termed strongylotriols A and B; pellynols J, K, and L; and isopellynol A, together with three known polyacetylenic alcohols, pellynols A, B, and C were isolated from the marine sponges Petrosia sp., and Halichondria sp. collected in Okinawa, Japan. Their planer structures were determined based on 2D-NMR and mass spectrometric analysis of the degraded products by RuCl3 oxidation. The absolute stereochemistry of isolates was examined by their Mosher's esters. The strongylotriols were found to be optically pure compounds, whereas the pellynols are diastereomeric mixtures at the C-6 position. Proliferation experiments using the HeLa and K562 cell lines suggested that the essential structural units for activity are the "hexa-2,4-diyn-1,6-diol" and "pent-1-en-4-yn-3-ol" on the termini.

  16. [Changes in ingestive behavior during growth affects the functional maturation of temporomandibular joint nociceptive neurons of rats].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiranuma, Maya

    2013-03-01

    Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) loading during development promotes its growth and maintains normal structure/function. Continuous change in diet consistency is related to development and maturation of the peripheral nervous system, including the nociceptive system. However, the functional modulation of TMJ-nociceptive neurons under different ingestive behavior is unclear. We fed growing rats a liquid diet to investigate the effects of low TMJ loading on the response properties of neurons in the trigeminal spinal tract subnucleus caudalis (Sp5C). Forty 2-week-old male rats were used. They were fed chow pellets (n = 20, C group) or a liquid diet (n = 20, LD group) soon after weaning. Firing activities of single sensory units in response to TMJ pressure stimuli were recorded at 4, 5, 7 and 9 weeks. In TMJ-nociceptive neurons, the firing threshold (FT) in the LD group was significantly lower than that in the C group at each recording age. The FT in the C group remained unchanged throughout the recording period, whereas that in the LD group was the highest at 4 weeks, and gradually decreased. On the other hand, the initial firing frequency (IFF) was significantly higher in the LD group than in the C group at each recording age. The IFF in the C group remained unchanged throughout the experimental period, whereas that in the LD group was at its lowest at 4 weeks, and gradually increased. Based on these findings, ingestive behavior that results from continuous changes in the physical consistency of the diet during growth may affect the functional maturation of TMJ-nociceptive neurons.

  17. Silencing the SpMPK1, SpMPK2, and SpMPK3 Genes in Tomato Reduces Abscisic Acid—Mediated Drought Tolerance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Liang

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Drought is a major threat to agriculture production worldwide. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs play a pivotal role in sensing and converting stress signals into appropriate responses so that plants can adapt and survive. To examine the function of MAPKs in the drought tolerance of tomato plants, we silenced the SpMPK1, SpMPK2, and SpMPK3 genes in wild-type plants using the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS method. The results indicate that silencing the individual genes or co-silencing SpMPK1, SpMPK2, and SpMPK3 reduced the drought tolerance of tomato plants by varying degrees. Co-silencing SpMPK1 and SpMPK2 impaired abscisic acid (ABA-induced and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2-induced stomatal closure and enhanced ABA-induced H2O2 production. Similar results were observed when silencing SpMPK3 alone, but not when SpMPK1 and SpMPK2 were individually silenced. These data suggest that the functions of SpMPK1 and SpMPK2 are redundant, and they overlap with that of SpMPK3 in drought stress signaling pathways. In addition, we found that SpMPK3 may regulate H2O2 levels by mediating the expression of CAT1. Hence, SpMPK1, SpMPK2, and SpMPK3 may play crucial roles in enhancing tomato plants’ drought tolerance by influencing stomatal activity and H2O2 production via the ABA-H2O2 pathway.

  18. [Isolation of actinobacteria with antibiotic associated with soft coral Nephthea sp].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Liang; Zhang, Wenjun; Zhu, Yiguang; Wu, Zhengchao; Saurav, Kumar; Hang, Hui; Zhang, Changsheng

    2013-10-04

    The present study aims to isolate and identify actinobacteria associated with the soft coral Nephthea sp., and to isolate natural products from these actinobacteria under the guidance of PCR screening for polyketides synthase (PKS) genes. Eleven selective media were used to isolate actinobacteria associated with the soft coral Nephthea sp. collected from Yongxin Island. The isolated actinobacteria were classified on the basis of phylogenetic tree analysis of their 16S rRNA genes. Degenerated primers targeted on conserved KS (ketoacyl-synthase) domain of type I PKS genes were used to screen for potential isolates. The positive isolates were cultured in three different media to check their producing profiles. One bioactive strain that is rich in metabolites was subjected to larger scale fermentation for isolating bioactive natural products. A total of 20 strains were isolated from Nephthea sp., and were categorized into 3 genera including Streptomyces, Dietzia and Salinospora, among which 18 strains were positive in screening with type I PKS genes. Two bioactive compounds rifamycin S and rifamycin W were isolated and identified from Salinospora arenicola SH04. This is the first report of isolating indigenous marine actinobacteria Salinospora from the soft coral Nephthea sp. It provides an example of isolating bioactive secondary metabolites from cultivable actinobacteria associated with Nephthea sp. by PCR screening.

  19. The effects of pre-entry career maturity and support networks in workplace on newcomers' mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Kaoru; Yamazaki, Yoshihiko

    2006-11-01

    The present study examined the effects of pre-entry experiences (i.e. career maturity), as well as support networks (i.e. informational and friendship), on newcomers' mental health (i.e. depression, self-esteem, psychosomatic symptoms, and work motivation). We performed a longitudinal study of 890 men and women who first entered the workplace in 2003. Surveys were distributed at two time points: just prior to entering the workplace, and two months after entering. Results indicated that career maturity related positively to newcomers' mental health, and newcomers with high career maturity were more successful in establishing positive relationships with superiors and co-workers. Although, informational support networks positively related to work motivation, friendship networks did not show any direct effects on mental health. These results underscore the crucial roles of career maturity and informational networks in facilitating the transition to the workplace. The results also provide empirical support for an expanded view of the importance of pre-entry experiences to workplace newcomers' mental health.

  20. Aging, Maturation and Growth of Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs as Deduced from Growth Curves Using Long Bone Histological Data: An Assessment of Methodological Constraints and Solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griebeler, Eva Maria; Klein, Nicole; Sander, P Martin

    2013-01-01

    Information on aging, maturation, and growth is important for understanding life histories of organisms. In extinct dinosaurs, such information can be derived from the histological growth record preserved in the mid-shaft cortex of long bones. Here, we construct growth models to estimate ages at death, ages at sexual maturity, ages at which individuals were fully-grown, and maximum growth rates from the growth record preserved in long bones of six sauropod dinosaur individuals (one indeterminate mamenchisaurid, two Apatosaurus sp., two indeterminate diplodocids, and one Camarasaurus sp.) and one basal sauropodomorph dinosaur individual (Plateosaurus engelhardti). Using these estimates, we establish allometries between body mass and each of these traits and compare these to extant taxa. Growth models considered for each dinosaur individual were the von Bertalanffy model, the Gompertz model, and the logistic model (LGM), all of which have inherently fixed inflection points, and the Chapman-Richards model in which the point is not fixed. We use the arithmetic mean of the age at the inflection point and of the age at which 90% of asymptotic mass is reached to assess respectively the age at sexual maturity or the age at onset of reproduction, because unambiguous indicators of maturity in Sauropodomorpha are lacking. According to an AIC-based model selection process, the LGM was the best model for our sauropodomorph sample. Allometries established are consistent with literature data on other Sauropodomorpha. All Sauropodomorpha reached full size within a time span similar to scaled-up modern mammalian megaherbivores and had similar maximum growth rates to scaled-up modern megaherbivores and ratites, but growth rates of Sauropodomorpha were lower than of an average mammal. Sauropodomorph ages at death probably were lower than that of average scaled-up ratites and megaherbivores. Sauropodomorpha were older at maturation than scaled-up ratites and average mammals, but

  1. Aging, Maturation and Growth of Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs as Deduced from Growth Curves Using Long Bone Histological Data: An Assessment of Methodological Constraints and Solutions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Maria Griebeler

    Full Text Available Information on aging, maturation, and growth is important for understanding life histories of organisms. In extinct dinosaurs, such information can be derived from the histological growth record preserved in the mid-shaft cortex of long bones. Here, we construct growth models to estimate ages at death, ages at sexual maturity, ages at which individuals were fully-grown, and maximum growth rates from the growth record preserved in long bones of six sauropod dinosaur individuals (one indeterminate mamenchisaurid, two Apatosaurus sp., two indeterminate diplodocids, and one Camarasaurus sp. and one basal sauropodomorph dinosaur individual (Plateosaurus engelhardti. Using these estimates, we establish allometries between body mass and each of these traits and compare these to extant taxa. Growth models considered for each dinosaur individual were the von Bertalanffy model, the Gompertz model, and the logistic model (LGM, all of which have inherently fixed inflection points, and the Chapman-Richards model in which the point is not fixed. We use the arithmetic mean of the age at the inflection point and of the age at which 90% of asymptotic mass is reached to assess respectively the age at sexual maturity or the age at onset of reproduction, because unambiguous indicators of maturity in Sauropodomorpha are lacking. According to an AIC-based model selection process, the LGM was the best model for our sauropodomorph sample. Allometries established are consistent with literature data on other Sauropodomorpha. All Sauropodomorpha reached full size within a time span similar to scaled-up modern mammalian megaherbivores and had similar maximum growth rates to scaled-up modern megaherbivores and ratites, but growth rates of Sauropodomorpha were lower than of an average mammal. Sauropodomorph ages at death probably were lower than that of average scaled-up ratites and megaherbivores. Sauropodomorpha were older at maturation than scaled-up ratites and average

  2. Ovos de Toxocara sp. e larvas de Ancylostoma sp. em praça pública de Lavras, MG Toxocara sp. eggs and Ancylostoma sp. larva in public parks, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antônio Marcos Guimarães

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available Larva migrans visceral e cutânea são zoonoses parasitárias causadas pela infecção da larva de Toxocara sp. e Ancylostoma sp., respectivamente. O objetivo do estudo foi verificar a contaminação por ovos de Toxocara sp. e ovos e larvas de Ancylostoma sp. em amostras de solos coletadas de praças públicas e de áreas de recreação infantil de Lavras, Estado de Minas Gerais, por meio da técnica de centrífugo-flutuação e do método de Baermann. A ocorrência de ovos de Toxocara sp. e, ovos e larvas de Ancylostoma sp. foi observada em 69,6% (16/23 das amostras de solo coletadas de praças públicas. A contaminação somente por ovos de Ancylostoma sp. em amostras de solo coletadas em escolas/creches foi de 22,2% (4/18. A percentagem de amostras de areia coletadas de escolas/creches contaminadas somente com larvas de Ancylostoma sp. foi de 11,1% (2/18. Praças públicas são as áreas com maior risco potencial de infecção por Toxocara sp. e Ancylostoma sp. Exame coproparasitológico realizado em 174 amostras de fezes de cães observou 58% e 23%, respectivamente, com ovos de Ancylostoma sp. e Toxocara sp.Visceral and cutaneous larva migrans are parasitic zoonoses caused by the infection of larval nematodes Toxocara sp. and Ancylostoma sp. respectively. The objective of this study was to investigate the contamination by Toxocara sp. eggs and Ancylostoma sp. eggs and larva of soil samples collected from public parks and children's playground areas in state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using both Baermann's method and centrifugal flotation technique. Toxocara sp. and Ancylostoma sp. eggs were observed in soil samples collected from public squares in 17.4% (4/23 and 69.6 (16/23 respectively. In schools and child day care settings the contamination by Ancylostoma sp. larva in sand samples was 11.1% (2/18. Public parks are settings of more potential risk of Toxocara sp. eggs and Ancylostoma sp. infection. Stool parasitology testing of 174 stool

  3. Regulatory Mechanisms Controlling Maturation of Serotonin Neuron Identity and Function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, William C; Deneris, Evan S

    2017-01-01

    The brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) system has been extensively studied for its role in normal physiology and behavior, as well as, neuropsychiatric disorders. The broad influence of 5-HT on brain function, is in part due to the vast connectivity pattern of 5-HT-producing neurons throughout the CNS. 5-HT neurons are born and terminally specified midway through embryogenesis, then enter a protracted period of maturation, where they functionally integrate into CNS circuitry and then are maintained throughout life. The transcriptional regulatory networks controlling progenitor cell generation and terminal specification of 5-HT neurons are relatively well-understood, yet the factors controlling 5-HT neuron maturation are only recently coming to light. In this review, we first provide an update on the regulatory network controlling 5-HT neuron development, then delve deeper into the properties and regulatory strategies governing 5-HT neuron maturation. In particular, we discuss the role of the 5-HT neuron terminal selector transcription factor (TF) Pet-1 as a key regulator of 5-HT neuron maturation. Pet-1 was originally shown to positively regulate genes needed for 5-HT synthesis, reuptake and vesicular transport, hence 5-HT neuron-type transmitter identity. It has now been shown to regulate, both positively and negatively, many other categories of genes in 5-HT neurons including ion channels, GPCRs, transporters, neuropeptides, and other transcription factors. Its function as a terminal selector results in the maturation of 5-HT neuron excitability, firing characteristics, and synaptic modulation by several neurotransmitters. Furthermore, there is a temporal requirement for Pet-1 in the control of postmitotic gene expression trajectories thus indicating a direct role in 5-HT neuron maturation. Proper regulation of the maturation of cellular identity is critical for normal neuronal functioning and perturbations in the gene regulatory networks controlling

  4. Radioimmunologic determination of SP-1 (gestational beta-1-glycoprotein) in the serum and amniotic fluid during normal and pathological courses of gestation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Courtial, A.

    1986-01-01

    While determinations of SP-1 in the amniotic fluid were found to be of rather limited diagnostic usefulness, both single and repeated measurements in the serum provided valuable information that permitted to predict the presumable patient outcome in cases of imminent abortion attributable to such conditions as diabetic fetopathy or severe gestosis associated with deficient fetal development (one limitation of the method's usefulness being a comparatively high percentage of false-positive results). (TRV) [de

  5. The Drosophila Duox maturation factor is a key component of a positive feedback loop that sustains regeneration signaling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Sumbul Jawed; Abidi, Syeda Nayab Fatima; Skinner, Andrea; Tian, Yuan; Smith-Bolton, Rachel K

    2017-07-01

    Regenerating tissue must initiate the signaling that drives regenerative growth, and sustain that signaling long enough for regeneration to complete. How these key signals are sustained is unclear. To gain a comprehensive view of the changes in gene expression that occur during regeneration, we performed whole-genome mRNAseq of actively regenerating tissue from damaged Drosophila wing imaginal discs. We used genetic tools to ablate the wing primordium to induce regeneration, and carried out transcriptional profiling of the regeneration blastema by fluorescently labeling and sorting the blastema cells, thus identifying differentially expressed genes. Importantly, by using genetic mutants of several of these differentially expressed genes we have confirmed that they have roles in regeneration. Using this approach, we show that high expression of the gene moladietz (mol), which encodes the Duox-maturation factor NIP, is required during regeneration to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn sustain JNK signaling during regeneration. We also show that JNK signaling upregulates mol expression, thereby activating a positive feedback signal that ensures the prolonged JNK activation required for regenerative growth. Thus, by whole-genome transcriptional profiling of regenerating tissue we have identified a positive feedback loop that regulates the extent of regenerative growth.

  6. Cortical neurogenesis in adult rats after ischemic brain injury: most new neurons fail to mature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing-quan Li

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study examines the hypothesis that endogenous neural progenitor cells isolated from the neocortex of ischemic brain can differentiate into neurons or glial cells and contribute to neural regeneration. We performed middle cerebral artery occlusion to establish a model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in adult rats. Immunohistochemical staining of the cortex 1, 3, 7, 14 or 28 days after injury revealed that neural progenitor cells double-positive for nestin and sox-2 appeared in the injured cortex 1 and 3 days post-injury, and were also positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein. New neurons were labeled using bromodeoxyuridine and different stages of maturity were identified using doublecortin, microtubule-associated protein 2 and neuronal nuclei antigen immunohistochemistry. Immature new neurons coexpressing doublecortin and bromodeoxyuridine were observed in the cortex at 3 and 7 days post-injury, and semi-mature and mature new neurons double-positive for microtubule-associated protein 2 and bromodeoxyuridine were found at 14 days post-injury. A few mature new neurons coexpressing neuronal nuclei antigen and bromodeoxyuridine were observed in the injured cortex 28 days post-injury. Glial fibrillary acidic protein/bromodeoxyuridine double-positive astrocytes were also found in the injured cortex. Our findings suggest that neural progenitor cells are present in the damaged cortex of adult rats with cerebral ischemic brain injury, and that they differentiate into astrocytes and immature neurons, but most neurons fail to reach the mature stage.

  7. ECL-IAA and ECL-GADA Can Identify High-Risk Single Autoantibody-Positive Relatives in the TrialNet Pathway to Prevention Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steck, Andrea K; Fouts, Alexandra; Miao, Dongmei; Zhao, Zhiyuan; Dong, Fran; Sosenko, Jay; Gottlieb, Peter; Rewers, Marian J; Yu, Liping

    2016-07-01

    Relatives with single positive islet autoantibodies have a much lower risk of progression to diabetes than those with multiple autoantibodies. TrialNet subjects positive for single autoantibody to insulin (mIAA) (n = 50) or single autoantibody to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA) (n = 50) were analyzed using new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) assays (ECL-IAA and ECL-GADA, respectively) at their initial visit and longitudinally over time. Affinity assays were performed on a subset of single autoantibody-positive subjects at initial and most recent visits. After a mean follow-up of 5.3 years, 20 subjects developed type 1 diabetes. Among either single GADA or single mIAA subjects, those who were positive in the ECL assay showed higher affinity at the initial visit, and affinity results stayed consistent over time. No converting events from low to high or high to low affinity were seen over time. Confirmed positivity for ECL is associated with high affinity and can help staging of risk for type 1 diabetes in single autoantibody-positive subjects.

  8. Evaluation of zona pellucida birefringence intensity during in vitro maturation of oocytes from stimulated cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Claudia G; Vagnini, Laura D; Mauri, Ana L; Massaro, Fabiana C; Silva, Liliane F I; Cavagna, Mario; Baruffi, Ricardo L R; Oliveira, Joao B A; Franco, José G

    2011-04-23

    This study evaluated whether there is a relationship between the zona pellucida birefringence (ZP-BF) intensity and the nuclear (NM) and cytoplasmic (CM) in vitro maturation of human oocytes from stimulated cycles. The ZP-BF was evaluated under an inverted microscope with a polarizing optical system and was scored as high/positive (when the ZP image presented a uniform and intense birefringence) or low/negative (when the image presented moderate and heterogeneous birefringence). CM was analyzed by evaluating the distribution of cortical granules (CGs) throughout the ooplasm by immunofluorescence staining. CM was classified as: complete, when CG was localized in the periphery; incomplete, when oocytes presented a cluster of CGs in the center; or in transition, when oocytes had both in clusters throughout cytoplasm and distributed in a layer in the cytoplasm periphery Nuclear maturation: From a total of 83 germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes, 58 of oocytes (69.9%) reached NM at the metaphase II stage. From these 58 oocytes matured in vitro, the high/positively scoring ZP-BF was presented in 82.7% of oocytes at the GV stage, in 75.8% of oocytes when at the metaphase I, and in 82.7% when oocytes reached MII. No relationship was observed between NM and ZP-BF positive/negative scores (P = 0.55). These variables had a low Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.081). Cytoplasmic maturation: A total of 85 in vitro-matured MII oocytes were fixed for CM evaluation. Forty-nine oocytes of them (57.6%) showed the complete CM, 30 (61.2%) presented a high/positively scoring ZP-BF and 19 (38.8%) had a low/negatively scoring ZP-BF. From 36 oocytes (42.3%) with incomplete CM, 18 (50%) presented a high/positively scoring ZPBF and 18 (50%) had a low/negatively scoring ZP-BF. No relationship was observed between CM and ZP-BF positive/negative scores (P = 0.42). These variables had a low Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.11). The current study demonstrated an absence of

  9. Evaluation of zona pellucida birefringence intensity during in vitro maturation of oocytes from stimulated cycles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silva Liliane FI

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study evaluated whether there is a relationship between the zona pellucida birefringence (ZP-BF intensity and the nuclear (NM and cytoplasmic (CM in vitro maturation of human oocytes from stimulated cycles. Results The ZP-BF was evaluated under an inverted microscope with a polarizing optical system and was scored as high/positive (when the ZP image presented a uniform and intense birefringence or low/negative (when the image presented moderate and heterogeneous birefringence. CM was analyzed by evaluating the distribution of cortical granules (CGs throughout the ooplasm by immunofluorescence staining. CM was classified as: complete, when CG was localized in the periphery; incomplete, when oocytes presented a cluster of CGs in the center; or in transition, when oocytes had both in clusters throughout cytoplasm and distributed in a layer in the cytoplasm periphery Nuclear maturation: From a total of 83 germinal vesicle (GV stage oocytes, 58 of oocytes (69.9% reached NM at the metaphase II stage. From these 58 oocytes matured in vitro, the high/positively scoring ZP-BF was presented in 82.7% of oocytes at the GV stage, in 75.8% of oocytes when at the metaphase I, and in 82.7% when oocytes reached MII. No relationship was observed between NM and ZP-BF positive/negative scores (P = 0.55. These variables had a low Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.081. Cytoplasmic maturation: A total of 85 in vitro-matured MII oocytes were fixed for CM evaluation. Forty-nine oocytes of them (57.6% showed the complete CM, 30 (61.2% presented a high/positively scoring ZP-BF and 19 (38.8% had a low/negatively scoring ZP-BF. From 36 oocytes (42.3% with incomplete CM, 18 (50% presented a high/positively scoring ZPBF and 18 (50% had a low/negatively scoring ZP-BF. No relationship was observed between CM and ZP-BF positive/negative scores (P = 0.42. These variables had a low Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.11. Conclusions The current

  10. Assessment of cortical maturation with prenatal MRI. Part I: normal cortical maturation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fogliarini, Celine [Faculte Timone, Centre de Resonance Magnetique Biologique et Medicale, Marseille (France); Chaumoitre, Katia [Hopital Nord, Department of Radiology, Marseille (France); Chapon, Frederique; Levrier, Olivier; Girard, Nadine [Hopital Timone, Department of Neuroradiology, Marseille Cedex 5 (France); Fernandez, Carla; Figarella-Branger, Dominique [Hopital Timone, Department of Pathology, Marseille (France)

    2005-08-01

    Cortical maturation, especially gyral formation, follows a temporospatial schedule and is a good marker of fetal maturation. Although ultrasonography is still the imaging method of choice to evaluate fetal anatomy, MRI has an increasingly important role in the detection of brain abnormalities, especially of cortical development. Knowledge of MRI techniques in utero with the advantages and disadvantages of some sequences is necessary, in order to try to optimize the different magnetic resonance sequences to be able to make an early diagnosis. The different steps of cortical maturation known from histology represent the background necessary for the understanding of maturation in order to be then able to evaluate brain maturation through neuroimaging. Illustrations of the normal cortical maturation are given for each step accessible to MRI for both the cerebral hemispheres and the posterior fossa. (orig.)

  11. Assessment of cortical maturation with prenatal MRI. Part I: normal cortical maturation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fogliarini, Celine; Chaumoitre, Katia; Chapon, Frederique; Levrier, Olivier; Girard, Nadine; Fernandez, Carla; Figarella-Branger, Dominique

    2005-01-01

    Cortical maturation, especially gyral formation, follows a temporospatial schedule and is a good marker of fetal maturation. Although ultrasonography is still the imaging method of choice to evaluate fetal anatomy, MRI has an increasingly important role in the detection of brain abnormalities, especially of cortical development. Knowledge of MRI techniques in utero with the advantages and disadvantages of some sequences is necessary, in order to try to optimize the different magnetic resonance sequences to be able to make an early diagnosis. The different steps of cortical maturation known from histology represent the background necessary for the understanding of maturation in order to be then able to evaluate brain maturation through neuroimaging. Illustrations of the normal cortical maturation are given for each step accessible to MRI for both the cerebral hemispheres and the posterior fossa. (orig.)

  12. Antibacterial Actions and Potential Phototoxic Effects of Volatile oils of Foeniculum sp. (fennel, Salvia sp. (sage, Vitis sp. (grape, Lavandula sp. (lavender

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elif Ayse Erdogan Eliuz

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, the volatile compounds of essential oil of Foeniculum vulgare (fennel, Salvia officinalis (sage, Vitis vinifera (grape, Lavandula angustifolia (lavender were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS using the Nist and Willey libraries. It was determined that the main components of Foeniculum sp. were anethole (41.11%, carvacrol (9.18%. whereas main components of Salvia sp were 1.8 cineole (34.09%, caryophyllene (10.95%, camphor (9.44%, α-pinene (8.42%. Vitis sp. contained linoleic acid (36.98%, 2,4-decadienal (30.79%. Finally, volatile component of Lavandula sp. was linalool (33.57%, linalyl acetate (30.74%. Photoxic antibacterial activity of volatile oil of those plants against Escherichia coli (ATCC 25293, Klebsiella pneumoniae (10031, Salmonella thyphimurium, Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25925, Enterococcus feacalis (ATCC 29212 were examined by using disc diffusion method. We demonstrated that volatile oil effectively can be activated by a standard LED light. In vitro, significant phototoxicity was demonstrated by volatile oil of Foeniculum sp. and Vitis sp. (P < 0.05, while minor phototoxicity was induced by Lavandula sp. Therefore, volatile oil of plant can be considered as a potential photosensitizer in the photochemical therapy.

  13. Arctic Black Carbon Loading and Profile Using the Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sedlacek, Arthur J [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

    2016-05-01

    One of the major issues confronting aerosol climate simulations of the Arctic and Antarctic cryospheres is the lack of detailed data on the vertical and spatial distribution of aerosols with which to test these models. This is due, in part, to the inherent difficulty of conducting such measurements in extreme environments. However given the pronounced sensitivity of the polar regions to radiative balance perturbations, it is incumbent upon our community to better understand and quantify these perturbations, and their unique feedbacks, so that robust model predictions of this region can be realized. One class of under-measured radiative forcing agents in the polar region is the absorbing aerosol—black carbon and brown carbon. Black carbon (BC; also referred to as light-absorbing carbon [LAC], refractory black carbon [rBC], and soot) is second only to CO2 as a positive forcing agent. Roughly 60% of BC emissions can be attributed to anthropogenic sources (fossil fuel combustion and open-pit cooking), with the remaining fraction being due to biomass burning. Brown carbon (BrC), a major component of biomass burning, collectively refers to non-BC carbonaceous aerosols that typically possess minimal light absorption at visible wavelengths but exhibit pronounced light absorption in the near-ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. Both species can be sourced locally or be remotely transported to the Arctic region and are expected to perturb the radiative balance. The work conducted in this field campaign addresses one of the more glaring deficiencies currently limiting improved quantification of the impact of BC radiative forcing in the cryosphere: the paucity of data on the vertical and spatial distributions of BC. By expanding the Gulfstream aircraft (G-1) payload for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility-sponsored ACME-V campaign to include the Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2)) and leveraging the ACME-V campaign

  14. Occurrence of Pyemotes sp. on Tuta absoluta (Meyrick

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Romero Ferreira de Oliveira

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to study the population reduction of the tomato leafminer moth, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, by Pyemotes sp. in the laboratory. The mite became greenish when fed on caterpillars, pupae, and adults of T. absoluta. The caterpillars and adults of T. absoluta were quickly paralyzed by the mite venom. A single T. absoluta could host many Pyemotes sp, physogastric females, which were allowed to grow on the moth. Pyemotes sp. can be a new alternative for the biological control of T. absoluta. However, this possibility must be better understood before it could be recommended, because Pyemotes sp. could also cause dermatitis in the humans.O ácaro Pyemotes sp. (Acari: Pyemotidae é um parasita de várias espécies de insetos e exibe o processo de fisogastria na reprodução. É registrada a ocorrência de Pyemotes sp. sobre a traça-do-tomateiro, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, que sofreu redução considerável de suas populações em condições de laboratório. Este ácaro foi observado parasitando larvas, pupas e adultos de T. absoluta e suas fêmeas fisogástricas apresentaram coloração esverdeada. As larvas e adultos de T. absoluta atacados por Pyemotes sp. exibiram paralisia em poucos minutos, devido à injeção de toxinas por parte do ácaro. Observou-se que um único indivíduo de T. absoluta pode suportar muitas fêmeas fisogástricas de Pyemotes sp., permitindo que outra geração do ácaro continuasse a se reproduzir. O ácaro Pyemotes sp. surge como uma possibilidade para o controle biológico de T. absoluta, mas sua utilização deve ser melhor avaliada já que é uma espécie causadora de dermatites em humanos.

  15. Nudacotyle carollia sp. nov. (Trematoda, Nudacotylidae parasito intestinal de Carollia perspicillata L. (Chiroptera en Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imelda Velez

    1990-01-01

    Full Text Available Nudacotyle carollia sp. nov. (Trematoda, Nudacotylidae is described on the basis of specimens from the intestinal tracts of three Colombian bats of the species Carollia perspicillata L. The new species resembles both of the genera of the family, Nudacotyle and Neocotyle, in the general position of the organs and in having a vertical cleft. It differs from Nudacotyle in the position of the ovary and cirrus sac and in the lenth of the ceca. The new species differs from Neocotyle in the shape of the body and the vitelline lobes and in the length of the ceca. The ventral cleft is considered to be an important generic character which can be used to unit all the species of both genera in the single genus, Nudacotyle.

  16. A New Method for Single-Epoch Ambiguity Resolution with Indoor Pseudolite Positioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xin; Zhang, Peng; Guo, Jiming; Wang, Jinling; Qiu, Weining

    2017-04-21

    Ambiguity resolution (AR) is crucial for high-precision indoor pseudolite positioning. Due to the existing characteristics of the pseudolite positioning system, such as the geometry structure of the stationary pseudolite which is consistently invariant, the indoor signal is easy to interrupt and the first order linear truncation error cannot be ignored, and a new AR method based on the idea of the ambiguity function method (AFM) is proposed in this paper. The proposed method is a single-epoch and nonlinear method that is especially well-suited for indoor pseudolite positioning. Considering the very low computational efficiency of conventional AFM, we adopt an improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm to search for the best solution in the coordinate domain, and variances of a least squares adjustment is conducted to ensure the reliability of the solving ambiguity. Several experiments, including static and kinematic tests, are conducted to verify the validity of the proposed AR method. Numerical results show that the IPSO significantly improved the computational efficiency of AFM and has a more elaborate search ability compared to the conventional grid searching method. For the indoor pseudolite system, which had an initial approximate coordinate precision better than 0.2 m, the AFM exhibited good performances in both static and kinematic tests. With the corrected ambiguity gained from our proposed method, indoor pseudolite positioning can achieve centimeter-level precision using a low-cost single-frequency software receiver.

  17. Description and life-cycle of Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haukisalmi, Voitto; Konyaev, Sergey; Lavikainen, Antti; Isomursu, Marja; Nakao, Minoru

    2016-01-01

    Abstract A new species of tapeworm, Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea), is described from the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the main definitive host, and the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus and Capreolus pygargus), the main intermediate hosts, from Finland and Russia (Siberia and the Russian Far East). The new species was found once also in the wolf (Canis lupus) and the Eurasian elk/moose (Alces alces), representing accidental definitive and intermediate hosts, respectively. The conspecificity of adult specimens and metacestodes of Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. in various host species and regions, and their distinction from related species of Taenia, was confirmed by partial nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene. Morphologically, Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. can be separated unambiguously from all other species of Taenia by the shape of its large rostellar hooks, particularly the characteristically short, wide and strongly curved blade. If the large rostellar hooks are missing, Taenia lynciscapreoli may be separated from related species by a combination of morphological features of mature proglottids. It is suggested that Taenia lynciscapreoli has been present in published materials concerning the tapeworms of Lynx lynx and Lynx pardinus in Europe, but has been misidentified as Taenia pisiformis (Bloch, 1780). Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. has not been found in lynx outside the range of roe deer, suggesting a transmission pathway based on a specific predator–prey relationship. The present study applies a novel, simple approach to compare qualitative interspecific differences in the shape of rostellar hooks. PMID:27199592

  18. In vitro cultivation of a newly recognized Babesia sp. in dogs in North Carolina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehtinen, Lauren E; Birkenheuer, Adam J; Droleskey, Robert E; Holman, Patricia J

    2008-02-14

    A novel large Babesia sp. from an infected dog was cultivated in vitro by microaerophilous stationary phase culture methodology. A primary culture initiated in enriched RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 40% canine serum and incubated in a 2% oxygen environment supported parasite growth in vitro. Subsequent subcultures into enriched HL-1 medium with 20% fetal bovine serum also supported parasite propagation. Cultures were successfully introduced to 5% carbon dioxide in air atmosphere at passage 4. To date, the parasites have been continuously cultured through 35 passages, although the parasitemias are low, ranging from 0.2 to 0.3%. Parasites cultured in RPMI with canine serum were cryopreserved and successfully recovered from liquid nitrogen storage. The small subunit ribosomal rRNA gene sequence was identical in blood-derived and culture-derived parasites, differing in a single base position from the previously reported sequence for this Babesia sp. The ultrastructure of the parasite was consistent with that of other large Babesia spp., except that the spherical body contained numerous round particles unlike the inclusions previously described in Babesia spp.

  19. Density functional theory prediction of pKa for carboxylated single-wall carbon nanotubes and graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hao; Fu, Aiping; Xue, Xuyan; Guo, Fengna; Huai, Wenbo; Chu, Tianshu; Wang, Zonghua

    2017-06-01

    Density functional calculations have been performed to investigate the acidities for the carboxylated single-wall carbon nanotubes and graphene. The pKa values for different COOH-functionalized models with varying lengths, diameters and chirality of nanotubes and with different edges of graphene were predicted using the SMD/M05-2X/6-31G* method combined with two universal thermodynamic cycles. The effects of following factors, such as, the functionalized position of carboxyl group, the Stone-Wales and single vacancy defects, on the acidity of the functionalized nanotube and graphene have also been evaluated. The deprotonated species have undergone decarboxylation when the hybridization mode of the carbon atom at the functionalization site changed from sp2 to sp3 both for the tube and graphene. The knowledge of the pKa values of the carboxylated nanotube and graphene could be of great help for the understanding of the nanocarbon materials in many diverse areas, including environmental protection, catalysis, electrochemistry and biochemistry.

  20. Amorphous silica maturation in chemically weathered clastic sediments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liesegang, Moritz; Milke, Ralf; Berthold, Christoph

    2018-03-01

    A detailed understanding of silica postdepositional transformation mechanisms is fundamental for its use as a palaeobiologic and palaeoenvironmental archive. Amorphous silica (opal-A) is an important biomineral, an alteration product of silicate rocks on the surface of Earth and Mars, and a precursor material for stable silica phases. During diagenesis, amorphous silica gradually and gradationally transforms to opal-CT, opal-C, and eventually quartz. Here we demonstrate the early-stage maturation of several million year old opal-A from deeply weathered Early Cretaceous and Ordovician sedimentary rocks of the Great Artesian Basin (central Australia). X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electron probe microanalyses show that the mineralogical maturation of the nanosphere material is decoupled from its chemical properties and begins significantly earlier than micromorphology suggests. Non-destructive and locally highly resolved X-ray microdiffraction (μ-XRD2) reveals an almost linear positive correlation between the main peak position (3.97 to 4.06 Å) and a new asymmetry parameter, AP. Heating experiments and calculated diffractograms indicate that nucleation and growth of tridymite-rich nanodomains induce systematic peak shifts and symmetry variations in diffraction patterns of morphologically juvenile opal-A. Our results show that the asymmetry parameter traces the early-stage maturation of amorphous silica, and that the mineralogical opal-A/CT stage extends to smaller d-spacings and larger FWHM values than previously suggested.

  1. Adaptively loaded SP-offset-QAM OFDM for IM/DD communication systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jian; Chan, Chun-Kit

    2017-09-04

    In this paper, we propose adaptively loaded set-partitioned offset quadrature amplitude modulation (SP-offset-QAM) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) for low-cost intensity-modulation direct-detection (IM/DD) communication systems. We compare this scheme with multi-band carrier-less amplitude phase modulation (CAP) and conventional OFDM, and demonstrate >40 Gbit/s transmission over 50-km single-mode fiber. It is shown that the use of SP-QAM formats, together with the adaptive loading algorithm specifically designed to this group of formats, results in significant performance improvement for all these three schemes. SP-offset-QAM OFDM exhibits greatly reduced complexity compared to SP-QAM based multi-band CAP, via parallelized implementation and minimized memory length for spectral shaping. On the other hand, this scheme shows better performance than SP-QAM based conventional OFDM at both back-to-back and after transmission. We also characterize the proposed scheme in terms of enhanced tolerance to fiber intra-channel nonlinearity and the potential to increase the communication security. The studies show that adaptive SP-offset-QAM OFDM is a promising IM/DD solution for medium- and long-reach optical access networks and data center connections.

  2. SP-transcription factors are involved in basal MVP promoter activity and its stimulation by HDAC inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steiner, Elisabeth; Holzmann, Klaus; Pirker, Christine; Elbling, Leonilla; Micksche, Michael; Berger, Walter

    2004-04-23

    The major vault protein (MVP) has been implicated in multidrug resistance, cellular transport, and malignant transformation. In this study we aimed to identify crucial MVP promoter elements that regulate MVP expression. By mutation as well as deletion analysis a conserved proximal GC-box element was demonstrated to be essential for basal human MVP promoter transactivation. Binding of Sp-family transcription factors but not AP2 to this element in vitro and in vivo was shown by EMSA and ChIP assays, respectively. Inhibition of GC-box binding by a dominant-negative Sp1-variant and by mithramycin A distinctly attenuated MVP promoter activity. In Sp-null Drosophila cells, the silent human MVP promoter was transactivated by several human Sp-family members. In human cells the MVP promoter was potently stimulated by the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors butyrate (NaB) and trichostatin A (TSA), resulting in enhanced MVP expression. This stimulation was substantially decreased by mutation of the single GC-box and by application of mithramycin A. Treatment with HDAC inhibitors led to a distinct decrease of Sp1 but increase of Sp3 binding in vivo to the respective promoter sequence as demonstrated by ChIP assays. Summarising, this study identifies variations in Sp-transcription factor binding to a single proximal GC-box element as critical for basal MVP promoter activation and its stimulation by HDAC inhibitors.

  3. Single particle tracking and single molecule energy transfer

    CERN Document Server

    Bräuchle, Christoph; Michaelis, Jens

    2009-01-01

    Closing a gap in the literature, this handbook gathers all the information on single particle tracking and single molecule energy transfer. It covers all aspects of this hot and modern topic, from detecting virus entry to membrane diffusion, and from protein folding using spFRET to coupled dye systems, as well recent achievements in the field. Throughout, the first-class editors and top international authors present content of the highest quality, making this a must-have for physical chemists, spectroscopists, molecular physicists and biochemists.

  4. The Role of Work-Related Skills and Career Role Models in Adolescent Career Maturity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flouri, Eirini; Buchanan, Ann

    2002-01-01

    Using data for 2,722 British adolescents explores whether work-related skills and career role models are associated with career maturity when sociodemographic characteristics, family support, and personal characteristics are controlled. Having work-related skills and having a career role model were positively associated with career maturity.…

  5. Genetic and environmental influences of surfactant protein D serum levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sorensen, G.L.; Hjelmborg, J.V.; Kyvik, K.O.

    2006-01-01

    defining the constitutional serum level of SP-D and determine the magnitude of the genetic contribution to serum SP-D in the adult population. Recent studies have demonstrated that serum SP-D concentrations in children are genetically determined and that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located...... in the NH(2)-terminal region (Met11Thr) of the mature protein is significantly associated with the serum SP-D levels. A classic twin study was performed on a twin population including 1,476 self-reported healthy adults. The serum SP-D levels increased with male sex, age, and smoking status. The intraclass...

  6. Genetic and environmental influences of surfactant protein D serum levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Grith Lykke; Hjelmborg, Jacob v. B.; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm

    2006-01-01

    in the NH(2)-terminal region (Met11Thr) of the mature protein is significantly associated with the serum SP-D levels. A classic twin study was performed on a twin population including 1,476 self-reported healthy adults. The serum SP-D levels increased with male sex, age, and smoking status. The intraclass...... defining the constitutional serum level of SP-D and determine the magnitude of the genetic contribution to serum SP-D in the adult population. Recent studies have demonstrated that serum SP-D concentrations in children are genetically determined and that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located...

  7. Bradysia sp. em morangueiro Bradysia sp. in strawberry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernadete Radin

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available No trabalho, relatam-se os primeiros registros de Bradysia sp. (Insecta: Diptera: Sciaridae em morangueiro (Fragaria x ananassa Duch., cultivado no Município de Eldorado do Sul, RS. O cultivo foi realizado em sacolas com três metros de comprimento, preenchidas com substrato composto de casca de arroz e turfa, dispostas horizontalmente sobre bancadas de madeira, em ambiente protegido. A presença de Bradysia sp. foi observada na segunda quinzena de agosto de 2005. Neste trabalho, estão descritos os sintomas apresentados no morangueiro pela praga, prováveis conseqüências sobre o aparecimento de doenças e uma breve descrição morfológica da Bradysia sp., adulto e fase larval.This paper describes the first record of Bradysia sp. (Insecta; Diptera; Sciaridae in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa, cultivated in the city of Eldorado do Sul, RS, Brazil. Strawberry was planted in plastic bags filled with a mixture of burnt rice hulls and peat and cultivated in a greenhouse. The presence of Bradysia sp was noticed in the second fortnight of August, 2005. The symptoms in strawberry and the probable consequences in terms of disease arising were described in the present study, as well as the morphological characterization of Bradysia sp. and its illustrations.

  8. Hypnagogic Exploration: Sleep Positions and Personality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domino, George; Bohn, Sarah Ann

    1980-01-01

    Sleep positions, particularly the full fetal position, appear to be related to California Psychological Inventory (CPI) variables of sociability, sense of well being, achievement by conformance, femininity, and social maturity. (Author)

  9. Henneguya sp. (Cnidospora:Myxosporida) parasitic in the heart of the bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyers, T R; Sawyer, T K; MacLean, S A

    1977-10-01

    A myxosporidan parasite, Henneguya sp., was discovered in the bulbus and truncus arteriosus of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix. Infected fish were captured from the Atlantic Ocean near Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, Raritan Bay, New Jersey, and Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Comparative features of mature spores showed that they were similar to those of Henneguya sebasta Moser and Love 1975, from the bulbus arteriosus of seven species of California rockfish, Sebastes. Studies on growth stages of the parasite from both host species are necessary before a definite identification of the bluefish parasite can be made.

  10. Robotic Laparoendoscopic Single-site Retroperitioneal Renal Surgery: Initial Investigation of a Purpose-built Single-port Surgical System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurice, Matthew J; Ramirez, Daniel; Kaouk, Jihad H

    2017-04-01

    Robotic single-site retroperitoneal renal surgery has the potential to minimize the morbidity of standard transperitoneal and multiport approaches. Traditionally, technological limitations of non-purpose-built robotic platforms have hindered the application of this approach. To assess the feasibility of retroperitoneal renal surgery using a new purpose-built robotic single-port surgical system. This was a preclinical study using three male cadavers to assess the feasibility of the da Vinci SP1098 surgical system for robotic laparoendoscopic single-site (R-LESS) retroperitoneal renal surgery. We used the SP1098 to perform retroperitoneal R-LESS radical nephrectomy (n=1) and bilateral partial nephrectomy (n=4) on the anterior and posterior surfaces of the kidney. Improvements unique to this system include enhanced optics and intelligent instrument arm control. Access was obtained 2cm anterior and inferior to the tip of the 12th rib using a novel 2.5-cm robotic single-port system that accommodates three double-jointed articulating robotic instruments, an articulating camera, and an assistant port. The primary outcome was the technical feasibility of the procedures, as measured by the need for conversion to standard techniques, intraoperative complications, and operative times. All cases were completed without the need for conversion. There were no intraoperative complications. The operative time was 100min for radical nephrectomy, and the mean operative time was 91.8±18.5min for partial nephrectomy. Limitations include the preclinical model, the small sample size, and the lack of a control group. Single-site retroperitoneal renal surgery is feasible using the latest-generation SP1098 robotic platform. While the potential of the SP1098 appears promising, further study is needed for clinical evaluation of this investigational technology. In an experimental model, we used a new robotic system to successfully perform major surgery on the kidney through a single small

  11. Assessing healthcare process maturity: challenges of using a business process maturity model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tarhan, A.; Turetken, O.; van den Biggelaar, F.J.H.M.

    2015-01-01

    Doi: 10.4108/icst.pervasivehealth.2015.259105 The quality of healthcare services is influenced by the maturity of healthcare processes used to develop it. A maturity model is an instrument to assess and continually improve organizational processes. In the last decade, a number of maturity models

  12. [Changes in Cell Surface Properties and Biofilm Formation Efficiency in Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 Mutants in the Putative Genes of Lipid Metabolism mmsB1 and fabG1].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shumilova, E; Shelud'ko, A V; Filip'echeva, Yu A; Evstigneeva, S S; Ponomareva, E G; Petrova, L P; Katsy, E I

    2016-01-01

    The previously obtained insertion mutants ofAzospirillum brasilense Sp245 in the genes mmsBl and fabG1 (strains SK039 and Sp245.1610, respectively) were characterized by impaired flagellation and motility. The putative products of expression of these genes are 3-hydroxyisobutyrate dehydrogenase and 3-oxoacyl-[acyl-carrier protein] reductase, respectively. In the present work, A. brasilense- Sp245 strains SK039 and Sp245.1610 were found to have differences in the content of 3-hydroxyhexadecanoic, hexadecanoic, 3-hydroxytetradecanoic, hexadecenoic, octadecenoic, and nonadecanoic acids in their lipopolysaccharide prepa- rations, as well as in cell hydrophobicity and hemagglutination activity and dynamics of cell aggregation, in biomass amount, and in the relative content of lipopolysaccharide antigens in mature biofilms formed on hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces.

  13. Development of a Hemispherical Metal Diaphragm for Single-Cycle Liquid-Metal Positive Expulsion Systems

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Gorland, Sol

    1965-01-01

    This report presents experimental results pertaining to the design and development of a metallic expulsion diaphragm for single-cycle positive expulsion of high-temperature liquid in an agravity condition...

  14. Diagnostic assessment of skeletal maturity through dental maturation in Hispanic growing individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandra Cisternas

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to explore dental maturation as a diagnostic test for skeletal maturation. Materials and Methods: Six hundred and fifty-seven growing individuals were classified according to their cervical vertebral maturity and dental maturity, both determined in lateral cephalograms and panoramic radiographs, respectively. The correlation between cervical and dental stages was established for each gender. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was made, and sensitivity and specificity values were established. Results: Correlation was found between cervical and dental maturation for females (r = 0.73; P<0.001 and males (r = 0.60; P<0.001. Sensitivity for dental Stage F, as an indicator of a postmaturation peak stage, was 87.21% for females and 97.1% for males, whereas specificity for the same stage was 82.92% and 72.3% for females and males, respectively. Conclusions: Dental maturation evaluation could contribute determining whether a patient is in a pre- or post-growth spurt stage.

  15. New software for cervical vertebral geometry assessment and its relationship to skeletal maturation--a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santiago, R C; Cunha, A R; Júnior, G C; Fernandes, N; Campos, M J S; Costa, L F M; Vitral, R W F; Bolognese, A M

    2014-01-01

    In the present study, we developed new software for quantitative analysis of cervical vertebrae maturation, and we evaluated its applicability through a multinomial logistic regression model (MLRM). Digitized images of the bodies of the second (C2), third (C3) and fourth (C4) cervical vertebrae were analysed in cephalometric radiographs of 236 subjects (116 boys and 120 girls) by using a software developed for digitized vertebrae analysis. The sample was initially distributed into 11 categories according to the Fishman's skeletal maturity indicators and were then grouped into four stages for quantitative cervical maturational changes (QCMC) analysis (QCMC I, II, III and IV). Seven variables of interest were measured and analysed to identify morphologic alterations of the vertebral bodies in each QCMC category. Statistically significant differences (p cervical vertebrae maturation categories was constructed by taking into account gender, chronological age and four variables determined by digitized vertebrae analysis (Ang_C3, MP_C3, MP_C4 and SP_C4). The MLRM presented a predictability of 81.4%. The weighted κ test showed almost perfect agreement (κ = 0.832) between the categories defined initially by the method of Fishman and those allocated by the MLRM. Significant alterations in the morphologies of the C2, C3 and C4 vertebral bodies that were analysed through the digitized vertebrae analysis software occur during the different stages of skeletal maturation. The model that combines the four parameters measured on the vertebral bodies, the age and the gender showed an excellent prediction.

  16. Mature women’s attitude toward fashion photographs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Fernando Hor-Meyll

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective –To investigate the influence of the cognitive age of upper-middle class mature women regarding their attitude towards photographs of articles of clothing, as a result of their identification with the model wearing them. Design/methodology/approach – Experiment with a sample of 164 women, aged 55- 70 years old, living in Rio de Janeiro. The questionnaire was were based on scales found in the literature. Theoretical foundation Cognitive age (Barak; Schiffman, 1981; Leventhal, 1997; Szmigin; Carrigan, 2000; Wray; Hodges, 2008; Amaro; Johann; Meira, 2007; Birtwistle; Tsim, 2005; Moschis, 2003; Moschis; Mathur, 2006 Mature woman and fashion (Schewe, 1988; Slongo et al., 2009; Thomas; Peters, 2009; Moschis, Lee, & Mathur, 1997; Young; Miller, 2006; Wilkes, 1992; Facenda, 2000; Holmlund; Hagman; Polsa, 2010; Szmigin; Carrigan, 2000. Mature woman and advertising (Moschis, 2003; Venkatesh et al., 2010; Nam et al., 2007; Kozar; Damhorst, 2008; Araujo, Casotti, Da Silva, & Pessôa, 2015 Findings – The identification with the model was greater when the respondent perceived her as being close to her own cognitive age (F(1, 162 =615.87, p=0.000. The attitude toward the collection was more positive when the respondent perceived the model as being closer to her own cognitive age (F (2, 162 =1074.55, p=0.000. Practical implications –The degree of the consumer’s identification is greater when the model appears to be the same cognitive age as the consumer. When the consumer believes that the model is close to her own cognitive age, her attitude toward the displayed item is more positive.

  17. Methylation changes associated with early maturation stages in the Atlantic salmon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pérez-Figueroa Andrés

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Early maturation in the Atlantic salmon is an interesting subject for numerous research lines. Prior to sea migration, parr can reach sexual maturation and successfully fertilize adult female eggs during the reproductive season. These individuals are known as precocious parr, mature parr or "sneakers". Reasons for early maturation are unknown and this transitory stage is usually considered to be a threshold trait. Here, we compare methylation patterns between mature and immature salmon parr from two different rivers in order to infer if such methylation differences may be related to their maturation condition. First we analyzed genetic differences between rivers by means of AFLPs. Then, we compared the DNA methylation differences between mature and immature parrs, using a Methylation-Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism (MSAP, which is a modification of the AFLPs method by making use of the differential sensitivity of a pair of restriction enzymes isoschizomeres to cytosine methylation. The tissues essayed included brain, liver and gonads. Results AFLPs statistical analysis showed that there was no significant differentiation between rivers or a significant differentiation between maturation states in each river. MSAP statistical analysis showed that among the three tissues sampled, the gonads had the highest number of significant single-locus variation among populations with 74 loci followed by brain with 70 and finally liver with only 12. Principal components analysis (PCA of the MSAP profiles revealed different profiles among different tissues (liver, brain and testis clearly separating maturation states in the testis tissue when compared to the liver. Conclusions Our results reveal that genetically-similar mature and immature salmon parr present high levels of DNA methylation variation in two of the three analyzed tissues. We hypothesize that early maturation may be mostly mediated by epigenetic processes rather than by

  18. Attributions, future time perspective and career maturity in nursing undergraduates: correlational study design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Cheng; Yang, Liu; Chen, Yuxia; Zou, Huijing; Su, Yonggang; Fan, Xiuzhen

    2016-01-25

    Career maturity is an important parameter as nursing undergraduates prepare for their future careers. However, little is known regarding the relationships between attributions, future time perspective and career maturity among nursing undergraduates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of career maturity and its relationship with attributions and future time perspective. A cross-sectional survey was designed. This survey was administered to 431 Chinese nursing undergraduates. Independent-sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA were performed to examine the mean differences between categories of binary and categorical demographic characteristics, respectively. Pearson correlations and multiple linear regressions were used to test the relationships between attributions, future time perspective and career maturity. The degree of career maturity was moderate among nursing undergraduates and that internal attributions of academic achievement, future efficacy and future purpose consciousness were positively associated with career maturity (all p time perspective and to facilitate their transition from school to clinical practice.

  19. Correlation between Dental Maturity by Demirjian Method and Skeletal Maturity by Cervical Vertebral Maturity Method using Panoramic Radiograph and Lateral Cephalogram

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madhusudhanan Mallika Mini

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Radiographs are effective tools in assessing the stages of bone maturation in dentistry. The cervical vertebral maturation method is a proven effective tool in assessing the adolescent growth spurt than hand-wrist radiographs in an individual. Assessment of dental calcification stages are a reliable method for determining dental maturity. Panoramic imaging can be used as the primary imaging modality for assessing maturity if a correlation can be found out between tooth calcification stages and cervical vertebral maturation stages. This study was conducted to determine the correlation between dental maturity stage and cervical vertebral maturity stage and to estimate predictor variables for cervical vertebral maturation stages (CVMS stratified by gender in a tertiary hospital setting. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted among patients accessing orthodontic care in radiology outpatient clinic, Oral Medicine and Radiology department, Government Dental College Thiruvananthapuram for a period of 15 months. Participants were selected between the ages of 8 and 16 years. Panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms were used to determine dental maturity stages using Demirjian method and CVMS using Bacetti and Franchi method, respectively. Results: One hundred patients (males = 46, females = 54 were included in the study; the spearman rank order correlation revealed significant relationship. The correlation ranged from 0.61 to 0.74 for females and 0.48 to 0.51 for males. Second premolar showed highest correlation and canine the lowest for both females and males. Stage G of mandibular second premolar signifies the pubertal growth period in this study population. By ordinal regression model, G stage of second premolar was found to be a significant predictor in males and stage H followed by G and F in females for the age group of 12–14 years. Conclusion: Dental maturation stages were significantly correlated with CVMS

  20. Group SkSP-R sampling plan for accelerated life tests

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Muhammad Aslam

    2017-09-15

    Sep 15, 2017 ... SkSP-R sampling; life test; Weibull distribution; producer's risk; ... designed a sampling plan under a time-truncated life test .... adjusted using an acceleration factor. ... where P is the probability of lot acceptance for a single.

  1. The IPEN/CNEN-SP PSD neutron diffractometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parente, Carlos Benedicto Ramos; Mazzocchi, Vera Lucia; Mascarenhas, Yvonne Primerano

    2004-01-01

    Full text: A new IPEN-CNEN/SP neutron powder diffractometer is under construction at the 4 MW thermal IEA-R1m research reactor. It is an upgrading of the old IPEN-CNEN/SP multipurpose neutron diffractometer. The main modifications introduced in the old instrument are: installation of a position sensitive detector (PSD) and a bent perfect single crystal monochromator (a focusing Si monochromator). The PSD is formed by eleven linear detector elements, clamped together at each end to form a rigid plane. The PSD is installed in a detector shielding which is supported by two arms fixed in a large rotary table. This table provides the instrument with the 2θ angular movement. A smaller rotary table, placed underneath and concentric with the larger one, provides the ω(θ) movement. Both tables are driven by a computer controlled geared mechanism. The computer also makes the data acquisition. A rotating-oscillating collimator, placed at the entrance to the detector shielding, eliminates parasitic scattering from furnace or cryorefrigerator heat shields in the vicinity of the sample. The collimator also makes the PSD less sensitive to ambient background. The PSD spans an angular range of 20 deg of a diffraction pattern, resulting in a quite good resolution for the instrument. An extended powder diffraction pattern can be obtained by moving the detector and collecting the data in 20 deg segments. With a take-off angle of 84 deg, the monochromator can be positioned to produce 4 different wavelengths, namely 1.111, 1.399, 1.667 and 2.191 A. Other parts constructed for the new instrument are: a in-pile collimator, a monochromatic beam collimator and a neutron shield, large enough to accommodate the monochromator, a beam shutter and the monochromatic beam collimator. In comparison to the former instrument, the new diffractometer will have better resolution and will be ca. 600 times faster in data acquisition. At the present time, the new instrument is in the final steps of

  2. Suicide in Sorocaba-SP: an epidemiological study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Nobrega Vasques de Freitas

    2013-09-01

    Introduction: suicide is a major worldwide public health issue and appears as one of the ten most frequent causes of death in all ages. Objective: to perform an epidemiological analysis of suicide rates recorded between 2000 and 2009 in the city of Sorocaba-SP and compare them to national epidemiological data. Methods: We performed a descriptive analysis of suicide data in Sorocaba-SP in the period 2000 to 2009 collected by the Surveillance of Violence and Injuries (VIVA and the Municipal Health Secretariat of Sorocaba-SP. Results: a total of 229 suicide cases were recorded between 2000 and 2009. Total suicide rate suffered an increase of 3.8% in 2005, as compared to previous years, and remained constant in subsequent years. The highest average rates were recorded in 2005 and 2007. Men are more likely to commit suicide. The highest rates of suicide were recorded in the age group 35-44 years. Being single was the most common sociodemographic characteristic of suicides during the study period. The most common methods of suicide were hanging and firearms. Conclusion: The rate of suicide in Sorocaba-SP, despite low, is consistent with the national and international growth trends. Members of the younger population are killing themselves with increasing frequency, although the highest rates of suicide are still found among those aged 35 - 44 years

  3. INTERAKSI ANTARA Trichoderma Harzianum, Penicillium SP. DAN Pseudomonas SP. SERTA KAPASITAS ANTAGONISMENYA TERHADAP Phytophthora CapsicilN VITRO*[Interaction Among Trichoderma Harzianum, Penicillium SP., Pseudomonas SP. and Antagonism Capacities Against Phy

    OpenAIRE

    Suharna, Nandang

    2003-01-01

    A preliminary study has been done to know antagonism capacities of three isolates of Trichoderma harzianum, two isolates of Penicillium sp.and one isolate of Pseudomonas sp.against Phytophthora capsici in vitro and interaction among those six antagonists.The highest antagonism capacity possessed by Penicillium sp. KN1, respectively followed by Penicillium sp.KN2,Pseudomonas sp. GH1 and the three T. harzianum isolates. Except for those three T. harzianum isolates, the two Penicillium sp.isolat...

  4. Developmental and ethnic issues experienced by emerging adult African American women related to developing a mature love relationship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyson, Sheryl Y

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative study explored perspectives of emerging adult African American women on the development of mature love relationships. Inductive analysis of focus group interviews, conducted with a purposive sample of 31 African American women, yielded themes related to relationship goals and characteristics, and interpersonal and societal challenges to finding the right partner and developing a mature love relationship. Core categories that emerged from analysis of the discussions were (1) age and relationship goal differences within the emerging adult group, (2) mature love relationship goals and characteristics, (3) interpersonal obstacles to finding the right partner, and (4) societal obstacles to finding the right partner. Two approaches-black womanist/feminist thought (Collins, 2000 ; Walker, 1983 ) and relationship maturity theory (Paul & White, 1990 )-were then combined to explain the influence of historic and contemporary interpersonal and societal factors on developmental and ethnic issues that challenge positive gender identity formation, hasten intimacy maturity, and hinder the development of mature love relationships among emerging adult African American women. For these women, premature responsibility, especially early caregiver burden, was related to the early development of intimacy capacity and the desire for a mature love relationship, to be protected, and to have someone to help carry the load. Interracial dating, negative stereotypic images of African American women, and even positive images of enduring black love relationships posed difficult challenges to positive identity formation and intimacy maturity. A primary challenge was to counteract negative stereotypic images, so that they could develop their own self-identities as women and as relationship partners.

  5. Differences in nutrient uptake capacity of the benthic filamentous algae Cladophora sp., Klebsormidium sp. and Pseudanabaena sp. under varying N/P conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Junzhuo; Vyverman, Wim

    2015-03-01

    The N/P ratio of wastewater can vary greatly and directly affect algal growth and nutrient removal process. Three benthic filamentous algae species Cladophora sp., Klebsormidium sp. and Pseudanabaena sp. were isolated from a periphyton bioreactor and cultured under laboratory conditions on varying N/P ratios to determine their ability to remove nitrate and phosphorus. The N/P ratio significantly influenced the algal growth and phosphorus uptake process. Appropriate N/P ratios for nitrogen and phosphorus removal were 5-15, 7-10 and 7-20 for Cladophora sp., Klebsormidium sp. and Pseudanabaena sp., respectively. Within these respective ranges, Cladophora sp. had the highest biomass production, while Pseudanabaena sp. had the highest nitrogen and phosphorus contents. This study indicated that Cladophora sp. had a high capacity of removing phosphorus from wastewaters of low N/P ratio, and Pseudanabaena sp. was highly suitable for removing nitrogen from wastewaters with high N/P ratio. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Capability maturity models in engineering companies: case study analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Titov Sergei

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In the conditions of the current economic downturn engineering companies in Russia and worldwide are searching for new approaches and frameworks to improve their strategic position, increase the efficiency of the internal business processes and enhance the quality of the final products. Capability maturity models are well-known tools used by many foreign engineering companies to assess the productivity of the processes, to elaborate the program of business process improvement and to prioritize the efforts to optimize the whole company performance. The impact of capability maturity model implementation on cost and time are documented and analyzed in the existing research. However, the potential of maturity models as tools of quality management is less known. The article attempts to analyze the impact of CMM implementation on the quality issues. The research is based on a case study methodology and investigates the real life situation in a Russian engineering company.

  7. [Treatment of supine position-related obstructive sleep apnea with smartphone applications].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haas, D; Birk, R; Maurer, J T; Hörmann, K; Stuck, B A; Sommer, J U

    2017-02-01

    Positional obstructive sleep apnea (POSA) is common in mild and moderate forms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Two smartphone applications (apps) professing to avoid the supine position (SP) are available: for Android the "Apnea Sleep Position Trainer" and for iOS the "SomnoPose-Sleep Position Monitor". The smartphone needs to be attached to the chest to recognize SP, which then triggers a vibration alarm. This is intended to encourage the patient to change position and the vibration stops as soon as SP is left. These apps, however, have not yet undergone a systematic evaluation. Adult patients with polysomnographically diagnosed POSA were invited to participate in the study. POSA was defined as an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in SP >10, with AHI in a lateral position sleep time and to an overall AHI smartphone apps have the capability to prevent PS in POSA patients and can potentially offer a cost-effective option in the treatment of POSA.

  8. Studies on positive conveying in helically channeled single screw extruders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Pan

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available A solids conveying theory called double-flight driving theory was proposed for helically channeled single screw extruders. In the extruder, screw channel rotates against static barrel channel, which behaves as cooperative embedded twin-screws for the positive conveying. They turn as two parallel arc plates, between which an arc-plate solid-plug was assumed. By analyzing the forces on the solid-plug in the barrel channel and screw channel, the boundary conditions when the solid-plug is waived of being cut off on barrel wall, were found to have the capacity of the positive conveying. Experimental data were obtained using a specially designed extruder with a helically channeled barrel in the feeding zone and a pressure-adjustable die. The effects of the barrel channel geometry and friction coefficients on the conveying mechanism were presented and compared with the experimental results. The simulations showed that the positive conveying could be achieved after optimizing extruder designs. Compared with the traditional design with the friction-drag conveying, the throughput is higher while screw torque and energy consumption are decreased. Besides, the design criteria of the barrel channel were also discussed.

  9. Microbiota Influences Morphology and Reproduction of the Brown Alga Ectocarpus sp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tapia, Javier E; González, Bernardo; Goulitquer, Sophie; Potin, Philippe; Correa, Juan A

    2016-01-01

    Associated microbiota play crucial roles in health and disease of higher organisms. For macroalgae, some associated bacteria exert beneficial effects on nutrition, morphogenesis and growth. However, current knowledge on macroalgae-microbiota interactions is mostly based on studies on green and red seaweeds. In this study, we report that when cultured under axenic conditions, the filamentous brown algal model Ectocarpus sp. loses its branched morphology and grows with a small ball-like appearance. Nine strains of periphytic bacteria isolated from Ectocarpus sp. unialgal cultures were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing, and assessed for their effect on morphology, reproduction and the metabolites secreted by axenic Ectocarpus sp. Six of these isolates restored morphology and reproduction features of axenic Ectocarpus sp. Bacteria-algae co-culture supernatants, but not the supernatant of the corresponding bacterium growing alone, also recovered morphology and reproduction of the alga. Furthermore, colonization of axenic Ectocarpus sp. with a single bacterial isolate impacted significantly the metabolites released by the alga. These results show that the branched typical morphology and the individuals produced by Ectocarpus sp. are strongly dependent on the presence of bacteria, while the bacterial effect on the algal exometabolome profile reflects the impact of bacteria on the whole physiology of this alga.

  10. Identifikasi komponen aktif minyak atsiri daun Vitex trifolia Linn yang berperan sebagai penolak serangga terhadap Chrysomya sp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ami Soewandi J. S

    1999-06-01

    Full Text Available Dried leves powder of Vitex trifolia, Linn, is used tradisionally as insect repellent. The activity of the essential oil (isolated from the leaves and this fractions were studied as a repellent against Chrysomya sp. Fraction E contained a single component and has proven as the most effective to repel Chrysomya sp.According to the spectra of UV, IR, and GC-MS analysis, the single component of fraction E was identified as 4-methyl-1-(methylethy3-cyclohexnol.

  11. First report of Anisakis sp. in Epinephelus sp. in East Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Annytha Ina Rohi Detha; Diana Agustiani Wuri; Julianty Almet; Yuni Riwu; Christin Melky

    2018-01-01

    Objective: The present research was conducted to identify the prevalence of Anisakis sp. as fish-borne zoonoses in Epinephelus sp. in territorial waters of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Materials and methods: A total of 50 fish (Epinephelus sp.) were collected from Kupang Fish Market in East Nusa Tenggara. Identification of Anisakis sp. was performed based on morphological observations considering shape of ventriculus, boring tooth, and mucron using binocular microscope. Results: Prev...

  12. Aerobic fitness, maturation, and training experience in youth basketball.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, Humberto M; Coelho-e-Silva, Manuel J; Eisenmann, Joey C; Malina, Robert M

    2013-07-01

    Relationships among chronological age (CA), maturation, training experience, and body dimensions with peak oxygen uptake (VO2max) were considered in male basketball players 14-16 y of age. Data for all players included maturity status estimated as percentage of predicted adult height attained at the time of the study (Khamis-Roche protocol), years of training, body dimensions, and VO2max (incremental maximal test on a treadmill). Proportional allometric models derived from stepwise regressions were used to incorporate either CA or maturity status and to incorporate years of formal training in basketball. Estimates for size exponents (95% CI) from the separate allometric models for VO2max were height 2.16 (1.23-3.09), body mass 0.65 (0.37-0.93), and fat-free mass 0.73 (0.46-1.02). Body dimensions explained 39% to 44% of variance. The independent variables in the proportional allometric models explained 47% to 60% of variance in VO2max. Estimated maturity status (11-16% of explained variance) and training experience (7-11% of explained variance) were significant predictors with either body mass or estimated fat-free mass (P ≤ .01) but not with height. Biological maturity status and training experience in basketball had a significant contribution to VO2max via body mass and fat-free fat mass and also had an independent positive relation with aerobic performance. The results highlight the importance of considering variation associated with biological maturation in aerobic performance of late-adolescent boys.

  13. Occurrence of Blastocystis sp. in water catchments at Malay villages and Aboriginal settlement during wet and dry seasons in Peninsular Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samseh Abdullah Noradilah

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available In the tropics, there are too few studies on isolation of Blastocystis sp. subtypes from water sources; in addition, there is also an absence of reported studies on the occurrence of Blastocystis sp. subtypes in water during different seasons. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the occurrence of Blastocystis sp. subtypes in river water and other water sources that drained aboriginal vicinity of highly endemic intestinal parasitic infections during wet and dry seasons. Water samples were collected from six sampling points of Sungai Krau (K1–K6 and a point at Sungai Lompat (K7 and other water sources around the aboriginal villages. The water samples were collected during both seasons, wet and dry seasons. Filtration of the water samples were carried out using a flatbed membrane filtration system. The extracted DNA from concentrated water sediment was subjected to single round polymerase chain reaction and positive PCR products were subjected to sequencing. All samples were also subjected to filtration and cultured on membrane lactose glucuronide agar for the detection of faecal coliforms. During wet season, Blastocystis sp. ST1, ST2 and ST3 were detected in river water samples. Blastocystis sp. ST3 occurrence was sustained in the river water samples during dry season. However Blastocystis sp. ST1 and ST2 were absent during dry season. Water samples collected from various water sources showed contaminations of Blastocystis sp. ST1, ST2, ST3 and ST4, during wet season and Blastocystis sp. ST1, ST3, ST8 and ST10 during dry season. Water collected from all river sampling points during both seasons showed growth of Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes, indicating faecal contamination. In this study, Blastocystis sp. ST3 is suggested as the most robust and resistant subtype able to survive in any adverse environmental condition. Restriction and control of human and animal faecal contaminations to the river and other water sources

  14. Cost uncertainty for different levels of technology maturity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeMuth, S.F.; Franklin, A.L.

    1996-01-01

    It is difficult at best to apply a single methodology for estimating cost uncertainties related to technologies of differing maturity. While highly mature technologies may have significant performance and manufacturing cost data available, less well developed technologies may be defined in only conceptual terms. Regardless of the degree of technical maturity, often a cost estimate relating to application of the technology may be required to justify continued funding for development. Yet, a cost estimate without its associated uncertainty lacks the information required to assess the economic risk. For this reason, it is important for the developer to provide some type of uncertainty along with a cost estimate. This study demonstrates how different methodologies for estimating uncertainties can be applied to cost estimates for technologies of different maturities. For a less well developed technology an uncertainty analysis of the cost estimate can be based on a sensitivity analysis; whereas, an uncertainty analysis of the cost estimate for a well developed technology can be based on an error propagation technique from classical statistics. It was decided to demonstrate these uncertainty estimation techniques with (1) an investigation of the additional cost of remediation due to beyond baseline, nearly complete, waste heel retrieval from underground storage tanks (USTs) at Hanford; and (2) the cost related to the use of crystalline silico-titanate (CST) rather than the baseline CS100 ion exchange resin for cesium separation from UST waste at Hanford

  15. Prone position for the prevention of lung infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beuret, P

    2002-04-01

    Pulmonary infection is frequent in brain injured patients. It has been identified as an independent predictor of unfavorable neurological outcome, calling for attempts of prevention. We recently evaluated intermittent prone positioning for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in comatose brain injured patients, in a randomized study. 25 patients were included in the prone position (PP) group: they were positioned on prone four hours once daily until they could get up to sit in an armchair; 26 patients were included in the supine position (SP) group. The main characteristics of the patients from the two groups were similar at randomization. The primary end-point was the incidence of lung worsening, defined by an increase in the Lung Injury Score by at least one point since the time of randomization. The incidence of lung worsening was lower in the PP group (12%) than in the SP group (50%) (p=0.003). The incidence of VAP was 38.4% in the SP group and 20% in the PP group (p=0.14). There was no serious complication attributable to prone positioning. In conclusion, the beneficial effect of prone positioning for prevention of lung infection in brain injured patients is not well established. However, in those patients, prone positioning is able to avoid the worsening of pulmonary function, especially in oxygenation.

  16. Staffing and Workflow of a Maturing Institutional Repository

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Debora L. Madsen

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Institutional repositories (IRs have become established components of many academic libraries. As an IR matures it will face the challenge of how to scale up its operations to increase the amount and types of content archived. These challenges involve staffing, systems, workflows, and promotion. In the past eight years, Kansas State University's IR (K-REx has grown from a platform for student theses, dissertations, and reports to also include faculty works. The initial workforce of a single faculty member was expanded as a part of a library-wide reorganization, resulting in a cross-departmental team that is better able to accommodate the expansion of the IR. The resultant need to define staff responsibilities and develop resources to manage the workflows has led to the innovations described here, which may prove useful to the greater library community as other IRs mature.

  17. Does Illumination of Non-Mature Cereal Kernels During Drying Affect the Germination Ability?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Małuszyńska Elżbieta

    2016-06-01

    the germination ability of non-mature kernels depends on all studied factors: lighting during drying, terms of harvesting and the interaction light * term;non mature kernelsare more sensitive to drying conditions;lighting during seeds drying can have a positive effect on ability to germination;for breeding practice it would be better to harvest kernels at 23 DAF and dry them at room conditions under incandescent lamp.

  18. Modeling timelines for translational science in cancer; the impact of technological maturation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura M McNamee

    Full Text Available This work examines translational science in cancer based on theories of innovation that posit a relationship between the maturation of technologies and their capacity to generate successful products. We examined the growth of technologies associated with 138 anticancer drugs using an analytical model that identifies the point of initiation of exponential growth and the point at which growth slows as the technology becomes established. Approval of targeted and biological products corresponded with technological maturation, with first approval averaging 14 years after the established point and 44 years after initiation of associated technologies. The lag in cancer drug approvals after the increases in cancer funding and dramatic scientific advances of the 1970s thus reflects predictable timelines of technology maturation. Analytical models of technological maturation may be used for technological forecasting to guide more efficient translation of scientific discoveries into cures.

  19. Molecular Signature in HCV-Positive Lymphomas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valli De Re

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Hepatitis C virus (HCV is a positive, single-stranded RNA virus, which has been associated to different subtypes of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL. Cumulative evidence suggests an HCV-related antigen driven process in the B-NHL development. The underlying molecular signature associated to HCV-related B-NHL has to date remained obscure. In this review, we discuss the recent developments in this field with a special mention to different sets of genes whose expression is associated with BCR coupled to Blys signaling which in turn was found to be linked to B-cell maturation stages and NF-κb transcription factor. Even if recent progress on HCV-B-NHL signature has been made, the precise relationship between HCV and lymphoma development and phenotype signature remain to be clarified.

  20. Molecular toxicity of triclosan and carbamazepine to green algae Chlorococcum sp.: A single cell view using synchrotron-based Fourier transform infrared spectromicroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xin, Xiaying; Huang, Guohe; Liu, Xia; An, Chunjiang; Yao, Yao; Weger, Harold; Zhang, Peng; Chen, Xiujuan

    2017-07-01

    Although pharmaceuticals and personal care products have been used and introduced into the environment in large quantities, little information on potential ecological risks is currently available considering their effects on living organisms. We verified the feasibility of using synchrotron-based Fourier Transform Infrared (SR-FTIR) spectromicroscopy to explore in vivo toxic effects on single living Chlorococcum sp. cells. The study provided important information to achieve a better understanding of the toxic mechanism of triclosan and carbamazepine on living algae Chlorococcum sp.. Triclosan and carbamazepine had distinctive toxic effects on unicellular living algae. Most strikingly, triclosan had more dramatic toxic effects on biochemical components than carbamazepine. Triclosan can affect algae primarily by inhibiting fatty acid synthesis and causing protein aggregation. The toxicity response was irreversible at higher concentration (100.000 μM), but attenuated at lower concentration (0.391 μM) as time extended. Carbamazepine can produce hydrophobic interactions to affect the phospholipid bilayer and work on specific proteins to disfunction the cell membrane. Carbamazepine-exposed cells developed a resistance while extending exposure time. This is the first demonstration from an ecological standpoint that SR-FTIR can provide an innovative approach to reveal the toxicity of emerging pollutants in aquatic environments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Higher Performance of DSSC with Dyes from Cladophora sp. as Mixed Cosensitizer through Synergistic Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Andery; Haji Manaf, Noramaliyana; Tennakoon, Kushan; Chandrakanthi, R L N; Lim, Linda Biaw Leng; Bandara, J M R Sarath; Ekanayake, Piyasiri

    2015-01-01

    Chlorophyll and xanthophyll dyes extracted from a single source of filamentous freshwater green algae (Cladophora sp.) were used to sensitize dye sensitized solar cells and their performances were investigated. A more positive interaction is expected as the derived dyes come from a single natural source because they work mutually in nature. Cell sensitized with mixed chlorophyll and xanthophyll showed synergistic activity with improved cell performance of 1.5- to 2-fold higher than that sensitized with any individual dye. The effect of temperature and the stability of these dyes were also investigated. Xanthophyll dye was found to be more stable compared to chlorophyll that is attributed in the ability of xanthophyll to dissipate extra energy via reversible structural changes. Mixing the dyes resulted to an increase in effective electron life time and reduced the process of electron recombination during solar cell operation, hence exhibiting a synergistic effect.

  2. Salinity induced oxidative stress enhanced biofuel production potential of microalgae Scenedesmus sp. CCNM 1077.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pancha, Imran; Chokshi, Kaumeel; Maurya, Rahulkumar; Trivedi, Khanjan; Patidar, Shailesh Kumar; Ghosh, Arup; Mishra, Sandhya

    2015-01-01

    Microalgal biomass is considered as potential feedstock for biofuel production. Enhancement of biomass, lipid and carbohydrate contents in microalgae is important for the commercialization of microalgal biofuels. In the present study, salinity stress induced physiological and biochemical changes in microalgae Scenedesmus sp. CCNM 1077 were studied. During single stage cultivation, 33.13% lipid and 35.91% carbohydrate content was found in 400 mM NaCl grown culture. During two stage cultivation, salinity stress of 400 mM for 3 days resulted in 24.77% lipid (containing 74.87% neutral lipid) along with higher biomass compared to single stage, making it an efficient strategy to enhance biofuel production potential of Scenedesmus sp. CCNM 1077. Apart from biochemical content, stress biomarkers like hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxidation, ascorbate peroxidase, proline and mineral contents were also studied to understand the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated lipid accumulation in microalgae Scenedesmus sp. CCNM 1077. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. 1-D position sensitive single carrier semiconductor detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong He; Knoll, G.F.; Wehe, D.K.; Rojeski, R.; Mastrangelo, C.H.; Hammig, M.; Barrett, C.; Uritani, A.

    1996-01-01

    A single polarity charge sensing method has been studied using coplanar electrodes on 5 mm cubes of CdZnTe γ-ray detectors. This method can ameliorate the hole trapping problem of room-temperature semiconductor detectors. Our experimental results confirm that the energy resolution is dramatically improved compared with that obtained using the conventional readout method, but is still about an order of magnitude worse than the theoretical limit. A method to obtain the γ-ray interaction depth between the cathode and the anode is presented here. This technique could be used to correct for the electron trapping as a function of distance from the coplanar electrodes. Experimental results showed that a position resolution of about 0.9 mm FWHM at 122 keV can be obtained. These results will be of interest in the design of higher performance room-temperature semiconductor γ-ray detectors. (orig.)

  4. Position control of a single pneumatic artificial muscle with hysteresis compensation based on modified Prandtl-Ishlinskii model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, Xizhe; Liu, Yixiang; Heng, Shuai; Lin, Zhenkun; Zhao, Jie

    2017-01-01

    High-performance position control of pneumatic artificial muscles is limited by their inherent nonlinearity and hysteresis. This study aims to model the length/pressure hysteresis of a single pneumatic artificial muscle and to realize its accurate position tracking control with forward hysteresis compensation. The classical Prandtl-Ishlinskii model is widely used in hysteresis modelling and compensation. But it is only effective for symmetric hysteresis. Therefore, a modified Prandtl-Ishlinskii model is built to characterize the asymmetric length/pressure hysteresis of a single pneumatic artificial muscle, by replacing the classical play operators with two more flexible elementary operators to independently describe the ascending branch and descending branch of hysteresis loops. On the basis, a position tracking controller, which is composed of cascade forward hysteresis compensation and simple proportional pressure controller, is designed for the pneumatic artificial muscle. Experiment results show that the MPI model can reproduce the length/pressure hysteresis of the pneumatic artificial muscle, and the proposed controller for the pneumatic artificial muscle can track the reference position signals with high accuracy. By modelling the length/pressure hysteresis with the modified Prandtl-Ishlinskii model and using its inversion for compensation, precise position control of a single pneumatic artificial muscle is achieved.

  5. Single-position Hall effect measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2014-01-01

    A method for determining a distance (Y) between a first position on and an electrical boundary (34) of a test sample by a multi-point probe comprising four contact elements, comprising: contacting the test sample with the four contact elements (20,22,24,26) at the first position, applying a magne...

  6. Significance of Isotopically Labile Organic Hydrogen in Thermal Maturation of Organic Matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arndt Schimmelmann; Maria Mastalerz

    2010-03-30

    Isotopically labile organic hydrogen in fossil fuels occupies chemical positions that participate in isotopic exchange and in chemical reactions during thermal maturation from kerogen to bitumen, oil and gas. Carbon-bound organic hydrogen is isotopically far less exchangeable than hydrogen bound to nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur. We explore why organic hydrogen isotope ratios express a relationship with organic nitrogen isotope ratios in kerogen at low to moderate maturity. We develop and apply new techniques to utilize organic D/H ratios in organic matter fractions and on a molecular level as tools for exploration for fossil fuels and for paleoenvironmental research. The scope of our samples includes naturally and artificially matured substrates, such as coal, shale, oil and gas.

  7. Sp1 and Sp3 Are the Transcription Activators of Human ek1 Promoter in TSA-Treated Human Colon Carcinoma Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuan, Chee Sian; See Too, Wei Cun; Few, Ling Ling

    2016-01-01

    Ethanolamine kinase (EK) catalyzes the phosphorylation of ethanolamine, the first step in the CDP-ethanolamine pathway for the biosynthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Human EK exists as EK1, EK2α and EK2β isoforms, encoded by two separate genes, named ek1 and ek2. EK activity is stimulated by carcinogens and oncogenes, suggesting the involvement of EK in carcinogenesis. Currently, little is known about EK transcriptional regulation by endogenous or exogenous signals, and the ek gene promoter has never been studied. In this report, we mapped the important regulatory regions in the human ek1 promoter. 5' deletion analysis and site-directed mutagenesis identified a Sp site at position (-40/-31) that was essential for the basal transcription of this gene. Treatment of HCT116 cells with trichostatin A (TSA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, significantly upregulated the ek1 promoter activity through the Sp(-40/-31) site and increased the endogenous expression of ek1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that TSA increased the binding of Sp1, Sp3 and RNA polymerase II to the ek1 promoter in HCT116 cells. The effect of TSA on ek1 promoter activity was cell-line specific as TSA treatment did not affect ek1 promoter activity in HepG2 cells. In conclusion, we showed that Sp1 and Sp3 are not only essential for the basal transcription of the ek1 gene, their accessibility to the target site on the ek1 promoter is regulated by histone protein modification in a cell line dependent manner.

  8. Broadband enhancement of single photon emission and polarization dependent coupling in silicon nitride waveguides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisschop, Suzanne; Guille, Antoine; Van Thourhout, Dries; Hens, Zeger; Brainis, Edouard

    2015-06-01

    Single-photon (SP) sources are important for a number of optical quantum information processing applications. We study the possibility to integrate triggered solid-state SP emitters directly on a photonic chip. A major challenge consists in efficiently extracting their emission into a single guided mode. Using 3D finite-difference time-domain simulations, we investigate the SP emission from dipole-like nanometer-sized inclusions embedded into different silicon nitride (SiNx) photonic nanowire waveguide designs. We elucidate the effect of the geometry on the emission lifetime and the polarization of the emitted SP. The results show that highly efficient and polarized SP sources can be realized using suspended SiNx slot-waveguides. Combining this with the well-established CMOS-compatible processing technology, fully integrated and complex optical circuits for quantum optics experiments can be developed.

  9. Penicillium araracuarense sp. nov., Penicillium elleniae sp. nov., Penicillium penarojense sp. nov., Penicillium vanderhammenii sp. nov. and Penicillium wotroi sp. nov., isolated from leaf litter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houbraken, Jos; López-Quintero, Carlos A; Frisvad, Jens C; Boekhout, Teun; Theelen, Bart; Franco-Molano, Ana Esperanza; Samson, Robert A

    2011-06-01

    Several species of the genus Penicillium were isolated during a survey of the mycobiota of leaf litter and soil in Colombian Amazon forest. Five species, Penicillium penarojense sp. nov. (type strain CBS 113178(T) = IBT 23262(T)), Penicillium wotroi sp. nov. (type strain CBS 118171(T) = IBT 23253(T)), Penicillium araracuarense sp. nov. (type strain CBS 113149(T) = IBT 23247(T)), Penicillium elleniae sp. nov. (type strain CBS 118135(T) = IBT 23229(T)) and Penicillium vanderhammenii sp. nov. (type strain CBS 126216(T) = IBT 23203(T)) are described here as novel species. Their taxonomic novelty was determined using a polyphasic approach, combining phenotypic, molecular (ITS and partial β-tubulin sequences) and extrolite data. Phylogenetic analyses showed that each novel species formed a unique clade for both loci analysed and that they were most closely related to Penicillium simplicissimum, Penicillium janthinellum, Penicillium daleae and Penicillium brasilianum. An overview of the phylogeny of this taxonomically difficult group is presented, and 33 species are accepted. Each of the five novel species had a unique extrolite profile of known and uncharacterized metabolites and various compounds, such as penicillic acid, andrastin A, pulvilloric acid, paxillin, paspaline and janthitrem, were commonly produced by these phylogenetically related species. The novel species had a high growth rate on agar media, but could be distinguished from each other by several macro- and microscopical characteristics.

  10. FT-mid-IR spectroscopic investigation of fiber maturity and crystallinity at single boll level and a comparison with XRD approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    In previous study, we have reported the development of simple algorithms for determining fiber maturity and crystallinity from Fourier transform (FT) -mid-infrared (IR) measurement. Due to its micro-sampling feature, we were able to assess the fiber maturity and crystallinity at different portions o...

  11. The Single-Phase ProtoDUNE Technical Design Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abi, B. [Univ. of Padova (Italy); et al.

    2017-06-21

    ProtoDUNE-SP is the single-phase DUNE Far Detector prototype that is under construction and will be operated at the CERN Neutrino Platform (NP) starting in 2018. ProtoDUNE-SP, a crucial part of the DUNE effort towards the construction of the first DUNE 10-kt fiducial mass far detector module (17 kt total LAr mass), is a significant experiment in its own right. With a total liquid argon (LAr) mass of 0.77 kt, it represents the largest monolithic single-phase LArTPC detector to be built to date. It's technical design is given in this report.

  12. On a Cercopithifilaria sp. transmitted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus: a neglected, but widespread filarioid of dogs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Otranto Domenico

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study was aimed at investigating the distribution of a Cercopithifilaria sp. sensu Otranto et al., 2011 with dermal microfilariae recently identified in a dog from Sicily (Italy. A large epidemiological survey was conducted by examining skin samples (n = 917 and ticks (n = 890 collected from dogs at different time points in Italy, central Spain and eastern Greece. Results The overall prevalence of Cercopithifilaria sp. in the sampled animal populations was 13.9% and 10.5% by microscopy of skin sediments and by PCR on skin samples, respectively. Up to 21.6% and 45.5% of dogs in Spain were positive by microscopical examination and by PCR. Cumulative incidence rates ranging from 7.7% to 13.9% were estimated in dogs from two sites in Italy. A low level of agreement between the two diagnostic tests (microscopical examination and PCR was recorded in sites where samples were processed in parallel. Infestation rate as determined by tick dissection (from 5.2% to 16.7% was higher than that detected by PCR (from 0% to 3.9%; tick infestation was significantly associated with Cercopithifilaria sp. infestation in dogs from two out of four sites. Developing larvae found in ticks were morphometrically studied and as many as 1469 larvae were found in a single tick. Conclusions Our data suggest that, in addition to the most common species of filarioids known to infest dogs (i.e., Dirofilaria immitis, Dirofilaria repens and Acanthocheilonema reconditum, Cercopithifilaria sp. with dermal microfilariae should be considered due to its widespread distribution in southern Europe and high frequency in tick-exposed dogs.

  13. Namalycastis occulta n. sp. and a new record of N. borealis (Polychaeta: Nereididae: Namanereidinae) from the Northwestern Caribbean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conde-Vela, Víctor Manuel

    2013-01-01

    The nereidid polychaete genus Namalycastis Hartman, 1959 has been recorded almost exclusively in non-marine environments. This genus includes species having four pairs of tentacular cirri, and its species mainly differ by the relative size of dorsal cirri in posterior chaetigers. Namalycastis occulta n. sp. is described based upon non-mature and mature specimens collected in the intertidal from Chetumal Bay, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Its distinctive features are the lack of notopodial spinigers, eyes, and teeth in the mandibles. Namalycastis borealis Glasby was found in Tamalcab Island, Chetumal Bay and it is the first record for Mexico. Analyses of the intraspecific variability, a key to the known species in the Grand Caribbean region, and commentaries about some taxonomic topics are also included.

  14. Sp1/Sp3 and DNA-methylation contribute to basal transcriptional activation of human podoplanin in MG63 versus Saos-2 osteoblastic cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Puri Christina

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Podoplanin is a membrane mucin that, among a series of tissues, is expressed on late osteoblasts and osteocytes. Since recent findings have focussed on podoplanin's potential role as a tumour progression factor, we aimed at identifying regulatory elements conferring PDPN promoter activity. Here, we characterized the molecular mechanism controlling basal PDPN transcription in human osteoblast-like MG63 versus Saos-2 cells. Results We cloned and sequenced 2056 nucleotides from the 5'-flanking region of the PDPN gene and a computational search revealed that the TATA and CAAT box-lacking promoter possesses features of a growth-related gene, such as a GC-rich 5' region and the presence of multiple putative Sp1, AP-4 and NF-1 sites. Reporter gene assays demonstrated a functional promoter in MG63 cells exhibiting 30-fold more activity than in Saos-2 cells. In vitro DNase I footprinting revealed eight protected regions flanked by DNaseI hypersensitive sites within the region bp -728 to -39 present in MG63, but not in Saos-2 cells. Among these regions, mutation and supershift electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA identified four Sp1/Sp3 binding sites and two binding sites for yet unknown transcription factors. Deletion studies demonstrated the functional importance of two Sp1/Sp3 sites for PDPN promoter activity. Overexpression of Sp1 and Sp3 independently increased the stimulatory effect of the promoter and podoplanin mRNA levels in MG63 and Saos-2 cells. In SL2 cells, Sp3 functioned as a repressor, while Sp1 and Sp3 acted positively synergistic. Weak PDPN promoter activity of Saos-2 cells correlated with low Sp1/Sp3 nuclear levels, which was confirmed by Sp1/Sp3 chromatin immunoprecipitations in vivo. Moreover, methylation-sensitive Southern blot analyses and bisulfite sequencing detected strong methylation of CpG sites upstream of bp -464 in MG63 cells, but hypomethylation of these sites in Saos-2 cells. Concomitantly

  15. Diesel degradation and biosurfactant production by Gram-positive ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The ability of Gram-positive bacteria to degrade diesel increased in a comparable trend as its biosurfactant production increased. The E24 index was highest at 87.6% for isolate D9. Isolates D2, D9 and D10, were identified as Paenibacillus sp. whilst isolate DJLB was found to belong to Stenotrophomonas sp. This study ...

  16. Relative Skeletal Maturation and Population Ancestry in Nonobese Children and Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormack, Shana E; Chesi, Alessandra; Mitchell, Jonathan A; Roy, Sani M; Cousminer, Diana L; Kalkwarf, Heidi J; Lappe, Joan M; Gilsanz, Vicente; Oberfield, Sharon E; Shepherd, John A; Mahboubi, Soroosh; Winer, Karen K; Kelly, Andrea; Grant, Struan Fa; Zemel, Babette S

    2017-01-01

    More rapid skeletal maturation in African-American (AA) children is recognized and generally attributed to an increased prevalence of obesity. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of population ancestry on relative skeletal maturation in healthy, non-obese children and adolescents, accounting for body composition and sexual maturation. To do this, we leveraged a multiethnic, mixed-longitudinal study with annual assessments for up to 7 years (The Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study and its ancillary cohort) conducted at five US clinical centers. Participants included 1592 children, skeletally immature (45% females, 19% AA) who were aged 5 to 17 years at study entry. The primary outcome measure was relative skeletal maturation as assessed by hand-wrist radiograph. Additional covariates measured included anthropometrics, body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and Tanner stage of sexual maturation. Using mixed effects longitudinal models, without covariates, advancement in relative skeletal maturation was noted in self-reported AA girls (∼0.33 years, p ancestry groups showed independent positive associations of height, lean mass, fat mass, and puberty with relative skeletal maturation. The effect of ancestry was attenuated but persistent after accounting for covariates: for girls, 0.19 years (ancestry by self-report, p = 0.02) or 0.29 years (ancestry by admixture, p = 0.004); and for boys, 0.20 years (ancestry by self-report, p = 0.004), or 0.29 years (ancestry by admixture, p = 0.004). In summary, we conclude that advancement in relative skeletal maturation was associated with AA ancestry in healthy, non-obese children, independent of growth, body composition, and puberty. Further research into the mechanisms underlying this observation may provide insights into the regulation of skeletal maturation. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. © 2016 American Society for Bone and

  17. A fragment of alpha-actinin promotes monocyte/macrophage maturation in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luikart, S; Wahl, D; Hinkel, T; Masri, M; Oegema, T

    1999-02-01

    Conditioned media (CM) from cultures of HL-60 myeloid leukemia cells grown on extracellular bone marrow matrix contains a factor that induces macrophage-like maturation of HL-60 cells. This factor was purified from the CM of HL-60 cells grown on bone marrow stroma by ammonium sulfate precipitation, then sequential chromatography on DEAE, affi-gel blue affinity, gel exclusion, and wheat germ affinity columns, followed by C-4 reverse phase HPLC, and SDS-PAGE. The maturation promoting activity of the CM was identified in a single 31 kD protein. Amino acid sequence analysis of four internal tryptic peptides of this protein confirmed significant homology with amino acid residues 48-60, 138-147, 215-220, and 221-236 of human cytoskeletal alpha-actinin. An immunoaffinity purified rabbit polyclonal anti-chicken alpha-actinin inhibited the activity of HL-60 conditioned media. A 27 kD amino-terminal fragment of alpha-actinin produced by thermolysin digestion of chicken gizzard alpha-actinin, but not intact alpha-actinin, had maturation promoting activity on several cell types, including blood monocytes, as measured by lysozyme secretion and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining. We conclude that an extracellular alpha-actinin fragment can promote monocyte/macrophage maturation. This represents the first example of a fragment of a cytoskeletal component, which may be released during tissue remodeling and repair, playing a role in phagocyte maturation.

  18. Correlation of Improved Version of Cervical Vertebral Maturation Indicator with Other Growth Maturity Indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tripti Tikku

    2013-01-01

    Conclusion: The correlation between middle phalanx of 3rd finger (MP3 and cervical vertebral maturation method (CVMI and CVMS was higher as compared to the correlation of either of the cervical vertebral maturation method or MP3 with dental maturation indicator.

  19. Component tree analysis of cystovirus φ6 nucleocapsid Cryo-EM single particle reconstructions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucas M Oliveira

    Full Text Available The 3-dimensional structure of the nucleocapsid (NC of bacteriophage φ6 is described utilizing component tree analysis, a topological and geometric image descriptor. The component trees are derived from density maps of cryo-electron microscopy single particle reconstructions. Analysis determines position and occupancy of structure elements responsible for RNA packaging and transcription. Occupancy of the hexameric nucleotide triphosphorylase (P4 and RNA polymerase (P2 are found to be essentially complete in the NC. The P8 protein lattice likely fixes P4 and P2 in place during maturation. We propose that the viral procapsid (PC is a dynamic structural intermediate where the P4 and P2 can attach and detach until held in place in mature NCs. During packaging, the PC expands to accommodate the RNA, and P2 translates from its original site near the inner 3-fold axis (20 sites to the inner 5-fold axis (12 sites with excess P2 positioned inside the central region of the NC.

  20. An efficient fluorescent single-particle position tracking system for long-term pulsed measurements of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kiho; Yun, Jiwon; Lee, Donghyuck; Kim, Dohun

    2018-02-01

    A simple and convenient design enables real-time three-dimensional position tracking of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. The system consists entirely of commercially available components (a single-photon counter, a high-speed digital-to-analog converter, a phase-sensitive detector-based feedback device, and a piezo stage), eliminating the need for custom programming or rigorous optimization processes. With a large input range of counters and trackers combined with high sensitivity of single-photon counting, high-speed position tracking (upper bound recovery time of 0.9 s upon 250 nm of step-like positional shift) not only of bright ensembles, but also of low-photon-collection-efficiency single to few NV centers (down to 103 s-1) is possible. The tracking requires position modulation of only 10 nm, which allows simultaneous position tracking and pulsed measurements in the long term. Therefore, this tracking system enables measuring a single-spin magnetic resonance and Rabi oscillations at a very high resolution even without photon collection optimization. The system is widely applicable to various fields related to NV center quantum manipulation research such as NV optical trapping, NV tracking in fluid dynamics, and biological sensing using NV centers inside a biological cell.

  1. Kinerja probiotik Bacillus sp. pada pendederan benih ikan lele Clarias sp. yang diinfeksi Aeromonas hydrophila

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    , Sukenda

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT This experiment was conducted to assess performance of Bacillus sp. probiotic on catfish juvenile Clarias sp. infected by Aeromonas hydrophila. The probiotic content in the diets were 0% (K+ and K-, 1%, and 2% in duplicates. This experiment used randomized design with four treatments and two replications. Juveniles with average body weight of 3.22±0.15 g/fish were reared in the 1.5×2.8×0.5 m3 pond with density of 800 fish/pond. Fish were reared for 30 days and fed three times a day at rate 8% of  total body weight. At day 31, catfish were challenged by A. hydrophila 0.1 mL (106 cfu/mL. Post infection observation was carried out ten days with density 10 fish/aquaria. The result showed that fish fed diet containing 2% probiotic gave the best probiotic performance with survival rate of catfish 83.33% after challenged, spesific growth rate 5.40%, and 0,75 of feed conversion ratio. The results of the blood profile showed significantly better results in the treatment of probiotics compared to the positive control after challenge test A. hydrophila. Probiotic Bacillus sp. has given as much as 2% on feed provides better performance on catfish juvenile. Keywords: probiotic, Bacillus sp., A. hydrophila, catfish juvenille, growth  ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji kinerja probiotik Bacillus sp. dalam pakan pada pendederan benih ikan lele Clarias sp. yang diinfeksi bakteri Aeromonas hydrophila. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan acak lengkap dengan empat perlakuan yaitu kandungan probiotik dalam pakan perlakuan yaitu 0% (K+ dan K-, 1%,  dan 2%, masing-masing dengan dua ulangan. Ikan lele yang digunakan memiliki bobot rata-rata 3,22±0,15 g/ekor, dipelihara dalam kolam terpal berukuran 1,5×2,8×0,5 m3 dengan kepadatan 800 ekor/kolam. Ikan dipelihara selama 30 hari dengan frekuensi pemberian pakan tiga kali sehari sebanyak 8% dari bobot tubuh ikan. Hari ke-31 benih lele diinjeksi bakteri A. hydrophila dosis 0,1 m

  2. Study of cross-reactivity in serum samples from dogs positive for Leishmania sp., Babesia canis and Ehrlichia canis in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect fluorescent antibody test Estudo da reatividade cruzada em amostras de soro de cães positivos para Leishmania sp., Babesia canis e Ehrlichia canis, pelo ensaio imunoenzimático indireto e pela reação de imunofluorescência indireta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trícia Maria F. de Sousa Oliveira

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available To verify the presence of cross-reaction among leishmaniosis, ehrlichiosis and babesiosis in serological diagnostics used in human visceral leishmaniasis control programs, serum samples from leishmaniasis endemic and non-endemic areas were collected and tested by Indirect Fluorescent Antibody (IFAT and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA. All serum samples from endemic areas were positive for Leishmania sp., by ELISA and IFAT, 51% positive for Babesia canis and 43% for Ehrlichia canis by IFAT. None of the serum samples from non-endemic areas were positive for Leishmania sp., by IFAT, but 67% were positive for B. canis and 78% for E. canis using the same test. When tested by ELISA for Leishmania sp., four samples from non-endemic area were positive. These dogs were then located and no clinical signs, parasites or antibody was detected in new tests for a six month period. Only one of these 4 samples was positive for B. canis by IFAT and ELISA and three for E. canis by IFAT. The results of the work suggest a co-infection in the endemic area and no serological cross-reaction among these parasites by IFAT and ELISA.Para verificar a existência de reação cruzada entre leishmaniose visceral, erliquiose e babesiose, nos testes sorológicos utilizados em programas de controle da leishmaniose visceral humana, amostras de soro canino provenientes de áreas endêmicas e não endêmicas para essa enfermidade, foram testadas pela Reação de Imunofluorescência (RIFI e Ensaio imunoenzimático (ELISA. Todos os soros provenientes de área endêmica foram positivos para Leishmania sp pelo ELISA e RIFI, 51% para Babesia canis e 43% para Ehrlichia canis pela RIFI. Pela RIFI, nenhum dos soros provenientes de área não endêmica foi positivo para Leishmania sp, sendo 67% positivos para B. canis e 78% para E. canis pelo mesmo teste. Quando testados pelo ELISA para Leishmania sp., quatro soros da área não endêmica foram positivos. Os cães foram localizados

  3. Developing maturity grids for assessing organisational capabilities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maier, Anja; Moultrie, James; Clarkson, P John

    2009-01-01

    Keyword: Maturity Model,Maturity Grid,Maturity Matrix,Organisational Capabilities,Benchmarking,New Product Development,Perfirmance Assessment......Keyword: Maturity Model,Maturity Grid,Maturity Matrix,Organisational Capabilities,Benchmarking,New Product Development,Perfirmance Assessment...

  4. Symbiotic efficiency of autochthonous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (G. mosseae) and Brevibacillus sp. isolated from cadmium polluted soil under increasing cadmium levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vivas, A.; Voeroes, I.; Biro, B.; Campos, E.; Barea, J.M.; Azcon, R.

    2003-01-01

    Selected ubiquitous microorganisms are important components of Cd tolerance in plants. - The effect of inoculation with indigenous naturally occurring microorganisms [an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus and rhizosphere bacteria] isolated from a Cd polluted soil was assayed on Trifolium repens growing in soil contaminated with a range of Cd. One of the bacterial isolate showed a marked PGPR effect and was identified as a Brevibacillus sp. Mycorrhizal colonization also enhanced Trifolium growth and N, P, Zn and Ni content and the dually inoculated (AM fungus plus Brevibacillus sp.) plants achieved further growth and nutrition and less Cd concentration, particularly at the highest Cd level. Increasing Cd level in the soil decreased Zn and Pb shoot accumulation. Coinoculation of Brevibacillus sp. and AM fungus increased shoot biomass over single mycorrhizal plants by 18% (at 13.6 mg Cd kg -1 ), 26% (at 33.0 mg Cd kg -1 ) and 35% (at 85.1 mg Cd kg -1 ). In contract, Cd transfer from soil to plants was substantially reduced and at the highest Cd level Brevibacillus sp. lowered this value by 37.5% in AM plants. Increasing Cd level highly reduced plant mycorrhization and nodulation. Strong positive effect of the bacterium on nodule formation was observed in all treatments. Results show that selected ubiquitous microorganisms, applied as enriched inocula, are important in plant Cd tolerance and development in Cd polluted soils

  5. Simulium (Gomphostilbia) merapiense sp. nov. (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Java, Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takaoka, Hiroyuki; Sofian-Azirun, Mohd; Ya'cob, Zubaidah; Chen, Chee Dhang; Low, Van Lun; Zaid, Adnan

    2016-01-01

    Simulium (Gomphostilbia) merapiense sp. nov. is described based on females, males, pupae, and mature larvae from Yagyakarta, Java, Indonesia. This new species is placed in the Simulium epistum species-group, and is characterized by the pupal gill with eight short filaments all arising at the same level from a short stalk, somewhat enlarged basal fenestra, entirely bare pupal head and thoracic integument, and small and short larval postgenal cleft. These characters rarely are found in the subgenus. Taxonomic notes are given to separate this new species from related species of the S. epistum species-group. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. PCR-based analysis of disease in tomato singly or mixed inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici races 1 and 2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    OLUSEGUN SAMUEL BALOGUN

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available The pathogenic response of two tomato cultivars to races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.. lycopersici (cv. Momotaro, insensitive to race 1 of the pathogen, and cv. Ponderosa sensitive to race 1, was studied in greenhouse and laboratory experiments by inoculating the cultivars singly with race 1 or race 2, and in mixed inoculation with the two races of the pathogen. A pre-symptom PCR assay two weeks after inoculation showed that a fragment of the intergenic spacer region (IGS of ribosomal DNA was amplifi ed by DNA templates from leaf samples of cv. Momotaro tomato plants inoculated with only race 2, or with race 1+2, but in the cv. Ponderosa the fragment was amplifi ed only in plants inoculated with race 1+2. Race-specifi c analysis using the sp13 and sp23 primers confi rmed that the amplifi ed fragment was from race 2 in cv. Momotaro and from races 1+2 in cv. Ponderosa. Later wilt symptoms mirrored the pre-symptom and post-symptom molecular analytical results: cv. Momotaro plants inoculated with only race 1 remained symptomless, while the ‘Momotaro’ plants inoculated with both races (1+2 did not manifest more severe wilt symptoms than plants inoculated with race 2 alone; cv. Ponderosa plants that were mixed-inoculated with race 1+2 manifested more severe symptoms, and at an earlier date than plants inoculated with only race 2. Growth parameters such as number of leaves and plant height showed the race 1+2 infected cv. Ponderosa were significantly retarded in growth, suggesting that significant synergism between the fungal races in tomato pathosystem can occur only when the host cultivar is sensitive to both races. An additional important finding is that pre-symptom leaf sampling of apparently healthy plants is useful in PCR diagnostic analysis to predict impending fusarial wilt outbreaks in tomato especially in infested soil.

  7. People Capability Maturity Model. SM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1995-09-01

    tailored so it consumes less time and resources than a traditional software process assessment or CMU/SEI-95-MM-02 People Capability Maturity Model...improved reputation or customer loyalty. CMU/SEI-95-MM-02 People Capability Maturity Model ■ L5-17 Coaching Level 5: Optimizing Activity 1...Maturity Model CMU/SEI-95-MM-62 Carnegie-Mellon University Software Engineering Institute DTIC ELECTE OCT 2 7 1995 People Capability Maturity

  8. The Moderating Role of Physical Self-Perceptions in the Relationship Between Maturity Status and Physical Self-Worth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Anne E; Cole, Amy N; Laurson, Kelly

    2016-06-01

    We tested the moderating role of physical self-perceptions in the relationship between physical maturity and physical self-worth (PSW). Students in Grades 5 through 8 (N = 241; 57% females; Mage = 12.30 years) completed a questionnaire assessing physical self-perceptions (i.e., perceived sport competence, conditioning, strength, and body attractiveness), PSW, and maturity status. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test interactions between maturity and physical self-perceptions predicting PSW separately for boys and girls. For girls, maturity level and physical self-perceptions explained significant variance, F(5, 131) = 73.44, p < .001, R(2) = .74, with interactions explaining a little extra variance, ΔF = 3.42, p = .01, ΔR(2) = .03. Perceived attractiveness interacted with maturity status to predict PSW (p = .01), indicating that maturity was positively related to PSW only for girls with higher body attractiveness. Maturity status and physical self-perceptions also significantly predicted PSW in boys, F(5, 98) = 46.52, p <  .001, R(2) = .70, with interactions explaining a little extra variance, ΔF = 3.16, p = .02, ΔR(2) = .04. A statistically significant interaction between perceived strength and maturity (p <  .001) indicated that maturity related positively to PSW, but only for boys with higher perceived strength. The maturity-PSW relationship differs by gender and depends partly on physical self-perceptions. This finding reinforces previous findings that illustrate the relative importance of perceived attractiveness and strength for girls and boys, respectively. PSW is an important predictor of physical activity behavior; therefore, it is critical to understand the interplay between these key antecedents.

  9. Can we set a global threshold age to define mature forests?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Martin

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Globally, mature forests appear to be increasing in biomass density (BD. There is disagreement whether these increases are the result of increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations or a legacy effect of previous land-use. Recently, it was suggested that a threshold of 450 years should be used to define mature forests and that many forests increasing in BD may be younger than this. However, the study making these suggestions failed to account for the interactions between forest age and climate. Here we revisit the issue to identify: (1 how climate and forest age control global forest BD and (2 whether we can set a threshold age for mature forests. Using data from previously published studies we modelled the impacts of forest age and climate on BD using linear mixed effects models. We examined the potential biases in the dataset by comparing how representative it was of global mature forests in terms of its distribution, the climate space it occupied, and the ages of the forests used. BD increased with forest age, mean annual temperature and annual precipitation. Importantly, the effect of forest age increased with increasing temperature, but the effect of precipitation decreased with increasing temperatures. The dataset was biased towards northern hemisphere forests in relatively dry, cold climates. The dataset was also clearly biased towards forests <250 years of age. Our analysis suggests that there is not a single threshold age for forest maturity. Since climate interacts with forest age to determine BD, a threshold age at which they reach equilibrium can only be determined locally. We caution against using BD as the only determinant of forest maturity since this ignores forest biodiversity and tree size structure which may take longer to recover. Future research should address the utility and cost-effectiveness of different methods for determining whether forests should be classified as mature.

  10. Neonatal Transplantation Confers Maturation of PSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes Conducive to Modeling Cardiomyopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gun-Sik Cho

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs offer unprecedented opportunities for disease modeling and personalized medicine. However, PSC-derived cells exhibit fetal-like characteristics and remain immature in a dish. This has emerged as a major obstacle for their application for late-onset diseases. We previously showed that there is a neonatal arrest of long-term cultured PSC-derived cardiomyocytes (PSC-CMs. Here, we demonstrate that PSC-CMs mature into adult CMs when transplanted into neonatal hearts. PSC-CMs became similar to adult CMs in morphology, structure, and function within a month of transplantation into rats. The similarity was further supported by single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis. Moreover, this in vivo maturation allowed patient-derived PSC-CMs to reveal the disease phenotype of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, which manifests predominantly in adults. This study lays a foundation for understanding human CM maturation and pathogenesis and can be instrumental in PSC-based modeling of adult heart diseases. : Pluripotent stem cell (PSC-derived cells remain fetal like, and this has become a major impediment to modeling adult diseases. Cho et al. find that PSC-derived cardiomyocytes mature into adult cardiomyocytes when transplanted into neonatal rat hearts. This method can serve as a tool to understand maturation and pathogenesis in human cardiomyocytes. Keywords: cardiomyocyte, maturation, iPS, cardiac progenitor, neonatal, disease modeling, cardiomyopathy, ARVC, T-tubule, calcium transient, sarcomere shortening

  11. STUDY OF EMOTIONAL MATURITY OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS FROM THE POINT SYSTEMS APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. V. Tarabakina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the phenomenon of emotional maturity from the perspective of various philosophical and psychological approaches (psychoanalytic, existential, humanistic, cognitive, emotional, cultural and historical. We present the author's definition and criteria for the systematic study of emotional maturity. The results of the research in the period 2009-2015. on a sample of teachers from various universities (volume 477 of some indicators of emotional maturity: situational and personal anxiety, profiles of differential emotions in stressful situations, emotional relationships in the professional activities of basic emotions motivations: interest, joy, anger, shame. The results indicate the difficulties of emotional development of teachers, hindering the achievement of maturity: the dynamics of growth in recent years closed unconscious forms of anxiety, deficiency of positive emotions and excessive intensity of negative and anxious and depressive emotions in stressful situations, teachers with low and high levels of anxiety, deficiency of motivation, which manifests itself in a variety of emotional experiences.

  12. Face recognition ability matures late: evidence from individual differences in young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susilo, Tirta; Germine, Laura; Duchaine, Bradley

    2013-10-01

    Does face recognition ability mature early in childhood (early maturation hypothesis) or does it continue to develop well into adulthood (late maturation hypothesis)? This fundamental issue in face recognition is typically addressed by comparing child and adult participants. However, the interpretation of such studies is complicated by children's inferior test-taking abilities and general cognitive functions. Here we examined the developmental trajectory of face recognition ability in an individual differences study of 18-33 year-olds (n = 2,032), an age interval in which participants are competent test takers with comparable general cognitive functions. We found a positive association between age and face recognition, controlling for nonface visual recognition, verbal memory, sex, and own-race bias. Our study supports the late maturation hypothesis in face recognition, and illustrates how individual differences investigations of young adults can address theoretical issues concerning the development of perceptual and cognitive abilities. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  13. A putative serine protease, SpSsp1, from Saprolegnia parasitica is recognised by sera of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minor, Kirsty L.; Anderson, Victoria L.; Davis, Katie S.; Van Den Berg, Albert H.; Christie, James S.; Löbach, Lars; Faruk, Ali Reza; Wawra, Stephan; Secombes, Chris J.; Van West, Pieter

    2014-01-01

    Saprolegniosis, the disease caused by Saprolegnia sp., results in considerable economic losses in aquaculture. Current control methods are inadequate, as they are either largely ineffective or present environmental and fish health concerns. Vaccination of fish presents an attractive alternative to these control methods. Therefore we set out to identify suitable antigens that could help generate a fish vaccine against Saprolegnia parasitica. Unexpectedly, antibodies against S. parasitica were found in serum from healthy rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. The antibodies detected a single band in secreted proteins that were run on a one-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide gel, which corresponded to two protein spots on a two-dimensional gel. The proteins were analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Mascot and bioinformatic analysis resulted in the identification of a single secreted protein, SpSsp1, of 481 amino acid residues, containing a subtilisin domain. Expression analysis demonstrated that SpSsp1 is highly expressed in all tested mycelial stages of S. parasitica. Investigation of other non-infected trout from several fish farms in the United Kingdom showed similar activity in their sera towards SpSsp1. Several fish that had no visible saprolegniosis showed an antibody response towards SpSsp1 suggesting that SpSsp1 might be a useful candidate for future vaccination trial experiments. PMID:25088077

  14. Polydactyly in the central pacific gecko, Lepidodactylus sp. (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, A.M.; Hathaway, S.A.; Fisher, R.N.

    2009-01-01

    We report the first known case of naturally occurring polydactyly in a gekkotan lizard. A single individual from Palmyra Atoll exhibited a triplication of digit III of the m hand. No obvious teratogenic sources are present on the atoll and the causal factors of polydactyly in Lepidodactylus sp. remain unknown.

  15. Heitmania gen. nov., a new yeast genus in Microbotryomycetes, and description of three novel species: Heitmania litseae sp. nov., Heitmania castanopsis sp. nov. and Heitmania elacocarpi sp. nov.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xin-Zhan; Groenewald, Marizeth; Boekhout, Teun; Bai, Feng-Yan

    2017-11-01

    Nine anamorphic yeast strains isolated from various plant leaves collected in southern China were phylogenetically characterized based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene, the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene, the two subunits of the RNA polymerase II gene (RPB1 and RPB2) and the translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1). Phylogenetic analysis of the combined sequences of the six genes showed that the new strains formed a distinct clade in the class Microbotryomycetes but could not be assigned to any of the existing genera, families or orders of the class. Three separate groups were consistently resolved from the nine new strains based on the combined sequences of the six genes and single gene sequences of ITS, RPB1, RPB2 and TEF1. The results suggest that the nine yeast strains compared represent three novel species in a novel genus. The names Heitmania gen. nov. (MycoBank registration number MB819987), Heitmania litseae sp. nov. (MB820112, type strain CGMCC 2.5697 T =CBS 14756 T ), Heitmania castanopsis sp. nov. (MB819988, CGMCC 2.5698 T =CBS 14750 T ) and Heitmania elacocarpi sp. nov. (MB820113, CGMCC 2.5695 T =CBS 14752 T ) are proposed for the new taxa.

  16. Can Single Positive Core Prostate Cancer at biopsy be Considered a Low-Risk Disease after Radical Prostatectomy?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Kupka da Silva

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose Single positive core in a prostate biopsy is usually associated with indolent prostate cancer (PCa and is one of the active surveillance (AS inclusion criteria. We investigated whether single positive core PCa at biopsy could define an archetype of low-risk disease. Materials and Methods A total of 1320 consecutive patients were enrolled. Among them, 249 patients with single positive core PCa were followed up, and the clinical and pathological parameters influencing prognosis were analyzed. Results Out of the 249 patients, 172 (69.0% had pathological findings ≥ pT2c and 87 (34.9% had an undergraded Gleason Score (GS based on the biopsy. Positive surgical margins (PSMs, extraprostatic extension (EPE and seminal vesicle invasion (SVI were found in 20.8%, 10.0% and 6.0% of patients, respectively. In a comparative analysis, we found that the PSA level, prostate weight and number of cores at biopsy are essential to correctly predict an indolent PCa. A total of 125 patients (67.3% with nonpalpable tumors became high-risk tumors (pT2c-T3. Analyzing only nonpalpable tumors with a GS of 6 at biopsy (156 patients, we noted that 106 (67.9% of cT1 progressed from cT1c to pT2c-pT3. Conclusions Single core PCa have clinically significant disease in the Radical Prostatectomy specimens, with considerable rates of overgrading for the GS, pT2c-pT3, PSMs, EPE and SVI. The treatment plan must be evaluated individually for patients with single core PCa and must take into account other prognostic factors when determining whether a patient should be managed with AS.

  17. IT Governance Maturity: Developing a Maturity Model Using the Delphi Method

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smits, Daniël; van Hillegersberg, Jos

    2015-01-01

    To advance in maturity, organizations should pay attention to both the hard and soft sides of IT governance (ITG). The hard side is related to processes and structure, the soft side to social aspects like behavior and organizational culture. This paper describes a study to develop an ITG maturity

  18. Design of L1 -Adaptive Controller for Single Axis Positioning Table

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amjad Jalil Humaidi

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available L1 adaptive controller has proven to provide fast adaptation with guaranteed transients in a large variety of systems. It is commonly used for controlling systems with uncertain time-varying unknown parameters. The effectiveness of L1 adaptive controller for position control of single axis has been examined and compared with Model Reference Adaptive Controller (MRAC. The Linear servo motor is one of the main constituting elements of the x-y table which is mostly used in automation application. It is characterized by time-varying friction and disturbance

  19. Fatty acid composition of Spirulina sp., Chlorella sp. and Chaetoceros sp. microalgae and introduction as potential new sources to extinct omega 3 and omega 6

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Homan Gorjzdadeh

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: This study was carried out to determine the oil fatty acids from two special species of microalgae; Spirulina sp.,Chlorella sp. and also Chaetoceros sp. collected from Bahmanshir River. Materials and Methods: Sampling of microalgae Chaetoceros sp. from Bahmanshir River was under taken using bottle samplers during spring season of 2013. Microalgae Spirulina sp. and Chlorella sp. were supplied from Shrimp Research Institute of Iran in Bushehr Province. Samples then were cultured under controlled laboratory conditions and mass culture for 100 liters was undertaken. Isolation of microalgae species from water of cultured media was carried out using filtration and centrifugation methods. The fatty acid compositions were determined by Gas – FID chromatography. Results: Results showed that regarding Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA obtained from purified culture of Chaetoceros sp., Spirulina sp. and Chlorella sp. the maximum amount of total fatty acids were belonged to palmitic acids (C16:0 with 15.21%, 30.1% and 25.17% of total fatty acids  respectively. Analysis of Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA showed that in the Oleic acid was maximum amount of 34% in Spirulina sp. In addition the amount of MUFA in Chlorella sp. was 16.37% of total fatty acids. On the other hand the amount of palmeotic acid in purified culture of Chaetoceros sp. was 30.33% from total content of fatty acids. Analysis of Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA, Linoleic acid (C18:2 (Omega 6, revealed maximum percentage in Spirulina sp. with 18.8%. Results of Alpha linoleic acid (C18:3 (Omega3 analysis showed maximum amount of 9.66% in Chlorella sp. compared to other microalgae with lower omega 3 contents. Spirulina sp. contained maximum amount of Linoleic acid (C18:2 with 18.8% of total fatty acids. Therefore, Spirulina sp. can be considered as a rich source of omega 6 for the purpose of fatty acid extractions. The presence of PUFA in Chlorella sp. and Spirulina sp. was

  20. The Growth of Monoraphidium sp. and Scenedesmus sp. Cells in the Presence of Thorium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Cristina de Queiroz

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Toxicity of thorium by Monoraphidium sp. and Scenedesmus sp. was studied. Microalgal cultures were inoculated in ASM-1 medium in presence and absence of thorium. Its effect was monitored by direct counting on Fuchs-Rosenthal chamber and with software. The toxicity of thorium over the species was observed for concentrations over 50.0 mg/L. After 30 days, Monoraphidium cells decreased their concentration from 4.23×106 to 4.27×105 and 8.57×105 cells/mL, in the presence of 50.0 and 100.0 mg/L of thorium, respectively. Scenedesmus sp. cells were more resistant to thorium: for an initial cell concentration of 7.65×104 cells/mL it was observed a change to 5.25×105 and 5.12×105 cells/mL, in the presence of thorium at 50.0 and 100.0 mg/L, respectively. This is an indication that low concentrations of the radionuclide favored the growth, and that Scenedesmus cells are more resistant to thorium than Monoraphidium cells. The software used for comparison with direct count method proved to be useful for the improvement of accuracy of the results obtained, a decrease in the uncertainty and allowed recording of the data. The presence of thorium suggests that low concentrations have a positive effect on the growth, due to the presence of the nitrate, indicating its potential for ecotoxicological studies.

  1. The Growth of Monoraphidium sp. and Scenedesmus sp. Cells in the Presence of Thorium

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Queiroz, Juliana Cristina; Ferreira, Ana Cristina de Melo; da Costa, Antonio Carlos Augusto

    2012-01-01

    Toxicity of thorium by Monoraphidium sp. and Scenedesmus sp. was studied. Microalgal cultures were inoculated in ASM-1 medium in presence and absence of thorium. Its effect was monitored by direct counting on Fuchs-Rosenthal chamber and with software. The toxicity of thorium over the species was observed for concentrations over 50.0 mg/L. After 30 days, Monoraphidium cells decreased their concentration from 4.23 × 106 to 4.27 × 105 and 8.57 × 105 cells/mL, in the presence of 50.0 and 100.0 mg/L of thorium, respectively. Scenedesmus sp. cells were more resistant to thorium: for an initial cell concentration of 7.65 × 104 cells/mL it was observed a change to 5.25 × 105 and 5.12 × 105 cells/mL, in the presence of thorium at 50.0 and 100.0 mg/L, respectively. This is an indication that low concentrations of the radionuclide favored the growth, and that Scenedesmus cells are more resistant to thorium than Monoraphidium cells. The software used for comparison with direct count method proved to be useful for the improvement of accuracy of the results obtained, a decrease in the uncertainty and allowed recording of the data. The presence of thorium suggests that low concentrations have a positive effect on the growth, due to the presence of the nitrate, indicating its potential for ecotoxicological studies. PMID:22649297

  2. Towards a theory of PACS deployment: an integrative PACS maturity framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van de Wetering, Rogier; Batenburg, Ronald

    2014-06-01

    Owing to large financial investments that go along with the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) deployments and inconsistent PACS performance evaluations, there is a pressing need for a better understanding of the implications of PACS deployment in hospitals. We claim that there is a gap in the research field, both theoretically and empirically, to explain the success of the PACS deployment and maturity in hospitals. Theoretical principles are relevant to the PACS performance; maturity and alignment are reviewed from a system and complexity perspective. A conceptual model to explain the PACS performance and a set of testable hypotheses are then developed. Then, structural equation modeling (SEM), i.e. causal modeling, is applied to validate the model and hypotheses based on a research sample of 64 hospitals that use PACS, i.e. 70 % of all hospitals in the Netherlands. Outcomes of the SEM analyses substantiate that the measurements of all constructs are reliable and valid. The PACS alignment-modeled as a higher-order construct of five complementary organizational dimensions and maturity levels-has a significant positive impact on the PACS performance. This result is robust and stable for various sub-samples and segments. This paper presents a conceptual model that explains how alignment in deploying PACS in hospitals is positively related to the perceived performance of PACS. The conceptual model is extended with tools as checklists to systematically identify the improvement areas for hospitals in the PACS domain. The holistic approach towards PACS alignment and maturity provides a framework for clinical practice.

  3. Academic Achievement of High School Students in Relation to Their Anxiety, Emotional Maturity and Social Maturity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puar, Surjit Singh

    2013-01-01

    The present study has been designed to investigate the non-cognitive variables like anxiety, emotional maturity and social maturity and their relationship with academic achievement and also to see the locale-wise differences on the basis of their anxiety, emotional maturity and social maturity. The study was conducted over a sample of 400 (200…

  4. Maturity and medical students' ease of transition into the clinical environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shacklady, Jaine; Holmes, Eileen; Mason, Graham; Davies, Ioan; Dornan, Tim

    2009-07-01

    Medical education has been characterized in terms of points of transition, which are accentuated by lack of relevant prior experience and can lead to extreme positive and negative emotions. Quantify the effect of maturity on medical students' transitions into the clinical environment and identify how experiences of transition might be improved. Eleven weeks after entering the clinical environment, 29 mature students (age over 21 at entry, median age 22) in a horizontally-integrated, predominantly undergraduate entry, problem-based curriculum offering little early clinical exposure and 58 matched non-mature students (median age 18 years) rated their experiences of transition and wrote free text comments about them. 62% of mature students compared with 24% of controls described 'good transitions' (odds ratio [OR] for a good transition 6.1; p = 0.002) and mature students were more likely than controls to describe how they drew on their previous years in medical school (OR 2.7, p = 0.04) and their wider life experiences in making the transition (OR 3.9, p = 0.01). They were less likely to feel confused or daunted. Whether mature or not, prior workplace experience, having learned the theory of medicine by PBL, and being confident in their knowledge and skills helped students' transitions. Both mature and non-mature students valued the support of teachers and peers and would have valued clinical experience earlier. The fact that just a few extra years of life experience made such a large difference to students' experiences of transition illustrates how important social factors are in the personal development of medical students. In respondents' views, early clinical experience and early skills training could ease students' passage into the clerkship phase of their education.

  5. Draft Genome Sequence of the Microbispora sp. Strain ATCC-PTA-5024, Producing the Lantibiotic NAI-107

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sosio, M.; Gallo, G.; Pozzi, R.

    2014-01-01

    We report the draft genome sequence of Microbispora sp. strain ATCC-PTA-5024, a soil isolate that produces NAI-107, a new lantibiotic with the potential to treat life-threatening infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. The draft genome of strain Microbispora sp. ATCC...

  6. Single port laparoscopic ileocaecal resection for Crohn's disease: a multicentre comparison with multi-port laparoscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Carvello, M.; de Groof, E. J.; de Buck van Overstraeten, A.; Sacchi, M.; Wolthuis, A. M.; Buskens, C. J.; D'Hoore, A.; Bemelman, W. A.; Spinelli, A.

    2018-01-01

    AimSingle port (SP) ileocaecal resection (ICR) is an established technique but there are no large studies comparing SP and multi-port (MP) laparoscopic surgery in Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this study was to compare postoperative pain scores and analgesia requirements after SP and MP

  7. Electroporated Antigen-Encoding mRNA Is Not a Danger Signal to Human Mature Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie Hoyer

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available For therapeutic cancer vaccination, the adoptive transfer of mRNA-electroporated dendritic cells (DCs is frequently performed, usually with monocyte-derived, cytokine-matured DCs (moDCs. However, DCs are rich in danger-sensing receptors which could recognize the exogenously delivered mRNA and induce DC activation, hence influencing the DCs’ immunogenicity. Therefore, we examined whether electroporation of mRNA with a proper cap and a poly-A tail of at least 64 adenosines had any influence on cocktail-matured moDCs. We used 16 different RNAs, encoding tumor antigens (MelanA, NRAS, BRAF, GNAQ, GNA11, and WT1, and variants thereof. None of those RNAs induced changes in the expression of CD25, CD40, CD83, CD86, and CD70 or the secretion of the cytokines IL-8, IL-6, and TNFα of more than 1.5-fold compared to the control condition, while an mRNA encoding an NF-κB-activation protein as positive control induced massive secretion of the cytokines. To determine whether mRNA electroporation had any effect on the whole transcriptome of the DCs, we performed microarray analyses of DCs of 6 different donors. None of 60,000 probes was significantly different between mock-electroporated DCs and MelanA-transfected DCs. Hence, we conclude that no transcriptional programs were induced within cocktail-matured DCs by electroporation of single tumor-antigen-encoding mRNAs.

  8. Leveraging People-Related Maturity Issues for Achieving Higher Maturity and Capability Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buglione, Luigi

    During the past 20 years Maturity Models (MM) become a buzzword in the ICT world. Since the initial Crosby's idea in 1979, plenty of models have been created in the Software & Systems Engineering domains, addressing various perspectives. By analyzing the content of the Process Reference Models (PRM) in many of them, it can be noticed that people-related issues have little weight in the appraisals of the capabilities of organizations while in practice they are considered as significant contributors in traditional process and organizational performance appraisals, as stressed instead in well-known Performance Management models such as MBQA, EFQM and BSC. This paper proposes some ways for leveraging people-related maturity issues merging HR practices from several types of maturity models into the organizational Business Process Model (BPM) in order to achieve higher organizational maturity and capability levels.

  9. Corrosive Metabolic Activity of Desulfovibrio sp. on 316L Stainless Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arkan, Simge; Ilhan-Sungur, Esra; Cansever, Nurhan

    2016-12-01

    The present study investigated the effects of chemical parameters (SO4 2-, PO4 3-, Cl-, pH) and the contents of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) regarding the growth of Desulfovibrio sp. on the microbiologically induced corrosion of 316L stainless steel (SS). The experiments were carried out in laboratory-scaled test and control systems. 316L SS coupons were exposed to Desulfovibrio sp. culture over 720 h. The test coupons were removed at specific sampling times for enumeration of Desulfovibrio sp., determination of the corrosion rate by the weight loss measurement method and also for analysis of carbohydrate and protein in the EPS. The chemical parameters of the culture were also established. Biofilm/film formation and corrosion products on the 316L SS surfaces were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry analyses in the laboratory-scaled systems. It was found that Desulfovibrio sp. led to the corrosion of 316L SS. Both the amount of extracellular protein and chemical parameters (SO4 2- and PO4 3-) of the culture caused an increase in the corrosion of metal. There was a significantly positive relationship between the sessile and planktonic Desulfovibrio sp. counts ( p < 0.01). It was detected that the growth phases of the sessile and planktonic Desulfovibrio sp. were different from each other and the growth phases of the sessile Desulfovibrio sp. vary depending on the subspecies of Desulfovibrio sp. and the type of metal when compared with the other published studies.

  10. PML nuclear body component Sp140 is a novel autoantigen in primary biliary cirrhosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granito, Alessandro; Yang, Wei-Hong; Muratori, Luigi; Lim, Mark J; Nakajima, Ayako; Ferri, Silvia; Pappas, Georgios; Quarneti, Chiara; Bianchi, Francesco B; Bloch, Donald B; Muratori, Paolo

    2010-01-01

    Some patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) have antinuclear antibodies (ANAs). These ANAs include the "multiple nuclear dots" (MND) staining pattern, targeting promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) nuclear body (NB) components, such as "speckled 100-kD" protein (Sp100) and PML. A new PML NB protein, designated as Sp140, was identified using serum from a PBC patient. The aim of this study was to analyze the immune response against Sp140 protein in PBC patients. We studied 135 PBC patients and 157 pathological controls with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. We used indirect immunofluorescence and a neuroblastoma cell line expressing Sp140 for detecting anti-Sp140 antibodies, and a commercially available immunoblot for detecting anti-Sp100 and anti-PML antibodies. Anti-Sp140 antibodies were present in 20 (15%) PBC patients but not in control samples, with a higher frequency in antimitochondrial antibody (AMA)-negative cases (53 vs. 9%, P<0.0001). Anti-Sp140 antibodies were found together with anti-Sp100 antibodies in all but one case (19 of 20, 90%) and with anti-PML antibodies in 12 (60%) cases. Anti-Sp140 positivity was not associated with a specific clinical feature of PBC. Our study identifies Sp140 as a new, highly specific autoantigen in PBC for the first time. The very frequent coexistence of anti-Sp140, anti-Sp100 and anti-PML antibodies suggests that the NB is a multiantigenic complex in PBC and enhances the diagnostic significance of these reactivities, which are particularly useful in AMA-negative cases.

  11. The evolution of human phenotypic plasticity: age and nutritional status at maturity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gage, Timothy B

    2003-08-01

    Several evolutionary optimal models of human plasticity in age and nutritional status at reproductive maturation are proposed and their dynamics examined. These models differ from previously published models because fertility is not assumed to be a function of body size or nutritional status. Further, the models are based on explicitly human demographic patterns, that is, model human life-tables, model human fertility tables, and, a nutrient flow-based model of maternal nutritional status. Infant survival (instead of fertility as in previous models) is assumed to be a function of maternal nutritional status. Two basic models are examined. In the first the cost of reproduction is assumed to be a constant proportion of total nutrient flow. In the second the cost of reproduction is constant for each birth. The constant proportion model predicts a negative slope of age and nutritional status at maturation. The constant cost per birth model predicts a positive slope of age and nutritional status at maturation. Either model can account for the secular decline in menarche observed over the last several centuries in Europe. A search of the growth literature failed to find definitive empirical documentation of human phenotypic plasticity in age and nutritional status at maturation. Most research strategies confound genetics with phenotypic plasticity. The one study that reports secular trends suggests a marginally insignificant, but positive slope. This view tends to support the constant cost per birth model.

  12. Selective labeling of pulmonary surfactant protein SP-C in organic solution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plasencia, I; Cruz, A; López-Lacomba, J L

    2001-01-01

    Pulmonary surfactant protein SP-C has been isolated from porcine lungs and treated with dansyl isothiocyanate in chloroform:methanol 2:1 (v/v) solutions,under conditions optimized to introduce a single dansyl group covalently attached to the N-terminalamine group of the protein without loss of its...

  13. Deinococcus frigens sp. nov., Deinococcus saxicola sp. nov., and Deinococcus marmoris sp. nov., low temperature and draught-tolerating, UV-resistant bacteria from continental Antarctica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirsch, Peter; Gallikowski, Claudia A; Siebert, Jörg; Peissl, Klaus; Kroppenstedt, Reiner; Schumann, Peter; Stackebrandt, Erko; Anderson, Robert

    2004-11-01

    Six Gram-positive, non-motile, UV- and draught-tolerant bacteria were isolated from antarctic soil and rock samples. The pink to orange cocci grew well on oligotrophic medium PYGV (pH 7.5) at 9-18 degrees C. They tolerated 0-10% NaCl, were aerobic to facultatively anaerobic and contained ornithine in their cell wall (type A3beta, Orn-Gly2). The lipid profiles of four strains were found to be typical for those of D. radiodurans. Major fatty acids were 16:1cis9, 15:1cis9, 17:1cis9 and i17:1cis9, the respiratory quinone of three strains was MK-8. Comparative 16S rDNA gene sequencing revealed phylogenetic relationships to the Deinococcus clade, especially to D. radiopugnans. The levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity and DNA-DNA hybridisation data showed the six isolates represented new taxa. Phenotypic properties supported the description of three new species which were different from the eight known Deinococcus species and particularly from D. radiopugnans. Soil isolate AA-692T (DSM 12807T) is the type strain of Deinococcus frigens sp. nov., with AA-752 (DSM 15993) and AA-829 (DSM 15994) as additional strains from soil. The endolithic isolate AA-1444T, Deinococcus saxicola sp. nov., (DSM 15974T) came from antarctic sandstone, and Deinococcus marmoris sp. nov. (isolate AA-63T [DSM 12784T]) as well as AA-69 (DSM 15951) were isolated from antarctic marble.

  14. Maturity Models Development in IS Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lasrado, Lester Allan; Vatrapu, Ravi; Andersen, Kim Normann

    2015-01-01

    Maturity models are widespread in IS research and in particular, IT practitioner communities. However, theoretically sound, methodologically rigorous and empirically validated maturity models are quite rare. This literature review paper focuses on the challenges faced during the development...... literature reveals that researchers have primarily focused on developing new maturity models pertaining to domain-specific problems and/or new enterprise technologies. We find rampant re-use of the design structure of widely adopted models such as Nolan’s Stage of Growth Model, Crosby’s Grid, and Capability...... Maturity Model (CMM). Only recently have there been some research efforts to standardize maturity model development. We also identify three dominant views of maturity models and provide guidelines for various approaches of constructing maturity models with a standard vocabulary. We finally propose using...

  15. Eficiencia de pseudomonas sp, rhodopseudomonas sp, micrococcus sp y bacillus sp empleados como cultivos individuales y en consorcio, en la degradación de petróleo diesel ii

    OpenAIRE

    Otiniano García, Nélida Milly Esther

    2010-01-01

    In order to evaluate the efficiency of Pseudomonas sp, Rhodopseudomonas sp, Micrococcus sp, Bacillus sp, and the consortium formed by these four microorganisms in the diesel II petroleum degradation, it was worked in 5 bioreactors of aerated and shaken tank of 1.5 litters of capacity, with speed agitation of 120 rpm, and air flow of 0.5 vvm; in which were placed; 940 mL of Minimum Broth of Davies pH 7.0; 50 mL of diesel II petroleum as source of carbon and 10 mL of a suspension of approx...

  16. Positive youth development among African American adolescents: examining single parents as a factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Shani R; Lewis, Rhonda K; Carmack, Chakema

    2011-01-01

    Over the past few decades researchers have begun to examine the importance of understanding positive youth development and the many contexts in which youth find themselves. The social contexts in which adolescent development occurs are varied and complex, particularly the development among African American youth. African American youth are faced with a number of challenges including living in single-parent homes, high teen pregnancy rates, and poor neighborhoods, yet many of these youth continue to thrive. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family structure (single-parenting) and adolescent outcomes such as educational aspirations and sexual activity among African American adolescent youth aged 12-17. Approximately 462 African American youth were surveyed. A number of positive results emerged; for instance, there was a negative correlation between family structure and educational aspirations. The number of parents in the home did not interfere with youth wanting to complete high school and go on to college (r = - .218, r² = .04, p educational aspirations increased, the number of sexual partners decreased (r = - .141, meaning that the more adolescents reported a desire to complete high school, they were less likely to report having sexual intercourse. These positive results should be promoted among African American youth so that those faced with these challenges will note that others have overcome and accomplished their goals. In this population educational aspirations were important. Limitations and future research are discussed.

  17. Modeling non-maturing liabilities

    OpenAIRE

    von Feilitzen, Helena

    2011-01-01

    Non‐maturing liabilities, such as savings accounts, lack both predetermined maturity and reset dates due to the fact that the depositor is free to withdraw funds at any time and that the depository institution is free to change the rate. These attributes complicate the risk management of such products and no standardized solution exists. The problem is important however since non‐maturing liabilities typically make up a considerable part of the funding of a bank. In this report different mode...

  18. Investigation of SP94 Peptide as a Specific Probe for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Imaging and Therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yanli; Hu, Yan; Xiao, Jie; Liu, Guobing; Li, Xiao; Zhao, Yanzhao; Tan, Hui; Shi, Hongcheng; Cheng, Dengfeng

    2016-01-01

    SP94 (SFSIIHTPILPL), a novel peptide, has shown specific binding to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. We aimed to investigate the capability of SP94 as a targeting probe for HCC imaging and therapy following labeling with technetium-99m (99mTc) and rhenium-188 (188Re). HYNIC-SP94 was prepared by solid phase synthesis and then labeled with 99mTc. Cell competitive binding, internalization assay, in vitro and in vivo stability, biodistribution and micro-single photon emission computed tomography /computed tomography (SPECT/CT) imaging studies were performed to investigate the capability of 99mTc tricine-EDDA/HYNIC-SP94 as a specific HCC imaging probe. Initial promising targeting results inspired evaluation of its therapeutic effect when labeled by 188Re. HYNIC-SP94 was then labeled again with 188Re to perform cell apoptosis, microSPECT/CT imaging evaluation and immunohistochemistry. Huh-7 cells exhibited typical apoptotic changes after 188Re irradiation. According to 99mTc tricine-EDDA/HYNIC-SP94 microSPECT/CT imaging, tumor uptake was significantly decreased compared with that of pre-treatment with 188Re-HYNIC-SP94. The immunohistochemistry also displayed obvious necrosis and apoptosis as well as inhibition of proliferation in the 188Re-HYNIC-SP94 treatment group. The results supported that 99mTc tricine-EDDA/HYNIC-SP94 is able to target HCC cells and 188Re-HYNIC- SP94 holds potential as a therapeutic agent for HCC, making 99mTc/188Re-HYNIC-SP94 a promising targeting probe for HCC imaging and therapy. PMID:27649935

  19. MENTAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENTS IN RELATION TO EMOTIONAL MATURITY AND PARENT CHILD RELATIONSHIP

    OpenAIRE

    Gurmit Singh

    2014-01-01

    The present study was conducted to find the relation of Mental Health of Adolescents with their Emotional Maturity and Parent Child Relationship. The sample comprised of 200 9th class adolescents (100 boys and 100 girls) from Government Secondary Schools of Moga district The data was obtained by using Emotional Maturity Scale (2011) by Singh and Bhargava, Parent Child Relationship Scale (2011) by Rao and Mental Health Battery (2012) by Singh and Gupta. The results of the study showed positive...

  20. Slab replacement maturity guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-01

    This study investigated the use of maturity method to determine early age strength of concrete in slab : replacement application. Specific objectives were (1) to evaluate effects of various factors on the compressive : maturity-strength relationship ...

  1. Comparison of Emotional Maturity in Boys adolescents with Down Syndrome(Research in Normal and Exceptional Schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    sahel Hemmati

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: This research is compromised emotional maturity in boys’ adolescents with Down syndrome (12-18 years that study in formal and exceptional schools. Materials & Methods: At first 15 boy’s students with DS that study in formal school matched with 15 students in Exceptional school (IQ, , age, family education and socioeconomic state were same . Then EMS (Emotional Maturity Scale was tested by researchers. Results: Adolescents with DS in formal schools are significantly different and have better scale in emotional maturity and their fields. (P<0.001 Conclusion: Emotional maturity in adolescents with DS in formal schools is positive and better than peers in Exceptional classs This result is helpful for improvement integrated education system. .

  2. [Cryptosporidium sp infections and other intestinal parasites in food handlers from Zulia state, Venezuela].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freites, Azael; Colmenares, Deisy; Pérez, Marly; García, María; Díaz de Suárez, Odelis

    2009-03-01

    Cryptosporidiosis in food handlers from Venezuela is unknown, being this an important public health problem in immunosuppressed patients. To determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium sp and other intestinal parasites in food handlers from Zulia State, one hundred nineteen fecal samples were evaluated by wet mount, concentrated according to Ritchie and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining. Fourteen (11.8%) were positive for Cryptosporidium sp and associated with other protozoosis (P Entamoeba coli (17.6%). The most frequent pathogenic protozoa was Giardia lamblia (13.4%), followed by the complex Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (9.2%). 4.1% were positive for intestinal helminthes. The infection by Cryptosporidium sp is frequent in food handlers from Zulia State. Given to the results of this investigation and the nonexistence of studies in this population, is necessary to deepen in the impact of this parasitism in food handlers and the consumers of their products.

  3. Pengendalian Hayati Penyakit Layu Fusarium Pisang (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense dengan Trichoderma sp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albertus Sudirman

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research was to study the inhibiting ability of Trichoderma sp. to control fusarium wilt of banana in greenhouse condition. The experiments consisted of the antagonism test between Trichoderma sp. and Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc in vitro using dual culture method and glass house experiment which was arranged in 3×3 Factorial Complete Randomized Design. First factor of the latter experiment was the dose of Trichoderma sp. culture (0, 25, and 50 g per polybag, second factor was time of Trichoderma culture application (2 weeks before Foc inoculation, at same time with Foc inoculation and 2 weeks after Foc inoculation. Trichoderma sp. was cultured in mixed rice brand and chaff medium. The disease intensity was observed with scoring system of wilting leaves (0–4. The results showed that Trichoderma sp. was antagonistic against Foc in vitro and inhibited 86% of Foc colony development. Mechanism of antagonism between Trichoderma sp. and Foc was hyperparasitism. Trichoderma hyphae coiled around Foc hyphae. Lysis of Foc hyphae was occurred at the attached site of Trichoderma hyphae on Foc hyphae. Added banana seedling with Trichoderma sp. Culture reduced disease intensity of Fusarium wilt. Suggested dose of Trichoderma culture application in glass house was 25 g/polybag, given at the same time with Foc inoculation. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kemampuan Trichoderma sp. untuk pengendalian penyakit layu fusarium pisang di rumah kaca. Penelitian meliputi pengujian daya hambat Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc in vitro dan kemampuan menekan intensitas penyakit di rumah kaca. Penelitian in vitro meliputi uji antagonisme dan mekanismenya yang dilakukan secara dual culture. Uji pengaruh Trichoderma sp. terhadap penyakit layu Fusarium dilakukan di rumah kaca dengan Rancangan Acak Lengkap Faktorial. Faktor pertama adalah dosis biakan Trichoderma sp., dengan tiga aras (0, 25, 50 g/per bibit dalam polibag. Faktor kedua

  4. Biological effects of space flight on SP{sub 1} traits of fenugreek

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rong, Xu; Jing, Yu; Jiang, Xu; Feng, Zhou; Jun, Chen [The Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Beijing Union Medical College, Beijing (China); Yougang, Liu [Tianjin Univ. of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin (China); Suqin, Sun [Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China)

    2009-04-15

    Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenum-graecum L.) seeds introduced from United Arab Emirates (UAE) were carried to the space by the recoverable satellite 'Shi Jian 8'. After space loading, the seeds were planted to be observed and investigated compared to the control group. The results showed that the germination rate declined after space loading compared to the control group. SP{sub 1} plants grew inhibited first, and then vigorously later at the seedling stage. The branch number, pods and plant weight of SP{sub 1} plants' increased. More important, single pod was changed to dual pod. At the same time, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to analyze and appraise the fenugreek SP{sub 1} seeds. The results indicated that the major components and the structures remained intact, in another word, space mutation had no obvious effect on the quality of SP{sub 1} seeds. Based on the results, some variations mutated by space flight could appear at the present generation. These variations were important to gain high yield. (authors)

  5. Maturity effects in energy futures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Serletis, Apostolos (Calgary Univ., AB (CA). Dept. of Economics)

    1992-04-01

    This paper examines the effects of maturity on future price volatility and trading volume for 129 energy futures contracts recently traded in the NYMEX. The results provide support for the maturity effect hypothesis, that is, energy futures prices to become more volatile and trading volume increases as futures contracts approach maturity. (author).

  6. Correlation between Cervical Vertebral Maturation Stages and Dental Maturation in a Saudi Sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nayef H Felemban

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of the present study was to compare the cervical vertebra maturation stages method and dental maturity using tooth calcification stages. Methods: The current study comprised of 405 subjects selected from orthodontic patients of Saudi origin coming to clinics of the specialized dental centers in western region of Saudi Arabia. Dental age was assessed according to the developmental stages of upper and lower third molars and skeletal maturation according to the cervical vertebrae maturation stage method. Statistical analysis was done using Kruskal-Wallis H, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-Square test; t-test and Spearman correlation coefficient for inter group comparison. Results: The females were younger than males in all cervical stages. The CS1-CS2 show the period before the peak of growth, during CS3-CS5 it’s the pubertal growth spurt and CS6 is the period after the peak of the growth. The mean age and standard deviation for cervical stages of CS2, CS3 and CS4 were 12.09 ±1.72 years, 13.19 ±1.62 and 14.88 ±1.52 respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficients between cervical vertebrae and dental maturation were between 0.166 and 0.612, 0.243 and 0.832 for both sexes for upper and lower third molars. The significance levels for all coefficients were equal at 0.01 and 0.05. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the skeletal maturity increased with the increase in dental ages for both genders. An early rate of skeletal maturation stage was observed in females. This study needs further analysis using a larger sample covering the entire dentition.

  7. Single Pass Stripline Beam Position Monitor Design, Fabrication and Commissioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McKinlay J.

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available To monitor the position of the electron beam during transport from the Booster Synchrotron to the Storage Ring at the Australian Synchrotron, a stripline Beam Position Monitor (BPM has been designed, fabricated and installed in-house. The design was based on an existing stripline in the Booster and modified for the transfer line with a particular emphasis on ensuring the line impedance is properly matched to the detector system. The initial bench tests of a prototype stripline showed that the fabrication of the four individual striplines in the BPM was made precisely, each with a measured standing wave ratio (SWR of 1.8 at 500 MHz. Further optimization for impedance matching will be done for new stripline BPMs. The linearity and gain factor was measured with the detector system. The detector system that digitizes the signals is an Instrumentation Technologies Brilliance Single Pass [1]. The results show an error of 1 mm at an offset (from the electrical centre of 10 mm when a linear gain factor is assumed and an RMS noise of ~150 um that decreases to < 10 um with increasing signal intensity. The results were under our requirements for the transport line. The commissioning results of the stripline will also be presented showing a strong signal for an electron beam with an estimated integrated charge of ~50 nC with a position stability of 28 um (horizontal and 75 um (vertical.

  8. Single Pass Stripline Beam Position Monitor Design, Fabrication and Commissioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Y.-R. E.; Wang, D.; Van Garderen, E.; McKinlay, J.

    2012-10-01

    To monitor the position of the electron beam during transport from the Booster Synchrotron to the Storage Ring at the Australian Synchrotron, a stripline Beam Position Monitor (BPM) has been designed, fabricated and installed in-house. The design was based on an existing stripline in the Booster and modified for the transfer line with a particular emphasis on ensuring the line impedance is properly matched to the detector system. The initial bench tests of a prototype stripline showed that the fabrication of the four individual striplines in the BPM was made precisely, each with a measured standing wave ratio (SWR) of 1.8 at 500 MHz. Further optimization for impedance matching will be done for new stripline BPMs. The linearity and gain factor was measured with the detector system. The detector system that digitizes the signals is an Instrumentation Technologies Brilliance Single Pass [1]. The results show an error of 1 mm at an offset (from the electrical centre) of 10 mm when a linear gain factor is assumed and an RMS noise of ~150 um that decreases to < 10 um with increasing signal intensity. The results were under our requirements for the transport line. The commissioning results of the stripline will also be presented showing a strong signal for an electron beam with an estimated integrated charge of ~50 nC with a position stability of 28 um (horizontal) and 75 um (vertical).

  9. Maturity models in supply chain sustainability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Correia, Elisabete; Carvalho, Helena; Azevedo, Susana G.

    2017-01-01

    A systematic literature review of supply chain maturity models with sustainability concerns is presented. The objective is to give insights into methodological issues related to maturity models, namely the research objectives; the research methods used to develop, validate and test them; the scope...... of maturity levels. The comprehensive review, analysis, and synthesis of the maturity model literature represent an important contribution to the organization of this research area, making possible to clarify some confusion that exists about concepts, approaches and components of maturity models...

  10. SP140L, an Evolutionarily Recent Member of the SP100 Family, Is an Autoantigen in Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Saare

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The SP100 family members comprise a set of closely related genes on chromosome 2q37.1. The widely expressed SP100 and the leukocyte-specific proteins SP110 and SP140 have been associated with transcriptional regulation and various human diseases. Here, we have characterized the SP100 family member SP140L. The genome sequence analysis showed the formation of SP140L gene through rearrangements of the two neighboring genes, SP100 and SP140, during the evolution of higher primates. The SP140L expression is interferon-inducible with high transcript levels in B cells and other peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Subcellularly, SP140L colocalizes with SP100 and SP140 in nuclear structures that are devoid of SP110, PML, or p300 proteins. Similarly to SP100 and SP140 protein, we detected serum autoantibodies to SP140L in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis using luciferase immunoprecipitation system and immunoblotting assays. In conclusion, our results show that SP140L is phylogenetically recent member of SP100 proteins and acts as an autoantigen in primary biliary cirrhosis patients.

  11. Environmental conditions affecting exopolysaccharide production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus sp., and Ochrobactrum sp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiliç, Nur Koçberber; Dönmez, Gönül

    2008-06-15

    Three different chromium-resistant microorganisms (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus sp., and Ochrobactrum sp.) were tested with regard to their EPS production at different pH levels, temperatures, Cr(VI) concentrations, and incubation periods. The optimum pH level was 7 for P. aeruginosa and Micrococcus sp., while it was 8 for Ochrobactrum sp. according to the highest EPS amount at 100 mg/L Cr(VI) concentration. The highest production of EPSs by the three bacteria was obtained under different environmental conditions. P. aeruginosa produced the highest EPS (863.3 mg/L) after incubation for 96 h on media with 50 mg/L Cr(VI) at 20 degrees C, Micrococcus sp. gave the highest yield (444.6 mg/L) after incubation for 72 h on media with 100 mg/L Cr(VI) at the same temperature, and Ochrobactrum sp. had the highest production (430.5 mg/L) on media with 150 mg/L Cr(VI) at 30 degrees C at the end of 48 h of incubation.

  12. Superhard sp2–sp3 hybrid carbon allotropes with tunable electronic properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meng Hu

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Four sp2–sp3 hybrid carbon allotropes are proposed on the basis of first principles calculations. These four carbon allotropes are energetically more favorable than graphite under suitable pressure conditions. They can be assembled from graphite through intralayer wrinkling and interlayer buckling, which is similar to the formation of diamond from graphite. For one of the sp2–sp3 hybrid carbon allotropes, mC24, the electron diffraction patterns match these of i-carbon, which is synthesized from shock-compressed graphite (H. Hirai and K. Kondo, Science, 1991, 253, 772. The allotropes exhibit tunable electronic characteristics from metallic to semiconductive with band gaps comparable to those of silicon allotropes. They are all superhard materials with Vickers hardness values comparable to that of cubic BN. The sp2–sp3 hybrid carbon allotroes are promising materials for photovoltaic electronic devices, and abrasive and grinding tools.

  13. Selective C(sp2)-C(sp) bond cleavage: the nitrogenation of alkynes to amides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Chong; Feng, Peng; Ou, Yang; Shen, Tao; Wang, Teng; Jiao, Ning

    2013-07-22

    Breakthrough: A novel catalyzed direct highly selective C(sp2)-C(sp) bond functionalization of alkynes to amides has been developed. Nitrogenation is achieved by the highly selective C(sp2)-C(sp) bond cleavage of aryl-substituted alkynes. The oxidant-free and mild conditions and wide substrate scope make this method very practical. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Mapping of a major QTL for salt tolerance of mature field-grown maize plants based on SNP markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Meijie; Zhao, Yanxin; Zhang, Ruyang; Xing, Jinfeng; Duan, Minxiao; Li, Jingna; Wang, Naishun; Wang, Wenguang; Zhang, Shasha; Chen, Zhihui; Zhang, Huasheng; Shi, Zi; Song, Wei; Zhao, Jiuran

    2017-08-15

    Salt stress significantly restricts plant growth and production. Maize is an important food and economic crop but is also a salt sensitive crop. Identification of the genetic architecture controlling salt tolerance facilitates breeders to select salt tolerant lines. However, the critical quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for the salt tolerance of field-grown maize plants are still unknown. To map the main genetic factors contributing to salt tolerance in mature maize, a double haploid population (240 individuals) and 1317 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were employed to produce a genetic linkage map covering 1462.05 cM. Plant height of mature maize cultivated in the saline field (SPH) and plant height-based salt tolerance index (ratio of plant height between saline and control fields, PHI) were used to evaluate salt tolerance of mature maize plants. A major QTL for SPH was detected on Chromosome 1 with the LOD score of 22.4, which explained 31.2% of the phenotypic variation. In addition, the major QTL conditioning PHI was also mapped at the same position on Chromosome 1, and two candidate genes involving in ion homeostasis were identified within the confidence interval of this QTL. The detection of the major QTL in adult maize plant establishes the basis for the map-based cloning of genes associated with salt tolerance and provides a potential target for marker assisted selection in developing maize varieties with salt tolerance.

  15. Sensorimotor modulation differs with load type during constant finger force or position.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hikari Kirimoto

    Full Text Available During submaximal isometric contraction, there are two different load types: production of a constant force against a rigid restraint (force task, and maintenance of position against a constant load (position task. Previous studies reported that the time to task failure during a fatigue task was twice as long in the force task compared with the position task. Sensory feedback processing may contribute to these differences. The purpose of the current study was to determine the influence of load types during static muscle contraction tasks on the gating effect, i.e., attenuation of somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs and the cortical silent period (cSP. Ten healthy subjects contracted their right first dorsal interosseus muscle by abducting their index finger for 90 s, to produce a constant force against a rigid restraint that was 20% of the maximum voluntary contraction (force task, or to maintain a constant position with 10° abduction of the metacarpophalangeal joint against the same load (position task. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs were recorded from C3' by stimulating either the right ulnar or median nerve at the wrist while maintaining contraction. The cortical silent period (cSP was also elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Reduction of the amplitude of the P45 component of SEPs was significantly larger during the position task than during the force task and under control rest conditions when the ulnar nerve, but not the median nerve, was stimulated. The position task had a significantly shorter cSP duration than the force task. These results suggest the need for more proprioceptive information during the position task than the force task. The shorter duration of the cSP during the position task may be attributable to larger amplitude of heteronymous short latency reflexes. Sensorimotor modulations may differ with load type during constant finger force or position tasks.

  16. MIS Single-position Lateral and Oblique Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion and Bilateral Pedicle Screw Fixation: Feasibility and Perioperative Results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blizzard, Daniel J; Thomas, J Alex

    2018-03-15

    Retrospective review of prospectively collected data of the first 72 consecutive patients treated with single-position one- or two-level lateral (LLIF) or oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLLIF) with bilateral percutaneous pedicle screw and rod fixation by a single spine surgeon. To evaluate the clinical feasibility, accuracy, and efficiency of a single-position technique for LLIF and OLLIF with bilateral pedicle screw and rod fixation. Minimally-invasive lateral interbody approaches are performed in the lateral decubitus position. Subsequent repositioning prone for bilateral pedicle screw and rod fixation requires significant time and resources and does not facilitate increased lumbar lordosis. The first 72 consecutive patients (300 screws) treated with single-position LLIF or OLLIF and bilateral pedicle screws by a single surgeon between December 2013 and August 2016 were included in the study. Screw accuracy and fusion were graded using computed tomography and several timing parameters were recorded including retractor, fluoroscopy, and screw placement time. Complications including reoperation, infection, and postoperative radicular pain and weakness were recorded. Average screw placement time was 5.9 min/screw (standard deviation, SD: 1.5 min; range: 3-9.5 min). Average total operative time (interbody cage and pedicle screw placement) was 87.9 minutes (SD: 25.1 min; range: 49-195 min). Average fluoroscopy time was 15.0 s/screw (SD: 4.7 s; range: 6-25 s). The pedicle screw breach rate was 5.1% with 10/13 breaches measured as < 2 mm in magnitude. Fusion rate at 6-months postoperative was 87.5%. Two (2.8%) patients underwent reoperation for malpositioned pedicle screws with subsequent resolution of symptoms. The single-position, all-lateral technique was found to be feasible with accuracy, fluoroscopy usage, and complication rates comparable with the published literature. This technique eliminates the time and staffing associated with

  17. Infection Courts in Watermelon Plants Leading to Seed Infestation by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petkar, Aparna; Ji, Pingsheng

    2017-07-01

    Fusarium wilt incited by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum is a seed-transmitted disease that causes significant yield loss in watermelon production. The pathogen may infect watermelon seeds latently, which can be an important inoculum source and contribute to severe disease outbreak. However, information regarding infection courts of F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum leading to infestation of watermelon seeds is limited. To determine how seeds in watermelon fruit can be infested by F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum during the watermelon growing season, greenhouse and field experiments were conducted in 2014 and 2015 where watermelon flowers and immature fruit were inoculated with F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum. Seeds were extracted from mature watermelon fruit, and infestation of watermelon seeds was determined by isolation of F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum and further confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. Inoculation of the pericarp of immature fruit resulted in 17.8 to 54.4% of infested seeds under field conditions and 0.6 to 12.8% of infested seeds under greenhouse conditions when seeds were not surface disinfested prior to isolation. Seed infestation was also detected in 0 to 4.5% of the seeds when seeds were surface disinfested prior to isolation. Inoculation of pistil resulted in 0 to 7.2% and 0 to 18.3% of infested seeds under greenhouse and field conditions when seeds were surface disinfested or not disinfested before isolation, respectively. Inoculation of peduncle resulted in 0.6 to 6.1% and 0 to 10.0% of infested seeds in the greenhouse and field experiments when seeds were surface disinfested or not disinfested before isolation, respectively. Seed infestation was also detected in all the experiments using real-time PCR assay when pericarp or pistil was inoculated, and in three of four experiments when peduncle was inoculated, regardless of whether seeds were surface disinfested or not disinfested. Pericarp and peduncle of immature watermelon fruit

  18. In vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of nano-carbon particles with different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, S.S.; Wu, B.J.; Deng, Q.Y. [Key Laboratory for Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Guo, Y.B. [The Third People' s Hospital of Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Leng, Y.X., E-mail: yxleng@263.net [Key Laboratory for Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Huang, N. [Key Laboratory for Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China)

    2017-06-01

    Graphitization occurs during the long-term service of a diamond-like carbon (DLC) modified artificial joint. Then, DLC wear debris, which are carbon particles with different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios and sizes ranging from the nano- to micro-meter scale produced. In this paper, to promote the application of DLC coating for artificial joint modification, the cytotoxicity of DLC debris (nano-carbon particles, NCs) with different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios was studied. The microstructure and physical characteristics of NCs with different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). Meanwhile, osteoblasts and macrophages were applied to characterize the cytotoxicity of the NCs. In vitro cytotoxicity assay results indicated that cells incubated with NCs of different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios had greater osteogenic capacity, and these particles caused a weaker immune response in comparison with CoCrMo particles. Taken together, the results indicated that NCs with different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios presented a good cytocompatibility than CoCrMo particles. But no significant differences were observed among NCs with different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios. The better cytocompatibility of NCs is mainly attributable to their surface charge. - Highlights: • NCs with different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios have been successfully prepared by annealing treatment. • NCs with different sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} ratios show good osteogenic capacity and lower immune response. • The good cytocompatibility of NCs is mainly dependent on its surface charge.

  19. Detection and molecular status of Isospora sp. from the domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsubara, Ryuma; Fukuda, Yasuhiro; Murakoshi, Fumi; Nomura, Osamu; Suzuki, Toru; Tada, Chika; Nakai, Yutaka

    2017-10-01

    The domestic pigeon, Columba livia domestica, is reared for meat production, as a pet, or for racing. Few reports have characterized the parasitic protists from the genus Isospora isolated from Columbiformes. We detected Isospora-like oocysts from C. livia reared for racing. The oocyst contained two sporocysts, and each sporocyst included four sporozoites. The sporulated oocysts (n=4) were spherical; their mean diameters were 25.6 (24.0-27.2)×24.7 (23.4-26.0) μm. Micropyles, polar granules, and oocyst residuum were absent. The mean length and width of the sporocysts (n=8) were 19.5 (18.5-20.5) and 11.2 (10.2-12.1) μm, respectively. Stieda and sub-Stieda bodies were observed. Single-oocyst PCR revealed two different 18S rRNA gene sequences and one 28S rRNA gene sequence in a single oocyst of Isospora sp. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of the 18S rRNA gene, the two sequences made a group which fell within a cluster of known avian Isospora species. A tree based on the 28S rRNA gene sequence indicated that sequences from the pigeon Isospora sp. fell within a cluster of avian Isospora species. Both trees failed to clarify the phylogenetic relationships among the avian Isospora species due to limited resolution. Because the morphological description of Isospora sp. is based on only four oocysts, Isospora sp. is not proposed as a novel species here. This is the first description of Isospora sp. isolated from the domestic pigeon C. livia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Novel Position and Speed Estimator for PM Single Phase Brushless D.C. Motor Drives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lepure, Liviu I.; Andreescu, Gheorghe-Daniel; Iles, Doris

    2010-01-01

    A novel position and speed estimator for single phase permanent magnet brushless d.c. (PMBLDC) motor drives, based on flux integration and prior knowledge of ΨPM (θ) is proposed here and an adequate correction algorithm is adopted in order to increase the robustness to noise and to reduce...... the sensitivity to accuracy of flux linkage estimation. A speed and current close loop control is employed based on the Hall signal and the motor is controlled at different speeds in order to validate the proposed estimation algorithm with satisfying results. The position correction effect is analyzed...

  1. Variation in essential oil composition within individual leaves of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is more affected by leaf position than by leaf age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Ravit; Nitzan, Nadav; Chaimovitsh, David; Rubin, Baruch; Dudai, Nativ

    2011-05-11

    The aroma in sweet basil is a factor affecting the commercial value of the crop. In previous studies leaf age was considered to be a factor that influences the composition of essential oil (EO). In this study it was hypothesized that a single observation of the EO content in leaves from different positions on the main stem (young vs old) could predict the developmental changes in the plant during its life cycle. Plants harvested at week 16 demonstrated an exponential increase (R(2) = 0.92) in EO concentration in leaves on the main stem and lateral shoots, indicating higher EO concentrations in younger than in older leaves. Eugenol and methyleugenol predominated (28-77%) in the extract. Eugenol levels were higher in younger leaves (∼53%), and methyl-eugenol levels predominated in older leaves (∼68%). Linalool was lower in mature leaves than in younger leaves. This suggested that eugenol converted into methyleugenol and linalool decreased as leaf mature. However, in weekly monitored plants, the levels of these compounds in the EO had limited variation in the maturing leaf regardless of its position on the stem. This proposed that the EO composition in an individual leaf is mostly affected by the leaf position on the stem and not by its maturation process. Because leaf position is related to plant development, it is probable that the plant's physiological age at the time of leaf formation from the primordial tissue is the factor affecting the EO composition. It was concluded that interpretation of scientific observations should be carried out with caution and that hypotheses should be tested utilizing multifaceted approaches.

  2. Xylanolytic enzyme systems in Arthrobacter sp MTCC 5214 and Lactobacillus sp.

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Khandeparker, R.; Jalal, T.

    The production of extracellular xylanolytic enzymes such as xylanase, alfa-L-arabinofuranosidase (alfa-l-AFase), and acetyl xylan esterase (Axe) by marine Arthrobacter sp and Lactobacillus sp was investigated using different carbon sources Induction...

  3. Rate of egg maturation in marine turtles exhibits 'universal temperature dependence'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Sam B; Blount, Jonathan D; Godley, Brendan J; Witt, Matthew J; Broderick, Annette C

    2011-09-01

    1. The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) predicts that, after correcting for body mass variation among organisms, the rates of most biological processes will vary as a universal function of temperature. However, empirical support for 'universal temperature dependence' (UTD) is currently equivocal and based on studies of a limited number of traits. 2. In many ectothermic animals, the rate at which females produce mature eggs is temperature dependent and may be an important factor in determining the costs of reproduction. 3. We tested whether the rate of egg maturation in marine turtles varies with environmental temperature as predicted by MTE, using the time separating successive clutches of individual females to estimate the rate at which eggs are formed. We also assessed the phenotypic contribution to this rate, by using radio telemetry to make repeated measurements of interclutch intervals for individual green turtles (Chelonia mydas). 4. Rates of egg maturation increased with seasonally increasing water temperatures in radio-tracked green turtles, but were not repeatable for individual females, and did not vary according to maternal body size or reproductive investment (number and size of eggs produced). 5. Using a collated data set from several different populations and species of marine turtles, we then show that a single relationship with water temperature explains most of the variation in egg maturation rates, with a slope that is statistically indistinguishable from the UTD predicted by MTE. However, several alternative statistical models also described the relationship between temperature and egg maturation rates equally parsimoniously. 6. Our results offer novel support for the MTE's predicted UTD of biological rates, although the underlying mechanisms require further study. The strong temperature dependence of egg maturation combined with the apparently weak phenotypic contribution to this rate has interesting behavioural implications in ectothermic

  4. High resolution transmission electron microscopic study of nanoporous carbon consisting of curved single graphite sheets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourgeois, L.N.; Bursill, L.A.

    1997-01-01

    A high resolution transmission electron microscopic study of a nanoporous carbon rich in curved graphite monolayers is presented. Observations of very thin regions. including the effect of tilting the specimen with respect to the electron beam, are reported. The initiation of single sheet material on an oriented graphite substrate is also observed. When combined with image simulations and independent measurements of the density (1.37g cm -3 ) and sp 3 /sp 2 +sp 2 bonding fraction (0.16), these observations suggest that this material is a two phase mixture containing a relatively low density aggregation of essentially capped single shells like squat nanotubes and polyhedra, plus a relatively dense 'amorphous' carbon structure which may be described using a random-Schwarzite model. Some negatively-curved sheets were also identified in the low density phase. Finally, some discussion is offered regarding the growth mechanisms responsible for this nanoporous carbon and its relationship with the structures of amorphous carbons across a broad range of densities, porosities and sp 3 /sp 2 +sp 3 bonding fractions

  5. Metabolic versatility of Gram-positive microbial isolates from contaminated river sediments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narancic, Tanja; Djokic, Lidija; Kenny, Shane T.; O’Connor, Kevin E.; Radulovic, Vanja; Nikodinovic-Runic, Jasmina; Vasiljevic, Branka

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Thirty-four isolated Gram-positive bacteria could degrade wide range of aromatic pollutants. ► Nine isolates could grow in the presence of extremely high levels of heavy metals. ► Twelve isolates accumulated polyphosphate, 3 polyhydroxybutyrate, 4 exopolysaccharides. ► The incidence of multiple antibiotic resistance markers among isolates was low. - Abstract: Gram-positive bacteria from river sediments affected by the proximity of a petrochemical industrial site were isolated and characterized with respect to their ability to degrade a wide range of aromatic compounds. In this study we identified metabolically diverse Gram-positive bacteria capable of growth on wide range aromatic compounds in the presence of heavy metals and with the ability to accumulate biopolymers. Thirty-four isolates that were able to use 9 or more common aromatic pollutants, such as benzene, biphenyl, naphthalene etc. as a sole source of carbon and energy included members of Bacillus, Arthrobacter, Rhodococcus, Gordonia, Streptomyces, and Staphylococcus genus. Rhodococcus sp. TN105, Gordonia sp. TN103 and Arthrobacter sp. TN221 were identified as novel strains. Nine isolates were able to grow in the presence of one or more metals (mercury, cadmium, nickel) at high concentration (100 mM). Seven isolates could degrade 15 different aromatic compounds and could grow in the presence of one or more heavy metals. Two of these isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics including erythromycin and nalidixic acid. One third of isolates could accumulate at least one biopolymer. Twelve isolates (mainly Bacillus sp. and Arthrobacter sp.) accumulated polyphosphate, 3 Bacillus sp. accumulated polyhydroxybutyrate, while 4 isolates could accumulate exopolysaccharides.

  6. The effects of knowledge of child development and social-emotional maturity on adolescent attitudes toward parenting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, J J; Juhasz, A M

    1985-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between the combined effect of knowledge of child development and level of social-emotional maturity, and the extent to which this relationship affects adolescent attitudes toward parenting. The analysis of the data (multiple regression and canonical analysis) suggested that there were significant relationships among these variables. In general, the relationships indicated that subjects' negative attitudes toward parenting were associated with lack of knowledge of child development and low levels of social-emotional maturity, while subjects' positive attitudes toward parenting were associated with knowledge of child development and high levels of social-emotional maturity. The joint impact of knowledge of child development and social-emotional maturity factors on attitudes toward parenting accounted for 51% of the variation among the variables.

  7. Genome sequence and description of Anaerosalibacter massiliensis sp. nov.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Dione

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Anaerosalibacter massiliensis sp. nov. strain ND1T (= CSUR P762 = DSM 27308 is the type strain of A. massiliensis sp. nov., a new species within the genus Anaerosalibacter. This strain, the genome of which is described here, was isolated from the faecal flora of a 49-year-old healthy Brazilian man. Anaerosalibacter massiliensis is a Gram-positive, obligate anaerobic rod and member of the family Clostridiaceae. With the complete genome sequence and annotation, we describe here the features of this organism. The 3 197 911 bp long genome (one chromosome but no plasmid contains 3271 protein-coding and 62 RNA genes, including six rRNA genes.

  8. CARACTERIZACIÓN BIOQUÍMICA PARCIAL DE PROTEÍNAS ALERGIÉNICAS DE FRAXINUS SINENSIS Y CECROPIA SP.

    OpenAIRE

    Rodríguez, Adriana; Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá; Leal, Francisco; Hospital Infantil Lorenzita Villegas de Santos, Bogotá

    2013-01-01

    The allergenic capabilities ofthe poli en of Fraxinus sinensis (Urapán) and Cecropia sp. (Y arumo) were determined in patients with respiratory allergies in the city ofBogotá. Of a total of207 patients wbo were subjected to therelevant allergy skin tests, 20 (9.66%) were positive for F. sinensis and 6 (2.9%) for the extract from Cecropia sp. The allergenicity was confirmed by the determination of specific Iinmunoglobulin E (lgE). Of the twenty patients positive for F. sinensis, only 6 ofthem ...

  9. Mycobacterium sarraceniae sp. nov. and Mycobacterium helvum sp. nov., isolated from the pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Phuong M; Dahl, John L

    2016-11-01

    Several fast- to intermediate-growing, acid-fast, scotochromogenic bacteria were isolated from Sarracenia purpurea pitcher waters in Minnesota sphagnum peat bogs. Two strains (DL734T and DL739T) were among these isolates. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, the phylogenetic positions of both strains is in the genus Mycobacterium with no obvious relation to any characterized type strains of mycobacteria. Phenotypic characterization revealed that neither strain was similar to the type strains of known species of the genus Mycobacterium in the collective properties of growth, pigmentation or fatty acid composition. Strain DL734T grew at temperatures between 28 and 32 °C, was positive for 3-day arylsulfatase production, and was negative for Tween 80 hydrolysis, urease and nitrate reduction. Strain DL739T grew at temperatures between 28 and 37 °C, and was positive for Tween 80 hydrolysis, urea, nitrate reduction and 3-day arylsulfatase production. Both strains were catalase-negative while only DL739T grew with 5 % NaCl. Fatty acid methyl ester profiles were unique for each strain. DL739T showed an ability to survive at 8 °C with little to no cellular replication and is thus considered to be psychrotolerant. Therefore, strains DL734T and DL739T represent two novel species of the genus Mycobacterium with the proposed names Mycobacterium sarraceniae sp. nov. and Mycobacterium helvum sp. nov., respectively. The type strains are DL734T (=JCM 30395T=NCCB 100519T) and DL739T (=JCM 30396T=NCCB 100520T), respectively.

  10. Duplication and concerted evolution of MiSp-encoding genes underlie the material properties of minor ampullate silks of cobweb weaving spiders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vienneau-Hathaway, Jannelle M; Brassfield, Elizabeth R; Lane, Amanda Kelly; Collin, Matthew A; Correa-Garhwal, Sandra M; Clarke, Thomas H; Schwager, Evelyn E; Garb, Jessica E; Hayashi, Cheryl Y; Ayoub, Nadia A

    2017-03-14

    Orb-web weaving spiders and their relatives use multiple types of task-specific silks. The majority of spider silk studies have focused on the ultra-tough dragline silk synthesized in major ampullate glands, but other silk types have impressive material properties. For instance, minor ampullate silks of orb-web weaving spiders are as tough as draglines, due to their higher extensibility despite lower strength. Differences in material properties between silk types result from differences in their component proteins, particularly members of the spidroin (spider fibroin) gene family. However, the extent to which variation in material properties within a single silk type can be explained by variation in spidroin sequences is unknown. Here, we compare the minor ampullate spidroins (MiSp) of orb-weavers and cobweb weavers. Orb-web weavers use minor ampullate silk to form the auxiliary spiral of the orb-web while cobweb weavers use it to wrap prey, suggesting that selection pressures on minor ampullate spidroins (MiSp) may differ between the two groups. We report complete or nearly complete MiSp sequences from five cobweb weaving spider species and measure material properties of minor ampullate silks in a subset of these species. We also compare MiSp sequences and silk properties of our cobweb weavers to published data for orb-web weavers. We demonstrate that all our cobweb weavers possess multiple MiSp loci and that one locus is more highly expressed in at least two species. We also find that the proportion of β-spiral-forming amino acid motifs in MiSp positively correlates with minor ampullate silk extensibility across orb-web and cobweb weavers. MiSp sequences vary dramatically within and among spider species, and have likely been subject to multiple rounds of gene duplication and concerted evolution, which have contributed to the diverse material properties of minor ampullate silks. Our sequences also provide templates for recombinant silk proteins with tailored

  11. An Extended ADOP for Performance Evaluation of Single-Frequency Single-Epoch Positioning by BDS/GPS in Asia-Pacific Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Liu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Single-Frequency Single-Epoch (SFSE high-precision positioning has always been the hot spot of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS, and ambiguity dilution of precision (ADOP is a well-known scalar measure for success rate of ambiguity resolution. Traditional ADOP expression is complicated, thus the SFSE extended ADOP (E-ADOP, with the newly defined Summation-Multiplication Ratio of Weight (SMRW and two theorems for short baseline, was developed. This simplifies the ADOP expression; gives a clearer insight into the influences of SMRW and number of satellites on E-ADOP; and makes theoretical analysis of E-ADOP more convenient than that of ADOP, and through that the E-ADOP value can be predicted more accurately than through the ADOP expression for ADOP value. E-ADOP reveals that number of satellites and SMRW or high-elevation satellite are important for ADOP and, through E-ADOP, we studied which factor is dominant to control ADOP in different conditions and make ADOP different between BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS, Global Positioning System (GPS, and BDS/GPS. Based on experimental results of SFSE positioning with different baselines, some conclusions are made: (1 ADOP decreases when new satellites are added mainly because the number of satellites becomes larger; (2 when the number of satellites is constant, ADOP is mainly affected by SMRW; (3 in contrast to systems where the satellites with low-elevation are the majority or where low- and high-elevation satellites are equally distributed, in systems where the high-elevation satellites are the majority, the SMRW mainly makes ADOP smaller, even if there are fewer satellites than in the two previous cases, and the difference in numbers of satellites can be expanded as the proportion of high-elevation satellites becomes larger; and (4 ADOP of BDS is smaller than ADOP of GPS mainly because of its SMRW.

  12. Immunocytochemical localization of claudin 1 in the maturation ameloblasts of rat incisors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumio eNishikawa

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Claudin 1 is a tight junction transmembrane protein. Its localization in the maturation ameloblasts of rat incisors was examined by immunofluorescence microscopy. Distal junction area of ruffle-ended ameloblasts (RA and the Golgi apparatus of a sub-population of smooth-ended ameloblasts (SA and RAs stained positive with anti-claudin 1 antibodies. Since it has been shown that ameloblasts repeatedly alternate between an SA and an RA morphology during enamel maturation, the presence of claudin 1 in the Golgi cisterns may indicate the presence of tight junction precursors before transportation to the junctional area.

  13. Role of religion and spirituality in medical patients: Confirmatory results with the SpREUK questionnaire

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ostermann Thomas

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Spirituality has become a subject of interest in health care as it is was recognized to have the potential to prevent, heal or cope with illness. There is less doubt that values and goals are important contributors to life satisfaction, physical and psychological health, and that goals are what gives meaning and purpose to people's lives. However, there is as yet but limited understanding of how patients themselves view the impact of spirituality on their health and well-being, and whether they are convinced that their illness may have "meaning" to them. To raise these questions and to more precisely survey the basic attitudes of patients with severe diseases towards spirituality/religiosity (SpR and their adjustment to their illness, we developed the SpREUK questionnaire. Methods In order to re-validate our previously described SpREUK instrument, reliability and factor analysis of the new inventory (Version 1.1 were performed according to the standard procedures. The test sample contained 257 German subjects (53.3 ± 13.4 years with cancer (51%, multiple sclerosis (24%, other chronic diseases (16% and patients with acute diseases (7%. Results As some items of the SpREUK construct require a positive attitude towards SpR, these items (item pool 2 were separated from the others (item pool 1. The reliability of the 15-item the construct derived from the item pool 1 respectively the 14-item construct which refers to the item pool 2 both had a good quality (Cronbach's alpha = 0.9065 resp. 0.9525. Factor analysis of item pool 1 resulted in a 3-factor solution (i.e. the 6-item sub-scale 1: "Search for meaningful support"; the 6-item sub-scale 2: "Positive interpretation of disease"; and the 3-item sub-scale 3: "Trust in external guidance" which explains 53.8% of variance. Factor analysis of item pool 2 pointed to a 2-factor solution (i.e. the 10-item sub-scale 4: "Support in relations with the External life through SpR" and the 4

  14. Enhancing the accuracy of GPS point positioning by converting the single frequency data to dual frequency data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aly M. El-naggar

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The global positioning system (GPS has been used to support a wide variety of applications, such as high-accuracy positioning and navigation. Differential GPS techniques can largely eliminate common-mode errors between the reference and the rover GPS stations resulting from ionospheric and tropospheric refraction and delays, satellite and receiver clock biases, and orbital errors [1]. The ionospheric delay in the propagation of global positioning system (GPS signals is one of the main sources of error in GPS precise positioning and navigation. A dual-frequency GPS receiver can eliminate (to the first order the ionospheric delay through a linear combination of the L1 and L2 observations [2]. The most significant effect of ionospheric delay appear in case of using single frequency data. In this paper the single frequency data of concerned station are converted to dual frequency data by employing dual frequency data from 11 regional GPS stations distributed around it. Total electron content (TEC was calculated at every GPS station to produce the mathematical model of TEC which is a function of latitude (Φ and longitude (λ. By using this mathematical model the values of TEC and L2 can be predicted at the single frequency GPS station for each satellite, after that the comparison between predicted and observation values of TEC and L2 was performed. The estimation method and test results of the proposed method indicates that the difference between predicted and observation values is very small.

  15. The Influence of Lying Body Position on Handwriting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dziedzic, Tomasz

    2016-01-01

    Although the problem of handwriting variability due to lying body position has practical significance, particularly for last will cases, it has not been sufficiently studied. The presented experiment aimed to recognize how such posture may influence handwriting features. Samples of text and signatures were collected from 50 healthy individuals, aged 23-58, produced in three postures: typical sitting position (SP) and two different lying positions (LP1 & LP2). Using the SP sample of each individual as a specimen, eleven characteristics in LP1 and LP2 samples were evaluated as similar or different. Nine other features were measured with a specialized software, and their conformity was tested with Student's t-test. Although none of the characteristics differed significantly in most cases, variation occurred in pen pressure, margins, baselines, and heights of letters. Additionally, a series of blind tests revealed that lying position of the individuals did not hinder the possibility to identify their writings. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  16. Aporocotyle michaudi n. sp. (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) from the emerald rock cod, Trematomus bernacchii (Teleostei: Perciformes) in Antarctica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santoro, Mario; Cipriani, Paolo; Pankov, Plamen; Lawton, Scott P

    2015-10-01

    Aporocotyle michaudi n. sp. is described from the gill blood vessels of the emerald rock cod Trematomus bernacchii in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. It is distinguished from all other species of Aporocotyle by its body tegument showing single conical spines, spinous buccal capsule, and genital atrium positioned medially; all congeners described to date are characterized by clusters of tegumental spines, unspined buccal capsule and genital atrium located in the lateral part of the body. Aporocotyle michaudi n. sp. clearly differs from A. notothenia (the only other species of Aporocotyle found in a perciform fish) in its shape and arrangement of tegumental spines, buccal capsule features, location of genital atrium, body size, ratio of esophagus/body length, anterior caeca/posterior caeca ratio, number of testes, cirrus sac and ovary size and shape, and host. The new species is easily distinguished from A. argentinensis (the species that most closely resembles A. michaudi) by the shape and arrangement of tegumental spines, buccal capsule features, genital atrium location, left anterior caecum longer than right, esophagus/body length ratio, number of testes, cirrus sac size and shape, host and molecular analyses. Phylogenetic analyses of partial 28S rDNA genetic data showed that sequences representing the new species form a distinct clade with all other sequences for species of Aporocotyle and appear basal within the genus. Aporocotyle michaudi n. sp. represents the only species of genus described in Antarctica. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Ctenolepisma almeriensis n. sp. of Lepismatidae (Insecta, Zygentoma from south-eastern Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molero-Baltanás, R.

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available Ctenolepisma almeriensis n. sp., from the south–eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula is described. This species was determined previously as Ctenolepisma lineata (Fabricius, 1775, which is widespread over the south–western Palaeartic region. The main difference between the two species is the setation of thoracic sternites. In each bristle–comb of the mesosternum and the metasternum, macrosetae are arranged in a single row in C. lineata and in two parallel rows in C. lmeriensis n. sp. In the prosternum, the first species shows 1–2 irregular lines of macrosetae per comb, and the new species shows 2–3 lines. Based on other parameters of setation, a discriminant analysis was carried out to separate a group of Spanish specimens of C. lineata from another group of specimens of the new species. This analysis demonstrated the validity of the occurrence of double or single lines of macrosetae in thoracic sternites to distinguish between thetwo species.

  18. Validation of a model for predicting smear-positive active pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with initial acid-fast bacilli smear-negative sputum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yeh, Jun-Jun [Department of Chest Medicine, Section of Thoracic Imaging, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi City (China); Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan (China); Meiho University, Pingtung (China); Pingtung Christian Hospital, Pingtung (China); Heng Chun Christian Hospital, Pingtung (China)

    2018-01-15

    The objective of this study was to develop a predictive model for final smear-positive (SP) active pulmonary tuberculosis (aPTB) in patients with initial negative acid fast bacilli (AFB) sputum smears (iSN-SP-aPTB) based on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Eighty (126, 21) patients of iSN-SP-aPTB and 402 (459, 876) patients of non-initial positive acid fast bacilli (non-iSP) pulmonary disease without iSN-SP-aPTB were included in a derivation (validation, prospective) cohort. HRCT characteristics were analysed, and multivariable regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to develop a score predictive of iSN-SP-aPTB. The derivation cohort showed clusters of nodules/mass of the right upper lobe or left upper lobe were independent predictors of iSN-SP-aPTB, while bronchiectasis in the right middle lobe or left lingual lobe were negatively associated with iSN-SP-aPTB. A predictive score for iSN-SP-aPTB based on these findings was tested in the validation and prospective cohorts. With an ideal cut-off score = 1, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the prediction model were 87.5% (90%, 90.5%), 99% (97.1%, 98.4%), 94.6% (81.3%, 57.5%), and 97.6% (97%, 99.8%) in the derivation (validation, prospective) cohorts, respectively. The model may help identify iSN-SP-aPTB among patients with non-iSP pulmonary diseases. circle Smear-positive active pulmonary tuberculosis that is initial smear-negative (iSN-SP-aPTB) is infectious. (orig.)

  19. Cryptosporidium homai n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Cryptosporidiiae) from the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahedi, Alireza; Durmic, Zoey; Gofton, Alexander W; Kueh, Susan; Austen, Jill; Lawson, Malcolm; Callahan, Lauren; Jardine, John; Ryan, Una

    2017-10-15

    The morphological, biological, and molecular characterisation of a new Cryptosporidium species from the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) are described, and the species name Cryptosporidium homai n. sp. is proposed. Histological analysis conducted on a post-mortem sample from a guinea pig euthanised due to respiratory distress, identified developmental stages of C. homai n. sp. (trophozoites and meronts) along the intestinal epithelium. Molecular analysis at 18S rRNA (18S), actin and hsp70 loci was then conducted on faeces from an additional 7 guinea pigs positive for C. homai n. sp. At the 18S, actin and hsp70 loci, C. homai n. sp. exhibited genetic distances ranging from 3.1% to 14.3%, 14.4% to 24.5%, and 6.6% to 20.9% from other Cryptosporidium spp., respectively. At the 18S locus, C. homai n. sp. shared 99.1% similarity with a previously described Cryptosporidium genotype in guinea pigs from Brazil and it is likely that they are the same species, however this cannot be confirmed as actin and hsp70 sequences from the Brazilian guinea pig genotype are not available. Phylogenetic analysis of concatenated 18S, actin and hsp70 sequences showed that C. homai n. sp. exhibited 9.1% to 17.3% genetic distance from all other Cryptosporidium spp. This clearly supports the validity of C. homai n. sp. as a separate species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Single Particle Soot Photometer intercomparison at the AIDA chamber

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Laborde

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Soot particles, consisting of black carbon (BC, organic carbon (OC, inorganic salts, and trace elements, are emitted into the atmosphere during incomplete combustion. Accurate measurements of atmospheric BC are important as BC particles cause adverse health effects and impact the climate.

    Unfortunately, the accurate measurement of the properties and mass concentrations of BC particles remains difficult. The Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2 can contribute to improving this situation by measuring the mass of refractory BC in individual particles as well as its mixing state.

    Here, the results of the first detailed SP2 intercomparison, involving 6 SP2s from 6 different research groups, are presented, including the most evolved data products that can presently be calculated from SP2 measurements.

    It was shown that a detection efficiency of almost 100% down to 1 fg BC per particle can readily be achieved, and that this limit can be pushed down to ∼0.2 fg BC with optimal SP2 setup. Number and mass size distributions of BC cores agreed within ±5% and ±10%, respectively, in between the SP2s, with larger deviations in the range below 1 fg BC.

    The accuracy of the SP2's mass concentration measurement depends on the calibration material chosen. The SP2 has previously been shown to be equally sensitive to fullerene soot and ambient BC from sources where fossil fuel was dominant and less sensitive to fullerene soot than to Aquadag. Fullerene soot was therefore chosen as the standard calibration material by the SP2 user community; however, many data sets rely solely on Aquadag calibration measurements. The difference in SP2 sensitivity was found to be almost equal (fullerene soot to Aquadag response ratio of ∼0.75 at 8.9 fg BC for all SP2s. This allows the calculation of a fullerene soot equivalent calibration curve from a measured Aquadag calibration, when no fullerene soot calibration is available. It could be

  1. Heterogeneity of acute myeloblastic leukemia without maturation: an ultrastructural study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamamoto, K; Date, M; Taniguchi, H; Nagano, T; Kishimoto, Y; Kimura, T; Fukuhara, S

    1995-01-01

    We demonstrated by ultrastructural examination that the leukemic blasts of 13 patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) without maturation (M1 in the French-American-British classification) showed heterogeneous features. In 7 patients, the leukemic blasts had a high level of light microscopic myeloperoxidase positivity (> 50%). Ultrastructurally, the cells were myeloblast-promyelocytes with 100% myeloperoxidase positivity, and these 7 patients appeared to have typical AML. In contrast, the remaining 6 patients had leukemic blasts with a low myeloperoxidase positivity (undifferentiated blasts. The former group had a better prognosis than the latter, indicating that ultrastructural analysis of M1 leukemia may help predict the response to therapy.

  2. Micro-magnet arrays for specific single bacterial cell positioning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pivetal, Jérémy, E-mail: jeremy.piv@netcmail.com [Ecole Centrale de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5005, Laboratoire Ampère, F-69134 Écully (France); Royet, David [Ecole Centrale de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5005, Laboratoire Ampère, F-69134 Écully (France); Ciuta, Georgeta [Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inst NEEL, F-38042 Grenoble (France); CNRS, Inst NEEL, F-38042 Grenoble (France); Frenea-Robin, Marie [Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5005, Laboratoire Ampère, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Haddour, Naoufel [Ecole Centrale de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5005, Laboratoire Ampère, F-69134 Écully (France); Dempsey, Nora M. [Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inst NEEL, F-38042 Grenoble (France); CNRS, Inst NEEL, F-38042 Grenoble (France); Dumas-Bouchiat, Frédéric [Univ Limoges, CNRS, SPCTS UMR 7513, 12 Rue Atlantis, F-87068 Limoges (France); Simonet, Pascal [Ecole Centrale de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5005, Laboratoire Ampère, F-69134 Écully (France)

    2015-04-15

    In various contexts such as pathogen detection or analysis of microbial diversity where cellular heterogeneity must be taken into account, there is a growing need for tools and methods that enable microbiologists to analyze bacterial cells individually. One of the main challenges in the development of new platforms for single cell studies is to perform precise cell positioning, but the ability to specifically target cells is also important in many applications. In this work, we report the development of new strategies to selectively trap single bacterial cells upon large arrays, based on the use of micro-magnets. Escherichia coli bacteria were used to demonstrate magnetically driven bacterial cell organization. In order to provide a flexible approach adaptable to several applications in the field of microbiology, cells were magnetically and specifically labeled using two different strategies, namely immunomagnetic labeling and magnetic in situ hybridization. Results show that centimeter-sized arrays of targeted, isolated bacteria can be successfully created upon the surface of a flat magnetically patterned hard magnetic film. Efforts are now being directed towards the integration of a detection tool to provide a complete micro-system device for a variety of microbiological applications. - Highlights: 1.We report a new approach to selectively micropattern bacterial cells individually upon micro-magnet arrays. 2.Permanent micro-magnets of a size approaching that of bacteria could be fabricated using a Thermo-Magnetic Patterning process. 3.Bacterial cells were labeled using two different magnetic labeling strategies providing flexible approach adaptable to several applications in the field of microbiology.

  3. Output pulse-shapes of position-sensitive proportional counters using high resistance single wire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iwatani, Kazuo; Nishiyama, Fumitaka; Hasai, Hiromi

    1980-01-01

    The measurements and model analysis of the output pulse-shapes from a single wire proportional counter (SWPC) which has a high resistance anode are described. The characteristics of the observed pulse-shapes are determined by only one parameter which is a function of anode resistance and load resistance and they are reproduced by a simple model. Using this model, the methods for position read-out are discussed in a systematical way. (author)

  4. Fresh Water Cyanobacteria Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as an Anticancer Drug Resource

    OpenAIRE

    Srivastava, Akanksha; Tiwari, Ratnakar; Srivastava, Vikas; Singh, Tej Bali; Asthana, Ravi Kumar

    2015-01-01

    An increasing number of cancer patients worldwide, especially in third world countries, have raised concern to explore natural drug resources, such as the less explored fresh water filamentous cyanobacteria. Six strains of cyanobacteria (Phormidium sp. CCC727, Geitlerinema sp. CCC728, Arthrospira sp. CCC729, Phormidium sp. CCC731, Phormidium sp. CCC730, and Leptolyngbya sp. CCC732) were isolated (paddy fields and ponds in the Banaras Hindu University, campus) and five strains screened for ant...

  5. Naturally Engineered Maturation of Cardiomyocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaetano J. Scuderi

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Ischemic heart disease remains one of the most prominent causes of mortalities worldwide with heart transplantation being the gold-standard treatment option. However, due to the major limitations associated with heart transplants, such as an inadequate supply and heart rejection, there remains a significant clinical need for a viable cardiac regenerative therapy to restore native myocardial function. Over the course of the previous several decades, researchers have made prominent advances in the field of cardiac regeneration with the creation of in vitro human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte tissue engineered constructs. However, these engineered constructs exhibit a functionally immature, disorganized, fetal-like phenotype that is not equivalent physiologically to native adult cardiac tissue. Due to this major limitation, many recent studies have investigated approaches to improve pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte maturation to close this large functionality gap between engineered and native cardiac tissue. This review integrates the natural developmental mechanisms of cardiomyocyte structural and functional maturation. The variety of ways researchers have attempted to improve cardiomyocyte maturation in vitro by mimicking natural development, known as natural engineering, is readily discussed. The main focus of this review involves the synergistic role of electrical and mechanical stimulation, extracellular matrix interactions, and non-cardiomyocyte interactions in facilitating cardiomyocyte maturation. Overall, even with these current natural engineering approaches, pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes within three-dimensional engineered heart tissue still remain mostly within the early to late fetal stages of cardiomyocyte maturity. Therefore, although the end goal is to achieve adult phenotypic maturity, more emphasis must be placed on elucidating how the in vivo fetal microenvironment drives cardiomyocyte

  6. The effects of platelet lysate on maturation, fertilization and embryo development of NMRI mouse oocytes at germinal vesicle stage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pazoki, Hassan; Eimani, Hussein; Farokhi, Farah; Shahverdi, Abdol-Hossein; Tahaei, Leila Sadat

    2016-04-01

    Improving in vitro maturation could increase the rate of pregnancy from oocytes matured in vitro. Consequently, patients will be prevented from using gonadotropin with its related side effects. In this study, the maturation medium was enriched by platelet lysate (PL), then maturation and subsequent developments were monitored. Oocytes at germinal vesicle stage with cumulus cells (cumulus-oocyte complex) and without cumulus cells (denuded oocytes) were obtained from mature female mice. The maturation medium was enriched by 5 and 10 % PL and 5 % PL + 5 % fetal bovine serum (FBS) as experimental groups; the control groups' media consisted of 5 and 10 % FBS. After 18 h, the matured oocytes were collected and, after fertilization, subsequent development was monitored. The rates of maturation, fertilization and 2-cell embryo development for the denuded oocyte groups in experimental media 5 % PL and 5 % PL + 5 % FBS were significantly higher than those of the control groups ( P platelet lysate could improve the maturation rate in the absence of granulosa cells compared to media with FBS. This extract also had positive effects on fertilization and embryo development.

  7. Maturational differences in physical self- perceptions and the relationship with physical activity in early adolescent girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niven, Alisa G; Fawkner, Samantha G; Knowles, Anne-Marie; Stephenson, Claire

    2007-11-01

    This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between physical self-perceptions (PSPs), maturation, and physical activity and compared the strength of the relationships of biological and chronological age with PSPs in early adolescent girls (N = 208; mean age = 11.83 +/- 0.39 years). Participants completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children, the Children's Physical Self-Perception Profile, and the Pubertal Development Scale. Results indicated that PSPs were significantly and moderately correlated with physical activity. There were no differences in physical activity between maturation stages. Girls who were in the early stages of maturation had significantly more positive perceptions of body attractiveness and physical self-worth than girls in the mid stages of maturation. There was no evidence of a relationship between PSPs and chronological age. This study provided further support for the relationship between PSPs and physical activity and the relationship between maturation and aspects of PSPs. In this age group, maturation does not appear to be related to physical activity or the PSPs most strongly influential on physical activity behavior.

  8. Antioxidant Activity, Colour and Mineral Content Of Herbal Tea Prepared From Cosmos Caudatus Leaves at Different Maturity Stages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dian Nashiela Fatanah; Noriham Abdullah; Nooraain Hashim; Azizah Abd Hamid

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, increasing consumption of herbal tea is a worldwide trend because of their refreshing taste, positive potential health effect, convenience, abundant resources and also cheaper in price. However, different maturity stages of plants being used as raw material could affect the antioxidant activity, colour and mineral content in herbal tea. Thus, this present study was aimed at determining antioxidant activity, colour and mineral content of herbal tea prepared from Cosmos caudatus (C. caudatus) leaves at three different maturity stages namely young, mature and old. All prepared herbal tea were analysed for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2-2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, colour and mineral content. The results demonstrated that herbal tea prepared from young leaves had strong (p<0.05) antioxidant activity compared to mature and old leaves for all assays tested. Pearsons correlation coefficient also revealed that TPC and TFC exhibited a strong positive correlation with reducing power but negatively correlated with DPPH scavenging activity indicating that these compounds are major contributors to the antioxidant activity. In fact, the darker (p<0.05) colour of C. caudatus herbal tea prepared from young leaves relates to their higher antioxidant activity as compared to mature and old leaves. However, C. caudatus herbal tea prepared from old leaves showed significantly higher in mineral content compared to mature and young leaves. Hence, it can be concluded that, as maturity increased, antioxidant activity and colour in C. caudatus herbal tea decreased and vice-versa for mineral content. (author)

  9. Ultrastructural and molecular characterization of Glugea serranus n. sp., a microsporidian infecting the blacktail comber, Serranus atricauda (Teleostei: Serranidae), in the Madeira Archipelago (Portugal).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casal, Graça; Rocha, Sónia; Costa, Graça; Al-Quraishy, Saleh; Azevedo, Carlos

    2016-10-01

    A new microsporidian infecting the connective tissue of the coelomic cavity of the blacktail comber Serranus atricauda, in the Madeira Archipelago (Portugal), is described on the basis of morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular features. The microsporidian formed large whitish xenomas adhering to the peritoneal visceral organs of the host. Each xenoma consisted of a single hypertrophic cell, in the cytoplasm of which mature spores proliferated within parasitophorous vacuoles surrounded by numerous collagen fibers. Mature spores were ellipsoidal and uninucleated, measuring an average of 6.5 ± 0.5 μm in length and 3.4 ± 0.6 μm in width. The anchoring disk of the polar filament was subterminal, laterally shifted from the anterior pole of the spore. The isofilar polar filament coiled in 18-19 turns, forming two rows that surrounded the posterior vacuole. The latter occupied about one third of the spore length. The polaroplast surrounding the apical and uncoiled portion of the polar filament displayed two distinct regions: a lamellar region and an electron-dense globule. Molecular analysis of the rRNA genes, including the internal transcribed spacer region, and phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood and neighbor joining demonstrated that this microsporidian parasite clustered with some Glugea species. Based on the differences found both at the morphological and molecular levels, to other members of the genus Glugea, the microsporidian infecting the blacktail comber is considered a new species, thus named Glugea serranus n. sp.

  10. Genome sequencing and annotation of Stenotrophomonas sp. SAM8

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samy Selim

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We report draft genome sequence of Stenotrophomonas sp. strain SAM8, isolated from environmental water. The draft genome size is 3,665,538 bp with a G + C content of 67.2% and contains 6 rRNA sequence (single copies of 5S, 16S & 23S rRNA. The genome sequence can be accessed at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank under the accession no. LDAV00000000.

  11. Changes in the stability and biomechanics of P22 bacteriophage capsid during maturation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kant, Ravi; Llauró, Aida; Rayaprolu, Vamseedhar; Qazi, Shefah; de Pablo, Pedro J; Douglas, Trevor; Bothner, Brian

    2018-03-15

    The capsid of P22 bacteriophage undergoes a series of structural transitions during maturation that guide it from spherical to icosahedral morphology. The transitions include the release of scaffold proteins and capsid expansion. Although P22 maturation has been investigated for decades, a unified model that incorporates thermodynamic and biophysical analyses is not available. A general and specific model of icosahedral capsid maturation is of significant interest to theoreticians searching for fundamental principles as well as virologists and material scientists seeking to alter maturation to their advantage. To address this challenge, we have combined the results from orthogonal biophysical techniques including differential scanning fluorimetry, atomic force microscopy, circular dichroism, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry. By integrating these results from single particle and population measurements, an energy landscape of P22 maturation from procapsid through expanded shell to wiffle ball emerged, highlighting the role of metastable structures and the thermodynamics guiding maturation. The propagation of weak quaternary interactions across symmetric elements of the capsid is a key component for stability in P22. A surprising finding is that the progression to wiffle ball, which lacks pentamers, shows that chemical and thermal stability can be uncoupled from mechanical rigidity, elegantly demonstrating the complexity inherent in capsid protein interactions and the emergent properties that can arise from icosahedral symmetry. On a broader scale, this work demonstrates the power of applying orthogonal biophysical techniques to elucidate assembly mechanisms for supramolecular complexes and provides a framework within which other viral systems can be compared. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Pengendalian Hayati Penyakit Layu Fusarium Pisang (Fusarium Oxysporum F.sp. Cubense) dengan Trichoderma SP.

    OpenAIRE

    Sudirman, Albertus; Sumardiyono, Christanti; Widyastuti, Siti Muslimah

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this research was to study the inhibiting ability of Trichoderma sp. to control fusarium wilt of banana in greenhouse condition. The experiments consisted of the antagonism test between Trichoderma sp. and Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) in vitro using dual culture method and glass house experiment which was arranged in 3×3 Factorial Complete Randomized Design. First factor of the latter experiment was the dose of Trichoderma sp. culture (0, 25, and 50 g per polybag), second...

  13. Salirhabdus euzebyi gen. nov., sp. nov., a Gram-positive, halotolerant bacterium isolated from a sea salt evaporation pond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albuquerque, Luciana; Tiago, Igor; Rainey, Fred A; Taborda, Marco; Nobre, M Fernanda; Veríssimo, António; da Costa, Milton S

    2007-07-01

    A low-G+C, Gram-positive bacterium, designated CVS-14(T), was recovered from a sea salt evaporation pond on the island of Sal in the Cape Verde Archipelago. This organism was catalase- and oxidase-positive. Cells were motile, spore-forming aerobic rods, with an optimum growth temperature of about 35-40 degrees C and optimum pH between 7.0 and 8.5. Optimal growth occurred in media containing 4-6 % (w/v) NaCl, although the organism was able to grow in medium without added NaCl and in medium containing 16 % NaCl. The cell-wall peptidoglycan was of A1 gamma type and the major respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). Major fatty acids were iso-15 : 0, anteiso-15 : 0, iso-17 : 0 and anteiso-17 : 0. The DNA G+C content was 37.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain CVS-14(T) formed a distinct new branch within the radiation of the moderately halophilic bacilli group, forming a separate lineage from species of the genera Salinibacillus, Paucisalibacillus, Oceanobacillus, Lentibacillus and Virgibacillus. Strain CVS-14(T) showed 16S rRNA gene pairwise similarity values of approximately 95 % with species of the genus Salinibacillus. On the basis of morphological, physiological, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics, strain CVS-14(T) is considered to represent a novel species in a new genus, for which the name Salirhabdus euzebyi gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CVS-14(T) (=LMG 22839(T)=CIP 108577(T)).

  14. How does procurement capability maturity affect e-Procurement adoption and leverage purchasing in supply chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pongpanga Pongsuwan

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This study refers to the research model of Batenburg (2008 which defined procurement functions to six maturity dimensions; strategy, processes, control, organization, information, e-Technology as the starting point and indicates twenty two items to support capability maturity measurement which is called “Procurement Competitive Capability Maturity”(PCCM. This model is used for a company to assess current practices of procurement function and perceives the level of its capabilities. The data collection is from a survey of fifty-two selected procurement organizations in Southeast Asia (SEA countries; from Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the significant value of industry type, size of spending and centralized/decentralized procurement that affect procurement capability maturity. The results show that the industry has no relation to the capability maturity; the size of procurement spend has a positive relation to the capability maturity; and the centralized procurement has higher capability maturity than the decentralized. Moreover, this study extends the knowledge of e-Procurement and digital context to leverage procurement processes and visible procurement integration in an organization and across the supply chain.

  15. Single-stage accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon-interference identification and positive-ionisation characterisation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilcken, K.M., E-mail: klaus.wilcken@ansto.gov.au [Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride G75 0QF (United Kingdom); Freeman, S.P.H.T.; Xu, S.; Dougans, A. [Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride G75 0QF (United Kingdom)

    2013-01-15

    A single-stage accelerator mass spectrometer (SSAMS) is a good alternative to conventional spectrometers based on tandem electrostatic acceleration for radiocarbon measurement and permits experimentation with both negative and positive carbon ions. However, such {sup 14}C AMS of either polarity ions is limited by an interference. In the case of anion acceleration we have newly determined this to be summed {sup 13}C and {sup 16}O by improvising an additional Wien filter on our SSAMS deck. Also, {sup 14}C AMS might be improved by removing its dependency on negative-ionisation in a sputter ion source. This requires negative-ionisation of sample atoms elsewhere to suppress the {sup 14}N interference, which we accomplish by transmitting initially positive ions through a thin membrane. The ionisation dependence on ion-energy is found to be consistent with previous experimentation with vapours and thicker foils.

  16. Vacuum Ultraviolet Single-Photon Postionization of Amino Acids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsu Chen Hsu

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In this study, ultraviolet (UV laser desorption and vacuum UV single-photon (VUV SP postionization were performed to ionize and successfully analyze 20 common amino acids. The analytical merit and efficiency of the ionization was compared with those of conventional UV matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (UV-MALDI. A VUV light source (118 nm was generated from the ninth harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, and the photon number was determined to be larger than 1012 for each laser pulse in the ionization region. In general, the detection sensitivity of VUV-SP-postionization was 10–100 times higher than that of conventional UV-MALDI. In particular, the ion signal from VUV-SP-postionization was considerably larger than that from UV-MALDI for analytes with low proton affinity such as glycine. However, some fragmentation of intact ions was observed in VUV-SP-postionization. Quantitative analysis performed using a glycine/histidine mixture and tryptophan/phenylalanine mixture revealed that the dynamic range of VUV-SP-postionization was one order of magnitude larger than that of UV-MALDI, indicating that VUV-SP-postionization is suitable for the quantitative analysis of amino acids.

  17. Stolephorus sp Behavior in Different LED (Light Emitting Diode) Color and Light Intensities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitri Aristi, D. P.; Ramadanita, I. A.; Hapsari, T. D.; Susanto, A.

    2018-02-01

    This research aims to observe anchovy (Stolephorus sp) behavior under different LED light intensities that affect eye physiology (cell cone structure). The materials used were Stolephorus sp taken from the waters off Jepara and 13 and 10 watt light emitting diode (LED). The research method was an experiment conducted from March through August 2015 in the waters off Jepara. Data analysis of visual histology and fish respond was carried out at the fishing gear material laboratory, anatomy and cultivate. Cone cell structure (mosaic cone) of Stolephorus sp forms a connected regular square pattern with every single cone surrounded by four double cones, which indicate that anchovies are sensitive to light. The 13 watt LED (628 lux) has faster response than the 10 watt LED (531 lux) as it has wider and higher emitting intensity, which also attracts fish to gather quicker.

  18. Human CD8 T cells generated in vitro from hematopoietic stem cells are functionally mature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zúñiga-Pflücker Juan

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background T cell development occurs within the highly specialized thymus. Cytotoxic CD8 T cells are critical in adaptive immunity by targeting virally infected or tumor cells. In this study, we addressed whether functional CD8 T cells can be generated fully in vitro using human umbilical cord blood (UCB hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs in coculture with OP9-DL1 cells. Results HSC/OP9-DL1 cocultures supported the differentiation of CD8 T cells, which were TCR/CD3hi CD27hi CD1aneg and thus phenotypically resembled mature functional CD8 single positive thymocytes. These in vitro-generated T cells also appeared to be conventional CD8 cells, as they expressed high levels of Eomes and low levels of Plzf, albeit not identical to ex vivo UCB CD8 T cells. Consistent with the phenotypic and molecular characterization, upon TCR-stimulation, in vitro-generated CD8 T cells proliferated, expressed activation markers (MHC-II, CD25, CD38, secreted IFN-γ and expressed Granzyme B, a cytotoxic T-cell effector molecule. Conclusion Taken together, the ability to direct human hematopoietic stem cell or T-progenitor cells towards a mature functional phenotype raises the possibility of establishing cell-based treatments for T-immunodeficiencies by rapidly restoring CD8 effector function, thereby mitigating the risks associated with opportunistic infections.

  19. The Effect of Acupuncture to SP6 on Skin Temperature Changes of SP6 and SP10: An Observation of “Deqi”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jia-Min Yang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Deqi sensation is a complex but an important component for acupuncture effect. In this study, we tried to observe the relationship between Deqi and skin temperature changes and whether there was some relativity between Deqi and needle stimulations on cold congealing and dysmenorrhea rat model. Thirty-two female Sprague Dawley (SD rats were randomly divided into four groups (Saline Control Group, Model Group, Group A with strong stimulation, and Group B with small stimulation. Group A and Group B were performed with different stimulations. We found that, compared with saline control group, model group, and Group B, Group A showed that the skin temperature changes on right acupoint SP6 and SP10 increased significantly at 5 min–10 min interval. The skin temperature changes on left SP6 decreased at instant–5 min interval. The skin temperature changes on right SP10 decreased significantly at instant–5 min interval and 10 min–20 min interval. Thermogenic action along Spleen Meridian of Foot Greater Yin was manifested as simultaneous skin temperature increase on right SP6 and SP10 at 5 min–10 min interval after needling SP6, which was helpful to illustrate the relationship between the characteristic of Deqi and needle stimulations.

  20. Common genetic variants of surfactant protein-D (SP-D are associated with type 2 diabetes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neus Pueyo

    Full Text Available CONTEXT: Surfactant protein-D (SP-D is a primordial component of the innate immune system intrinsically linked to metabolic pathways. We aimed to study the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs affecting SP-D with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We evaluated a common genetic variant located in the SP-D coding region (rs721917, Met(31Thr in a sample of T2D patients and non-diabetic controls (n = 2,711. In a subset of subjects (n = 1,062, this SNP was analyzed in association with circulating SP-D concentrations, insulin resistance, and T2D. This SNP and others were also screened in the publicly available Genome Wide Association (GWA database of the Meta-Analyses of Glucose and Insulin-related traits Consortium (MAGIC. RESULTS: We found the significant association of rs721917 with circulating SP-D, parameters of insulin resistance and T2D. Indeed, G carriers showed decreased circulating SP-D (p = 0.004, decreased fasting glucose (p = 0.0002, glycated hemoglobin (p = 0.0005, and 33% (p = 0.002 lower prevalence of T2D, estimated under a dominant model, especially among women. Interestingly, these differences remained significant after controlling for origin, age, gender, and circulating SP-D. Moreover, this SNP and others within the SP-D genomic region (i.e. rs10887344 were significantly associated with quantitative measures of glucose homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, and T2D, according to GWAS datasets from MAGIC. CONCLUSIONS: SP-D gene polymorphisms are associated with insulin resistance and T2D. These associations are independent of circulating SP-D concentrations.

  1. Development of a new signal processor for tetralateral position sensitive detector based on single-chip microcomputer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Meizhen; Shi Longzhao; Wang Yuxing; Ni Yi; Li Zhenqing; Ding Haifeng

    2006-01-01

    An inherently nonlinear relation between the output current of the tetralateral position sensitive detector (PSD) and the position of the incident light spot has been found theoretically. Based on single-chip microcomputer and the theoretical relation between output current and position, a new signal processor capable of correcting nonlinearity and reducing position measurement deviation of tetralateral PSD was developed. A tetralateral PSD (S1200, 13x13 mm 2 , Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.) was measured with the new signal processor, a linear relation between the output position of the PSD, and the incident position of the light spot was obtained. In the 60% range of a 13x13 mm 2 active area, the position nonlinearity (rms) was 0.15% and the position measurement deviation (rms) was ±20 μm. Compared with traditional analog signal processor, the new signal processor is of better compatibility, lower cost, higher precision, and easier to be interfaced

  2. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV, feline leukaemia virus (FeLV and Leishmania sp. in domestic cats in the Midwest of Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniella Poffo

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This search aimed to investigate FIV and FeLV infections in domestic cats, analysing the epidemiological profile of the disease as well as additional infection with Leishmania sp. We evaluated 88 domestic cats for the presence of FIV, FeLV and Leishmania sp. infection. Eleven (12.5% cats were positive for FIV infection, four (4.5% were positive for FeLV, and two were co-infected. However, none was infected with Leishmania sp. The prevalence for FIV infection was higher than FeLV, and those observed in other regions, but no factor was associated with the infection by FIV and FeLV in this study.

  3. Interaction of Sp1 zinc finger with transport factor in the nuclear localization of transcription factor Sp1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Tatsuo; Kitamura, Haruka; Uwatoko, Chisana; Azumano, Makiko; Itoh, Kohji; Kuwahara, Jun

    2010-01-01

    Research highlights: → Sp1 zinc fingers themselves interact with importin α. → Sp1 zinc finger domains play an essential role as a nuclear localization signal. → Sp1 can be transported into the nucleus in an importin-dependent manner. -- Abstract: Transcription factor Sp1 is localized in the nucleus and regulates the expression of many cellular genes, but the nuclear transport mechanism of Sp1 is not well understood. In this study, we revealed that GST-fused Sp1 protein bound to endogenous importin α in HeLa cells via the Sp1 zinc finger domains, which comprise the DNA binding domain of Sp1. It was found that the Sp1 zinc finger domains directly interacted with a wide range of importin α including the armadillo (arm) repeat domain and the C-terminal acidic domain. Furthermore, it turned out that all three zinc fingers of Sp1 are essential for binding to importin α. Taken together, these results suggest that the Sp1 zinc finger domains play an essential role as a NLS and Sp1 can be transported into the nucleus in an importin-dependent manner even though it possesses no classical NLSs.

  4. A Simple Negative Interaction in the Positive Transcriptional Feedback of a Single Gene Is Sufficient to Produce Reliable Oscillations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miró-Bueno, Jesús M.; Rodríguez-Patón, Alfonso

    2011-01-01

    Negative and positive transcriptional feedback loops are present in natural and synthetic genetic oscillators. A single gene with negative transcriptional feedback needs a time delay and sufficiently strong nonlinearity in the transmission of the feedback signal in order to produce biochemical rhythms. A single gene with only positive transcriptional feedback does not produce oscillations. Here, we demonstrate that this single-gene network in conjunction with a simple negative interaction can also easily produce rhythms. We examine a model comprised of two well-differentiated parts. The first is a positive feedback created by a protein that binds to the promoter of its own gene and activates the transcription. The second is a negative interaction in which a repressor molecule prevents this protein from binding to its promoter. A stochastic study shows that the system is robust to noise. A deterministic study identifies that the dynamics of the oscillator are mainly driven by two types of biomolecules: the protein, and the complex formed by the repressor and this protein. The main conclusion of this paper is that a simple and usual negative interaction, such as degradation, sequestration or inhibition, acting on the positive transcriptional feedback of a single gene is a sufficient condition to produce reliable oscillations. One gene is enough and the positive transcriptional feedback signal does not need to activate a second repressor gene. This means that at the genetic level an explicit negative feedback loop is not necessary. The model needs neither cooperative binding reactions nor the formation of protein multimers. Therefore, our findings could help to clarify the design principles of cellular clocks and constitute a new efficient tool for engineering synthetic genetic oscillators. PMID:22205920

  5. The role of heterotrophic microorganism Galactomyces sp. Z3 in improving pig slurry bioleaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Jun; Zheng, Guanyu; Zhou, Lixiang; Liu, Fenwu; Zheng, Chaocheng; Cui, Chunhong

    2013-01-01

    The feasibility of removing heavy metals and eliminating pathogens from pig slurry through bioleaching involving the fungus Galactomyces sp. Z3 and two acidophilic thiobacillus (A. ferrooxidans LX5 and A. thiooxidans TS6) was investigated. It was found that the isolated pig slurry dissolved organic matter (DOM) degrader Z3 was identified as Galactomyces sp. Z3, which could grow well at pH 2.5-7 and degrade pig slurry DOM from 1973 to 942 mg/l within 48 h. During the successive multi-batch bioleaching systems, the co-inoculation of pig slurry degrader Galactomyces sp. Z3 and the two Acidithiobacillus species could improve pig slurry bioleaching efficiency compared to the single system without Galactomyces sp. Z3. The removal efficiency of Zn and Cu exceeded 94% and 85%, respectively. In addition, the elimination efficiencies of pathogens, including both total coliform and faecal coliform counts, exceeded 99% after bioleaching treatment. However, the counts of Galactomyces sp. Z3 decreased with the fall of pH and did not restore to the initial level during successive multi-batch bioleaching systems, and it is necessary to re-inoculate Galactomyces sp. Z3 cells into the bioleaching system to maintain its role in degrading pig slurry DOM. Therefore, a bioleaching technique involving both Galactomyces sp. Z3 and Acidithiobacillus species is an efficient method for removing heavy metals and eliminating pathogens from pig slurry.

  6. Role of surfactant protein A (SP-A)/lipid interactions for SP-A functions in the lung.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casals, C

    2001-01-01

    Surfactant protein A (SP-A), an oligomeric glycoprotein, is a member of a group of proteins named collectins that contain collagen-like and Ca(2+)-dependent carbohydrate recognition domains. SP-A interacts with a broad range of amphipathic lipids (glycerophospholipids, sphingophospholipids, glycosphingolipids, lipid A, and lipoglycans) that are present in surfactant or microbial membranes. This review summarizes SP-A/lipid interaction studies regarding the lipid system used (i.e., phospholipid vesicles, phospholipid monolayers, and lipids immobilized on silica or adsorbed on a solid support). The effect of calcium, ionic strength, and pH on the binding of SP-A to lipids and the subsequent lipid aggregation process is discussed. Current evidence suggests that hydrophobic-binding forces are involved in the peripherical association of SP-A to membranes. It is also proposed that fluid and liquid-ordered phase coexistence in surfactant membranes might favor partition of SP-A into those membranes. The binding of SP-A to surfactant membranes containing hydrophobic surfactant peptides makes possible the formation of a membrane reservoir in the alveolar fluid that is protected by SP-A against inactivation and improves the rate of surfactant film formation. In addition, the interaction of SP-A with membranes might enhance the affinity of SP-A for terminal carbohydrates of glycolipids or glycoproteins on the surface of invading microorganisms.

  7. SUSCEPTIBILITIES/RESISTANCE OF Staphylococcus coagulase POSITIVE AND Streptococcus sp. ISOLATED FROM THE MILK OF COWS PRESENTING CLINICAL MASTITIS IN MILK BASIN OF GOIÂNIA RESISTÊNCIA DE Staphylococcus coagulase POSITIVA E Streptococcus sp. ISOLADOS DO LEITE DE VACAS COM MASTITE CLÍNICA NA BACIA LEITEIRA DE GOIÂNIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Antônio Franco da Silva

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available

    It was verified the spectrum of susceptibilities/resistance of 76 samples of Staphylococcus coagulase positive and 51 samples of Streptococcus sp., isolated from milk of 231 cows presenting clinical mastitis. The diffusion method was used in plate of Kirby-Bauer, being tested ten active principles used in cases of clinical mastitis. Natural penicillin, chloranphenicol, tetraciclyne, kanamicyn, gentamicyn, nitrofurantoin, trimetopryn + sulfametoxazol, enrofloxacyn, perlimicyn and ceftiofur were tested. The samples of Staphylococcus coagulase positive presented a spectrum of larger resistance for the penicillin (78.9%, followed by trimetoprim + sulfametoxazol (59.2% and nitrofurantoin (57.8%. The largest susceptibility frequency was found in enrofloxacyn (96%, in perlimicyn (94% and in ceftiofur (94%. For the samples of Streptococcus sp. there was a profile resistance for penicillin (92%, chloranphenicol (74.5% and trimetoprim + sulfametoxazol (52%. A sensibility profile was also verified for enrofloxacyn (96%, ceftiofur (92% and perlimicyn (92%.

    KEY-WORDS: Bovine mastitis; resistance; susceptibilities.

    Verificou-se o espectro de sensibilidade/resistência de 76 cepas de Staphylococcus coagulase positiva e 51 cepas de Streptococcus sp., isolados do leite proveniente de 231 vacas que apresentaram mastite clínica. Utilizou-se o método de difusão em placa, segundo Kirby-Bauer, testando-se 10 princípios ativos: penicilina natural, cloranfenicol, tetraciclina, kanamicina, gentamicina, nitrofurantoína, trimetoprim + sulfametoxazol, enrofloxacina, perlimicina e ceftiofur. As cepas de Staphylococcus coagulase positiva apresentaram um espectro de resistência maior para a penicilina (78,9%, vindo a seguir trimetoprim + sulfametoxazol (59,2% e

  8. Neonatal Transplantation Confers Maturation of PSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes Conducive to Modeling Cardiomyopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Gun-Sik; Lee, Dong I; Tampakakis, Emmanouil; Murphy, Sean; Andersen, Peter; Uosaki, Hideki; Chelko, Stephen; Chakir, Khalid; Hong, Ingie; Seo, Kinya; Chen, Huei-Sheng Vincent; Chen, Xiongwen; Basso, Cristina; Houser, Steven R; Tomaselli, Gordon F; O'Rourke, Brian; Judge, Daniel P; Kass, David A; Kwon, Chulan

    2017-01-10

    Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) offer unprecedented opportunities for disease modeling and personalized medicine. However, PSC-derived cells exhibit fetal-like characteristics and remain immature in a dish. This has emerged as a major obstacle for their application for late-onset diseases. We previously showed that there is a neonatal arrest of long-term cultured PSC-derived cardiomyocytes (PSC-CMs). Here, we demonstrate that PSC-CMs mature into adult CMs when transplanted into neonatal hearts. PSC-CMs became similar to adult CMs in morphology, structure, and function within a month of transplantation into rats. The similarity was further supported by single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis. Moreover, this in vivo maturation allowed patient-derived PSC-CMs to reveal the disease phenotype of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, which manifests predominantly in adults. This study lays a foundation for understanding human CM maturation and pathogenesis and can be instrumental in PSC-based modeling of adult heart diseases. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Five novel Wickerhamomyces- and Metschnikowia-related yeast species, Wickerhamomyces chaumierensis sp. nov., Candida pseudoflosculorum sp. nov., Candida danieliae sp. nov., Candida robnettiae sp. nov. and Candida eppingiae sp. nov., isolated from plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groenewald, Marizeth; Robert, Vincent; Smith, Maudy Th

    On the basis of nucleotide divergences in the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) domain of the rRNA gene, five novel yeast species, Wickerhamomyces chaumierensis sp. nov. (CBS 8565(T)  = JCM 17246(T)), Candida pseudoflosculorum sp. nov. (CBS 8584(T)  = JCM

  10. Hanging drop monoculture for selection of optimal antioxidants during in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishikawa, S; Machida, R; Hiraga, K; Hiradate, Y; Suda, Y; Tanemura, K

    2014-04-01

    We analysed the effect of three antioxidants that have different functional mechanisms on the in vitro maturation (IVM) of porcine oocytes. Single oocyte monoculture using the hanging drop (HD) system has some advantages such as improving analysis efficiency brought by the smaller number of samples than the number of oocytes cultured in one drop. Direct effects of ligands on single oocytes could also be detected without considering the effects of paracrine factors from other oocytes. After 22 h of pre-culture, denuded oocytes were cultured for 22 h with 0.01 and 0.1 μg/ml of L-carnitine (LC), lactoferrin (LF) or sulforaphane (SF) in the presence/non-presence of oxidant stress induced by H2O2 supplementation to evaluate the reducing effects against oxidative stress on nuclear maturation. As a result, compared with LC and SF, LF showed effective reduction in oxidative stress at a lower concentration (0.01 μg/ml), suggesting that LF is a more effective antioxidant in porcine oocyte IVM. Additionally, LF also increased maturation rate even in culture without H2O2. Our results clearly suggest that the HD monoculture system is useful for screening the substances that affect porcine oocyte culture. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  11. 7 CFR 51.1904 - Maturity classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Maturity classification. 51.1904 Section 51.1904... STANDARDS) United States Consumer Standards for Fresh Tomatoes Size and Maturity Classification § 51.1904 Maturity classification. Tomatoes which are characteristically red when ripe, but are not overripe or soft...

  12. Structure and migration in U.S. Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    While wheat powdery mildew occurs throughout the south-central and eastern U.S.A, epidemics are especially damaging in the Mid-Atlantic states. The structure of the U.S. Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici population was assessed based on a sample of 238 single-spored isolates. The isolates were coll...

  13. Truncated recombinant human SP-D attenuates emphysema and type II cell changes in SP-D deficient mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mühlfeld Christian

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Surfactant protein D (SP-D deficient mice develop emphysema-like pathology associated with focal accumulations of foamy alveolar macrophages, an excess of surfactant phospholipids in the alveolar space and both hypertrophy and hyperplasia of alveolar type II cells. These findings are associated with a chronic inflammatory state. Treatment of SP-D deficient mice with a truncated recombinant fragment of human SP-D (rfhSP-D has been shown to decrease the lipidosis and alveolar macrophage accumulation as well as production of proinflammatory chemokines. The aim of this study was to investigate if rfhSP-D treatment reduces the structural abnormalities in parenchymal architecture and type II cells characteristic of SP-D deficiency. Methods SP-D knock-out mice, aged 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 9 weeks were treated with rfhSP-D for 9, 6 and 3 weeks, respectively. All mice were sacrificed at age 12 weeks and compared to both PBS treated SP-D deficient and wild-type groups. Lung structure was quantified by design-based stereology at the light and electron microscopic level. Emphasis was put on quantification of emphysema, type II cell changes and intracellular surfactant. Data were analysed with two sided non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test. Main Results After 3 weeks of treatment, alveolar number was higher and mean alveolar size was smaller compared to saline-treated SP-D knock-out controls. There was no significant difference concerning these indices of pulmonary emphysema within rfhSP-D treated groups. Type II cell number and size were smaller as a consequence of treatment. The total volume of lamellar bodies per type II cell and per lung was smaller after 6 weeks of treatment. Conclusion Treatment of SP-D deficient mice with rfhSP-D leads to a reduction in the degree of emphysema and a correction of type II cell hyperplasia and hypertrophy. This supports the concept that rfhSP-D might become a therapeutic option in diseases that are

  14. Expression of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase is regulated negatively by OxyR1 and positively by RpoE2 sigma factor in Azospirillum brasilense Sp7.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Sudhir; Dwivedi, Susheel Kumar; Singh, Vijay Shankar; Tripathi, Anil Kumar

    2016-10-01

    OxyR proteins are LysR-type transcriptional regulators, which play an important role in responding to oxidative stress in bacteria. Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 harbours two copies of OxyR. The inactivation of the oxyR1, the gene organized divergently to ahpC in A. brasilense Sp7, led to an increased tolerance to alkyl hydroperoxides, which was corroborated by an increase in alkyl hydroperoxide reductase (AhpC) activity, enhanced expression of ahpC :lacZ fusion and increased synthesis of AhpC protein in the oxyR1::km mutant. The upstream region of ahpC promoter harboured a putative OxyR binding site, T-N11-A. Mutation of T, A or both in the T-N11-Amotif caused derepression of ahpC in A. brasilense suggesting that T-N11-A might be the binding site for a negative regulator. Retardation of the electrophoretic mobility of the T-N11-A motif harbouring oxyR1-ahpC intergenic DNA by recombinant OxyR1, under reducing as well as oxidizing conditions, indicated that OxyR1 acts as a negative regulator of ahpC in A. brasilense. Sequence of the promoter of ahpC, predicted on the basis of transcriptional start site, and an enhanced expression of ahpC:lacZ fusion in chrR2::km mutant background suggested that ahpC promoter was RpoE2 dependent. Thus, this study shows that in A. brasilense Sp7, ahpC expression is regulated negatively by OxyR1 but is regulated positively by RpoE2, an oxidative-stress-responsive sigma factor. It also shows that OxyR1 regulates the expression RpoE1, which is known to play an important role during photooxidative stress in A. brasilense.

  15. Quality improvement on half-fin anchovy (Setipinna taty) fish sauce by Psychrobacter sp. SP-1 fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Bin; Liu, Yu; He, Xiaoxia; Hu, Shiwei; Li, Shijie; Chen, Meiling; Jiang, Wei

    2017-10-01

    A method of improving fish sauce quality during fermentation was investigated. Psychrobacter sp. SP-1, a halophilic protease-producing bacterium, was isolated from fish sauce with flavor-enhancing properties and non-biogenic amine-producing activity. The performance of Psychrobacter sp. SP-1 in Setipinna taty fish sauce fermentation was investigated further. The inoculation of Psychrobacter sp. SP-1 did not significantly affect pH or NaCl concentration changes (P > 0.05), although it significantly increased total moderately halophilic microbial count, protease activity, total soluble nitrogen content and amino acid nitrogen content, and also promoted the umami taste and meaty aroma (P sauce quality by fermentation. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  16. Does the sex ratio at sexual maturity affect men's later-life mortality risks? Evidence from historical China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, Emma; Zheng, Hui

    2018-04-01

    This study examines the relationship between the male-to-female sex ratio (measured as the proportion male) at sexual maturity and later-life mortality risks in the context of pre-industrial northeast China, using registration data from the Qing Dynasty. We find that a higher male-to-female sex ratio at sexual maturity is associated with a higher later-life mortality risk among men. This association is likely due to the long-term adverse consequences of stress caused by low mate availability at sexual maturity. We further find that a high sex ratio at sexual maturity mitigates the health benefits of marriage and exacerbates the health disadvantages of holding an official position in Qing China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Cervical vertebral maturation as a biologic indicator of skeletal maturity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santiago, Rodrigo César; de Miranda Costa, Luiz Felipe; Vitral, Robert Willer Farinazzo; Fraga, Marcelo Reis; Bolognese, Ana Maria; Maia, Lucianne Cople

    2012-11-01

    To identify and review the literature regarding the reliability of cervical vertebrae maturation (CVM) staging to predict the pubertal spurt. The selection criteria included cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive studies in humans that evaluated qualitatively or quantitatively the accuracy and reproducibility of the CVM method on lateral cephalometric radiographs, as well as the correlation with a standard method established by hand-wrist radiographs. The searches retrieved 343 unique citations. Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Six articles had moderate to high scores, while 17 of 23 had low scores. Analysis also showed a moderate to high statistically significant correlation between CVM and hand-wrist maturation methods. There was a moderate to high reproducibility of the CVM method, and only one specific study investigated the accuracy of the CVM index in detecting peak pubertal growth. This systematic review has shown that the studies on CVM method for radiographic assessment of skeletal maturation stages suffer from serious methodological failures. Better-designed studies with adequate accuracy, reproducibility, and correlation analysis, including studies with appropriate sensitivity-specificity analysis, should be performed.

  18. Correlation between chronological age, cervical vertebral maturation and Fishman's skeletal maturity indicators in southern Chinese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkhal, Hessa Abdulla; Wong, Ricky W K; Rabie, A Bakr M

    2008-07-01

    To investigate the correlation between chronological age, cervical vertebral maturation (CVM), and Fishman's hand-wrist skeletal maturity indicators in southern Chinese. Four hundred contemporary hand-wrist and lateral cephalometric radiographs of southern Chinese subjects were randomly selected and analyzed. The female subjects were between 10 and 15 years of age, and the male subjects were between 12 and 17 years of age; all subjects were within the circumpubertal period. The CVM was assessed using the method developed by Baccetti and coworkers, but the hand-wrist maturation was assessed using the method developed by Fishman. These two methods and the chronological age were correlated using the Spearman rank correlation analysis. The CVM was significantly correlated with the hand-wrist skeletal age (Spearman r male = 0.9206, female = 0.9363). All patients in the cervical maturation stage (CS3) of CVM were discovered to be in the skeletal maturational indicator (SMI2 or SMI3) stages of hand-wrist maturation (HWM), which was around the peak of the growth spurt. Low correlations were found between the CVM and chronological age (male r = 0.7577; female r = 0.7877) and between the HWM and chronological age (male r = 0.7492; female r = 0.7758). CVM is a valid indicator of skeletal growth during the circumpubertal and has a high correlation with the HWM for the southern Chinese population. However, the low correlations found between the chronological age and both CVM and HWM showed that the chronological age was not suitable to measure skeletal maturity.

  19. Tyzzeria boae n. sp., (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae, a New Coccidium from the Kidney of the snake Boa constrictor constrictor (Serpentes: Boidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ralph Lainson

    1994-12-01

    Full Text Available A new species of Tyzzeria is described from the kidney of the snake Boa constrictor constrictor Linnaeus, from the State of Pará, north Brazil. Oocysts from the coacal contents matured in eight days, at approximately 24°C. They measured 19.0 x 18.0 (15.0 x 15.0 - 22.5 x 21.5 µm, shape-index (length/width 1.0 (1.0 - 1.1. The oocyst wall is of an extremely delicate single, colourless layer, with no micropyle. Division of the oocyst contents into the 8 naked sporozoites leaves a bulky, spherical oocyst residuum averaging 15.5 x 14.8 (13.5 x 13.5 - 18.5 x 17.5 µm; the sporozoites measure an average of 11.0 x 1.8 (8.5 x 1.25 - 12.5 x 2.0 µm, and possess both anterior and posterior refractile bodies. Tyzzeria boae n.sp. is unique among the recorded species of the genus by virtue of its development in the epithelial cells of the distal convoluted tubules and collecting tubules of the kidney: stages in the merogony and gametogony of the parasite are described and figured.

  20. Set-Theoretic Approach to Maturity Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lasrado, Lester Allan

    Despite being widely accepted and applied, maturity models in Information Systems (IS) have been criticized for the lack of theoretical grounding, methodological rigor, empirical validations, and ignorance of multiple and non-linear paths to maturity. This PhD thesis focuses on addressing...... these criticisms by incorporating recent developments in configuration theory, in particular application of set-theoretic approaches. The aim is to show the potential of employing a set-theoretic approach for maturity model research and empirically demonstrating equifinal paths to maturity. Specifically...... methodological guidelines consisting of detailed procedures to systematically apply set theoretic approaches for maturity model research and provides demonstrations of it application on three datasets. The thesis is a collection of six research papers that are written in a sequential manner. The first paper...

  1. Benefits of Preventive Administration of Chlorella sp. on Visceral Pain and Cystitis Induced by a Single Administration of Cyclophosphamide in Female Wistar Rat

    OpenAIRE

    Hidalgo-Lucas, Sophie; Rozan, Pascale; Guérin-Deremaux, Laetitia; Baert, Blandine; Violle, Nicolas; Saniez-Degrave, Marie-Hélène; Bisson, Jean-François

    2016-01-01

    Chlorella sp. is a green microalgae containing nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll. In some communities, Chlorella sp. is a traditional medicinal plant used for the management of inflammation-related diseases. In a rat model, ROQUETTE Chlorella sp. (RCs) benefits were investigated on visceral pain and associated inflammatory parameters related to cystitis both induced by cyclophosphamide (CYP). RCs was orally administered every day from day 1–16 (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight). Six...

  2. From spent graphite to amorphous sp2+sp3 carbon-coated sp2 graphite for high-performance lithium ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Zhen; Zhuang, Yuchan; Deng, Yaoming; Song, Xiaona; Zuo, Xiaoxi; Xiao, Xin; Nan, Junmin

    2018-02-01

    Today, with the massive application of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in the portable devices and electric vehicles, to supply the active materials with high-performances and then to recycle their wastes are two core issues for the development of LIBs. In this paper, the spent graphite (SG) in LIBs is used as raw materials to fabricate two comparative high-capacity graphite anode materials. Based on a microsurgery-like physical reconstruction, the reconstructed graphite (RG) with a sp2+sp3 carbon surface is prepared through a microwave exfoliation and subsequent spray drying process. In contrast, the neural-network-like amorphous sp2+sp3 carbon-coated graphite (AC@G) is synthesized using a self-reconfigurable chemical reaction strategy. Compared with SG and commercial graphite (CG), both RG and AC@G have enhanced specific capacities, from 311.2 mAh g-1 and 360.7 mAh g-1 to 409.7 mAh g-1 and 420.0 mAh g-1, at 0.1C after 100 cycles. In addition, they exhibit comparable cycling stability, rate capability, and voltage plateau with CG. Because the synthesis of RG and AC@G represents two typical physical and chemical methods for the recycling of SG, these results on the sp2+sp3 carbon layer coating bulk graphite also reveal an approach for the preparation of high-performance graphite anode materials derived from SG.

  3. Factors affecting levels of some phenolic compounds, digestibility, and nitrogen content of the mature leaves ofBarteria fistulosa (Passifloraceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waterman, P G; Ross, J A; McKey, D B

    1984-03-01

    Levels of total phenolics, condensed tannins, acid detergent fiber, pepsin/cellulase digestibility, and nitrogen in mature leaves of 26 individuals of the ant-plant,Barteria fistulosa, have been determined. Analysis of the results in terms of the presence or absence of ants and the position of the branch from which the leaves were collected showed no relationship with concentrations of phenolics or fiber and only a weak relationship with digestibility and nitrogen. By contrast, light intensity strongly influenced levels of phenolics, notably condensed tannins, so that mature leaves of individuals growing in direct sunlight were less digestible and appeared to be of lower quality as food for herbivores than did mature leaves of individuals in shaded positions. Possible reasons for the variation in condensed tannin levels are discussed.

  4. Mapping Invasive Tamarisk (Tamarix: A Comparison of Single-Scene and Time-Series Analyses of Remotely Sensed Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul H. Evangelista

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we tested the Maximum Entropy model (Maxent for its application and performance in remotely sensing invasive Tamarix sp. Six Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite scenes and a suite of vegetation indices at different times of the growing season were selected for our study area along the Arkansas River in Colorado. Satellite scenes were selected for April, May, June, August, September, and October and tested in single-scene and time-series analyses. The best model was a time-series analysis fit with all spectral variables, which had an AUC = 0.96, overall accuracy = 0.90, and Kappa = 0.79. The top predictor variables were June tasselled cap wetness, September tasselled cap wetness, and October band 3. A second time-series analysis, where the variables that were highly correlated and demonstrated low predictive strengths were removed, was the second best model. The third best model was the October single-scene analysis. Our results may prove to be an effective approach for mapping Tamarix sp., which has been a challenge for resource managers. Of equal importance is the positive performance of the Maxent model in handling remotely sensed datasets.

  5. Premier League academy soccer players' experiences of competing in a tournament bio-banded for biological maturation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cumming, Sean P; Brown, Daniel J; Mitchell, Siobhan; Bunce, James; Hunt, Dan; Hedges, Chris; Crane, Gregory; Gross, Aleks; Scott, Sam; Franklin, Ed; Breakspear, Dave; Dennison, Luke; White, Paul; Cain, Andrew; Eisenmann, Joey C; Malina, Robert M

    2018-04-01

    Individual differences in the growth and maturation have been shown to impact player performance and development in youth soccer. This study investigated Premier League academy players' experiences of participating in a tournament bio-banded for biological maturation. Players (N = 66) from four professional soccer clubs aged 11 and 14 years and between 85-90% of adult stature participated in a tournament. Players competed in three 11 vs 11 games on a full size pitch with 25-min halves. Sixteen players participated in four 15-min focus groups and were asked to describe their experiences of participating in the bio-banded tournament in comparison to age group competition. All players described their experience as positive and recommended the Premier League integrate bio-banding into the existing games programme. In comparison to age-group competitions, early maturing players described the bio-banded games more physically challenging, and found that they had to adapt their style of play placing a greater emphasis on technique and tactics. Late maturing players considered the games to be less physically challenging, yet appreciated the having more opportunity to use, develop and demonstrate their technical, physical, and psychological competencies. Bio-banding strategies appear to contribute positively towards the holistic development of young soccer players.

  6. Regulation of intracellular free calcium concentration during heterocyst differentiation by HetR and NtcA in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yunming; Zhao, Weixing; Zhang, Wei; Ye, Zi; Zhao, Jindong

    2006-07-25

    Calcium ions are important to some prokaryotic cellular processes, such as heterocyst differentiation of cyanobacteria. Intracellular free Ca(2+)concentration, [Ca(2+)](i), increases several fold in heterocysts and is regulated by CcbP, a Ca(2+)-binding protein found in heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria. We demonstrate here that CcbP is degraded by HetR, a serine-type protease that controls heterocyst differentiation. The degradation depends on Ca(2+) and appears to be specific because HetR did not digest other tested proteins. CcbP was found to bind two Ca(2+) per molecule with K(D) values of 200 nM and 12.8 microM. Degradation of CcbP releases bound Ca(2+) that contributes significantly to the increase of [Ca(2+)](i) during the process of heterocyst differentiation in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. We suggest that degradation of CcbP is a mechanism of positive autoregulation of HetR. The down-regulation of ccbP in differentiating cells and mature heterocysts, which also is critical to the regulation of [Ca(2+)](i), depends on NtcA. Coexpression of ntcA and a ccbP promoter-controlled gfp in Escherichia coli diminished production of GFP, and the decrease is enhanced by alpha-ketoglutarate. It was also found that NtcA could bind a fragment of the ccbP promoter containing an NtcA-binding sequence in a alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent fashion. Therefore, [Ca(2+)](i) is regulated by a collaboration of HetR and NtcA in heterocyst differentiation in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120.

  7. Halobacterium sp. SP1(1) as a starter culture for accelerating fish sauce fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akolkar, A V; Durai, D; Desai, A J

    2010-07-01

    Application of Halobacterium sp. SP1(1) for the acceleration of fish sauce fermentation. Traditional fish sauce fermentation was mimicked using Halobacterium sp. SP1(1) as starter culture. Protease activity, peptide release and α-amino content (parameters used to monitor the progress of the fermentation) were high at day 10 in tests and day 20 in un-inoculated controls. The total protein and nitrogen contents were also high in tests compared with controls. The amino acid profile observed at the end of fermentation in experimental samples, when compared with the commercial sauce preparation, was found to be better with respect to flavour and aroma contributing amino acids as well as essential amino acid lysine. Microflora analysis of the final fish sauce revealed the absence of any nonhalophilic or halotolerant micro-organisms. The protease-producing halophilic isolates obtained from the fish sauce of eviscerated and uneviscerated controls were identified as Halobacterium sp. F1 and F2, respectively, by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Exogenous augmentation of Halobacterium sp. SP1(1) accelerated the fish sauce fermentation process with an additive effect on the existing natural microflora present in the fish during fermentation. Halobacterium sp SP1(1), therefore, can be used as an important starter culture for accelerating the fish fermentation process, which is attributed to its extracellular protease. The present study is the first report on use of Halobacterium species as a starter culture for accelerating fish sauce fermentation. Use of halobacterial starter cultures may revolutionize the process in fish sauce industries by reducing the fermentation time and making the process more economical with improved nutritive value of product. Journal compilation © 2009 The Society for Applied Microbiology. No claim to Indian Government works.

  8. ExaSP2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2017-09-08

    ExaSP2 is a reference implementation of typical linear algebra algorithms and workloads for a quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) electronic structure code. The algorithm is based on a recursive second-order Fermi-Operator expansion method (SP2) and is tailored for density functional based tight-binding calculations of material systems.

  9. Commercial technologies from the SP-100 program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Truscello, V.C.; Fujita, T.; Mondt, J.F.

    1995-01-01

    For more than a decade, Jet Propulsion Labortory and Los Alamos have managed a multi-agency funded effort to develop a space reactor power system. This SP-100 Program has developed technologies required for space power systems that can be implemented in the industrial and commercial sectors to improve competitiveness in the global economy. Initial steps taken to transfer this technology from the laboratories to industrial and commercial entities within United States include: (1) identifying specific technologies having commercial potential; (2) distributing information describing the identified technologies and interacting with interested commercial and industrial entities to develop application-specific details and requirements; and (3) providing a technological data base that leads to transfer of technology or the forming of teaming arrangements to accomplish the transfer by tailoring the technology to meet application-specific requirements. SP-100 technologies having commercial potential encompass fabrication processes, devices, and components. Examples: a process for bonding refractory metals to graphite, a device to sense the position of an actuator and a component to enable rotating machines to operate without supplying lubrication (self-lubricating ball bearing). Shortly after the NASA Regional Technology Transfer Centers widely disseminated information covering SP-100 technologies, over one hundred expressions of interest were received, which indicate that there is a large potential benefit in transferring SP-100 technology. Interactions with industrial and commercial entities have identified a substantial need for creating teaming arrangements involving the interested entity and personnel from laboratories and their contractors, who have the knowledge and ability to tailor the technology to meet application-specific requirements. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

  10. Efficacy of soil solarization, Trichoderma harzianum, and coffee pulp amendment against Armillaria sp

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Otieno, W.; Termorshuizen, A.J.; Jeger, M.J.

    2003-01-01

    Soil solarization was evaluated singly or in combination with Trichoderma harzianum infestation or coffee pulp amendment for its effect on wood-borne inoculum of an Armillaria sp. pathogenic on tea. Solarization increased maximum soil temperatures at 10 cm depth by 9-12degreesC and reduced viability

  11. Fresh Water Cyanobacteria Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as an Anticancer Drug Resource.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akanksha Srivastava

    Full Text Available An increasing number of cancer patients worldwide, especially in third world countries, have raised concern to explore natural drug resources, such as the less explored fresh water filamentous cyanobacteria. Six strains of cyanobacteria (Phormidium sp. CCC727, Geitlerinema sp. CCC728, Arthrospira sp. CCC729, Phormidium sp. CCC731, Phormidium sp. CCC730, and Leptolyngbya sp. CCC732 were isolated (paddy fields and ponds in the Banaras Hindu University, campus and five strains screened for anticancer potential using human colon adenocarcinoma (HT29 and human kidney adenocarcinoma (A498 cancer cell lines. Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 were the most potent as determined by examination of morphological features and by inhibition of growth by graded concentrations of crude extracts and thin-layer chromatography (TLC eluates. Cell cycle analysis and multiplex assays using cancer biomarkers also confirmed Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as cancer drug resources. Apoptotic studies in the cells of A498 (cancer and MCF-10A (normal human epithelial exposed to crude extracts and TLC fractions revealed no significant impact on MCF-10A cells emphasizing its importance in the development of anticancer drug. Identification of biomolecules from these extracts are in progress.

  12. Fresh Water Cyanobacteria Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as an Anticancer Drug Resource.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Akanksha; Tiwari, Ratnakar; Srivastava, Vikas; Singh, Tej Bali; Asthana, Ravi Kumar

    2015-01-01

    An increasing number of cancer patients worldwide, especially in third world countries, have raised concern to explore natural drug resources, such as the less explored fresh water filamentous cyanobacteria. Six strains of cyanobacteria (Phormidium sp. CCC727, Geitlerinema sp. CCC728, Arthrospira sp. CCC729, Phormidium sp. CCC731, Phormidium sp. CCC730, and Leptolyngbya sp. CCC732) were isolated (paddy fields and ponds in the Banaras Hindu University, campus) and five strains screened for anticancer potential using human colon adenocarcinoma (HT29) and human kidney adenocarcinoma (A498) cancer cell lines. Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 were the most potent as determined by examination of morphological features and by inhibition of growth by graded concentrations of crude extracts and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) eluates. Cell cycle analysis and multiplex assays using cancer biomarkers also confirmed Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as cancer drug resources. Apoptotic studies in the cells of A498 (cancer) and MCF-10A (normal human epithelial) exposed to crude extracts and TLC fractions revealed no significant impact on MCF-10A cells emphasizing its importance in the development of anticancer drug. Identification of biomolecules from these extracts are in progress.

  13. Interaction of fructose with other medium components to affect bioproduction of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) by Aurantiochytrium sp. SW1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manikan, Vidyah; Kalil, Mohd. Sahaid; Shuib, Shuwahida; Hamid, Aidil Abdul

    2018-04-01

    Thraustochytrids are a group of marine fungus-like microheterotrophs of which some can accumulate considerable amounts of the high valued omega-3 oil, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In this study, a local thraustochytrid isolate, Aurantiochytrium sp. SW1, was cultivated in a medium containing fructose as the major carbon source. The effects of this carbon source in interaction with yeast extract, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and sea salt were studied using a software-based two level full factorial design. Results showed that fructose as a single factor, has significant positive effect on the volumetric DHA content of SW1. Similarly, its interaction with yeast extract has profound positive effect. However, interactions of fructose with MSG and sea salt were significant negative effects. These results indicate that manipulation of the concentration of fructose in the culture medium may serve as a simple and useful strategy to help achieve preferred amount of DHA.

  14. Isolation and identification of Staphylococcus sp. in powdered infant milk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palilu, Prayolga Toban; Budiarso, Tri Yahya

    2017-05-01

    Staphylococcus sp. is one of the most dangerous bacteria that could cause food poisoning. It is a pathogenic bacterium which is able to produce enterotoxin in foods. Milk is an ideal growth medium for Staphylococcus sp., that may cause problem if it is to be consumed, especially by infant. It is the objective of this research to detect the presence of Staphylococcus sp. in powdered infant milk. As many as 14 samples obtained from market were used as samples for bacterial isolation. The isolation were done by employing enrichment step on BHI-broth, continued with Baird-Parker Agar which will produce a typical colony. It is then picked and grown on Mannitol Salt Agar, and gram staining, coagulase assay, and fermentation tests. The confirmation step was done by using API-Staph which gives the identification of Staphylococcus hemoliticus, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, with a percentage of identity ranging from 65.9-97.7%. Two isolates with the highest identification similarity values were then picked for molecular detection. A PCR primer pair targeting gene coding for enterotoxin A was used, and it gives positive result for the two isolates being tested. It is then concluded that the two isolates belong to Staphylococcus sp., and further research need to be done to correctly identify these isolates.

  15. Genome Sequence of the Thermophilic Cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus sp. Strain NK55a.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stolyar, Sergey; Liu, Zhenfeng; Thiel, Vera; Tomsho, Lynn P.; Pinel, Nicolas; Nelson, William C.; Lindemann, Stephen R.; Romine, Margaret F.; Haruta, Shin; Schuster, Stephan C.; Bryant, Donald A.; Fredrickson, Jim K.

    2014-01-02

    The genome of the unicellular cyanobacterium, Thermosynechococcus sp. strain NK55a, isolated from Nakabusa hot spring, comprises a single, circular, 2.5-Mb chromosome. The genome is predicted to encode 2358 protein coding genes, including genes for all typical cyanobacterial photosynthetic and metabolic functions. No genes encoding hydrogenases or nitrogenase were identified.

  16. The protective effect of character maturity in child aggressive antisocial behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerekes, Nóra; Falk, Örjan; Brändström, Sven; Anckarsäter, Henrik; Råstam, Maria; Hofvander, Björn

    2017-07-01

    Childhood aggressive antisocial behavior (CD) is one of the strongest predictors of mental health problems and criminal behavior in adulthood. The aims of this study were to describe personality profiles in children with CD, and to determine the strength of association between defined neurodevelopmental symptoms, dimensions of character maturity and CD. A sample of 1886 children with a close to equal distribution of age (9 or 12) and gender, enriched for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric problems were selected from the nationwide Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden. Their parents rated them according to the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory following a telephone interview during which information about the children's development and mental health was assessed with the Autism-Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities inventory. Scores on the CD module significantly and positively correlated with scores on the Novelty Seeking temperament dimension and negatively with scores on character maturity (Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness). In the group of children with either neurodevelopmental or behavioral problems, the prevalence of low or very low character maturity was 50%, while when these two problems coexisted the prevalence of low or very low character maturity increased to 70%. Neurodevelopmental problems (such as: oppositional defiant disorder, symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder) and low scores on character maturity emerged as independently significant predictors of CD; in a multivariable model, only oppositional defiant symptoms and impulsivity significantly increased the risk for coexisting CD while a mature self-agency in a child (Self-Directedness) remained a significant protective factor. These results suggest that children's willpower, the capacity to achieve personally chosen goals may be an important protective factor - even in the presence of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric problems - against

  17. Toward The Reconstitution of the Maturation of Okazaki Fragments Multiprotein Complex in Human At The Single Molecule Level

    KAUST Repository

    Joudeh, Luay

    2017-01-01

    The maturation of Okazaki fragments on the lagging strand in eukaryotes is mediated by a highly coordinated multistep process involving several proteins that ensure the accurate and efficient replication of genomic DNA. Human proliferating cell

  18. Development and validation of an MRI reference criterion for defining a positive SIJ MRI in spondyloarthritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weber, Ulrich; Zubler, Veronika; Pedersen, Susanne J

    2012-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To validate an MRI reference criterion for a positive SIJ MRI based on the level of confidence in classification of spondyloarthritis (SpA) by expert MRI readers. METHODS: Four readers assessed SIJ MRI in two inception cohorts (A/B) of 157 consecutive back pain patients ≤50 years, and ...... using two inception cohorts and comparing clinical and MRI-based classification supports the case for including both erosion and BME to define a positive SIJ MRI for the classification of axial SpA. © 2012 by the American College of Rheumatology.......OBJECTIVE: To validate an MRI reference criterion for a positive SIJ MRI based on the level of confidence in classification of spondyloarthritis (SpA) by expert MRI readers. METHODS: Four readers assessed SIJ MRI in two inception cohorts (A/B) of 157 consecutive back pain patients ≤50 years......, and in 20 healthy controls. Patients were classified according to clinical examination and pelvic radiography as having non-radiographic axial SpA (n=51), ankylosing spondylitis (n=34), or non-specific back pain (n=72). Readers recorded their level of confidence in the classification of SpA on a 0-10 scale...

  19. Superhard sp{sup 2}–sp{sup 3} hybrid carbon allotropes with tunable electronic properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Meng; Ma, Mengdong; Zhao, Zhisheng; Yu, Dongli; He, Julong, E-mail: hjl@ysu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004 (China)

    2016-05-15

    Four sp{sup 2}–sp{sup 3} hybrid carbon allotropes are proposed on the basis of first principles calculations. These four carbon allotropes are energetically more favorable than graphite under suitable pressure conditions. They can be assembled from graphite through intralayer wrinkling and interlayer buckling, which is similar to the formation of diamond from graphite. For one of the sp{sup 2}–sp{sup 3} hybrid carbon allotropes, mC24, the electron diffraction patterns match these of i-carbon, which is synthesized from shock-compressed graphite (H. Hirai and K. Kondo, Science, 1991, 253, 772). The allotropes exhibit tunable electronic characteristics from metallic to semiconductive with band gaps comparable to those of silicon allotropes. They are all superhard materials with Vickers hardness values comparable to that of cubic BN. The sp{sup 2}–sp{sup 3} hybrid carbon allotroes are promising materials for photovoltaic electronic devices, and abrasive and grinding tools.

  20. Evaluation of Accessions and Varieties of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. Based on Agro-physiological Traits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sh Cheghamirza

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In order to study of genetic variation and identification of yield components in chickpea, a trial consists of 96 accessions of chickpea received from Iranian gen bank (Seed and Plant Improvement Institute along with five checks (Arman, Bivanij, Jam, Hashem and ILC-482 was conducted based on an augmented design in 2005-06 cropping season at research farm of agricultural college, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. For evaluating of accessionst the morphological, physiological and phonological traits during plant growth were measured. The result of ANOVA and mean comparisons showed significant differences among accessions for some of the traits i.e., days to first flower opening (DF-1, days to 50% flower opening (DF-50%, days to first pod opening (DP-1, days to 50% pod opening (DP-50%, days to maturity (DM, days to 90% maturity (DM90%, plant height (PH, height of first pod (PH-1P, number of pod per plant (NPPP, number of single seed per pod (1SP, number of double seed per pod (2 SP, and pod width (WP, number of see per pod (NSPP and 100 seed weight (100SW, Correlation coefficient analysis showedthe grain yield significantly correlated with biomass (r=0.84**, 1SP (r=0.80** and harvest index (HI, r=0.44**. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the NPPP, number of seed per pod (NSPP, 100SW, biomass, HI, canopy width (CanW and DP-1 positively affected on grain yield, while PH-1P and DF-1 negatively affected on grain yield.

  1. Influence of Moraxella sp. colonization on the kidney proteome of farmed gilthead sea breams (Sparus aurata, L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viale Iolanda

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Currently, presence of Moraxella sp. in internal organs of fish is not considered detrimental for fish farming. However, bacterial colonization of internal organs can affect fish wellness and decrease growth rate, stress resistance, and immune response. Recently, there have been reports by farmers concerning slow growth, poor feed conversion, and low average weight increase of fish farmed in offshore floating sea cages, often associated with internal organ colonization by Moraxella sp. Therefore, presence of these opportunistic bacteria deserves further investigations for elucidating incidence and impact on fish metabolism. Results A total of 960 gilthead sea breams (Sparus aurata, L., collected along 17 months from four offshore sea cage plants and two natural lagoons in Sardinia, were subjected to routine microbiological examination of internal organs throughout the production cycle. Thirteen subjects (1.35% were found positive for Moraxella sp. in the kidney (7, brain (3, eye (1, spleen (1, and perivisceral fat (1. In order to investigate the influence of Moraxella sp. colonization, positive and negative kidney samples were subjected to a differential proteomics study by means of 2-D PAGE and mass spectrometry. Interestingly, Moraxella sp. infected kidneys displayed a concerted upregulation of several mitochondrial enzymes compared to negative tissues, reinforcing previous observations following lipopolysaccharide (LPS challenge in fish. Conclusions Presence of Moraxella sp. in farmed sea bream kidney is able to induce proteome alterations similar to those described following LPS challenge in other fish species. This study revealed that Moraxella sp. might be causing metabolic alterations in fish, and provided indications on proteins that could be investigated as markers of infection by Gram-negative bacteria within farming plants.

  2. The association between skeletal maturation and adrenal androgen levels in obese children and adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung Eun Kim

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the association between skeletal maturation and adrenal androgen levels in obese children and adolescents.MethodsFifty-three children and adolescents (aged 7–15 years diagnosed as obese or overweight were investigated. Anthropometric measurements, bone age (BA determination, serum biochemical analyses, and hormonal measurements were performed. The difference between BA and chronological age (BA–CA, dBACA was calculated and used to represent the degree of advanced skeletal maturation.ResultsThirty-one subjects were classified into the obese group and 22 subjects into the overweight group. Insulin resistance as calculated by the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR was significantly higher in the obese group than in the overweight group (4.03±2.20 vs. 2.86±1.11, P=0.026. The skeletal maturation of the obese group was advanced, but the dBACA did not differ between the obese and overweight groups statistically (1.43±1.35 vs. 0.91±1.15, P=0.141. Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S levels were significantly higher in subjects with dBACA>1 compared to those with dBACA≤1 (104.3±62.2 vs. 59.6±61.0, P=0.014. Correlation analyses demonstrated that dBACA was positively correlated with body mass index standard deviation scores (r=0.35, P=0.010, fasting insulin (r=0.36, P=0.009, HOMA-IR (r=0.30, P=0.031, and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (r=0.331, P=0.028. In multivariate linear regression analysis, HOMA-IR (P=0.026 and serum DHEA-S (P=0.032 were positively correlated with the degree of advanced skeletal maturation.ConclusionAdvanced skeletal maturation is associated with increased insulin resistance and elevated DHEA-S levels in obese children and adolescents.

  3. Sustaining Exploration in Mature Basins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bayo, A.

    2002-01-01

    Exploration is a business like any other business driven by opportunity, resources and expectation of profit. Therefore, exploration will thrive anywhere the opportunities are significant, the resources are available and the outlook for profit (or value creation) is good. To sustain exploration activities anywhere, irrespective of the environment, there must be good understanding of the drivers of these key investment criteria. This paper will examine these investment criteria as they relate to exploration business and address the peculiarity of exploration in mature basin. Mature basins are unique environment that lends themselves a mix of fears, paradigms and realities, particularly with respect to the perception of value. To sustain exploration activities in a mature basin, we need to understand these perceptions relative to the true drivers of profitability. Exploration in the mature basins can be as profitable as exploration in emerging basins if the dynamics of value definition-strategic and fiscal values are understood by operators, regulators and co ventures alike. Some suggestions are made in this presentation on what needs to be done in addressing these dynamic investment parameters and sustaining exploration activities in mature basins

  4. Hepatozoon silvestris sp. nov.: morphological and molecular characterization of a new species of Hepatozoon (Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) from the European wild cat (Felis silvestris silvestris)

    OpenAIRE

    HOD?I?, ADNAN; ALI?, AMER; PRA?OVI?, SENAD; OTRANTO, DOMENICO; BANETH, GAD; DUSCHER, GEORG GERHARD

    2016-01-01

    SUMMARY Based on morphological and genetic characteristics, we describe a new species of Hepatozoon in the European wild cat (Felis silvestris silvestris), herein named Hepatozoon silvestris sp. nov. The study also provides the first data on the occurrence of H. felis in this wild felid. Hepatozoon meronts were observed in multiple cross-sections of different organs of four (44%) cats. Additionally, extracellular forms, resembling mature gamonts of Hepatozoon, were found in the spleen and myo...

  5. Molecular identification of badger-associated Babesia sp. DNA in dogs: updated phylogeny of piroplasms infecting Caniformia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hornok, Sándor; Horváth, Gábor; Takács, Nóra; Kontschán, Jenő; Szőke, Krisztina; Farkas, Róbert

    2018-04-11

    Piroplasms are unicellular, tick-borne parasites. Among them, during the past decade, an increasing diversity of Babesia spp. has been reported from wild carnivores. On the other hand, despite the known contact of domestic and wild carnivores (e.g. during hunting), and a number of ixodid tick species they share, data on the infection of dogs with babesiae from other families of carnivores are rare. In this study blood samples were collected from 90 dogs and five road-killed badgers. Ticks were also removed from these animals. The DNA was extracted from all blood samples, and from 33 ticks of badgers, followed by molecular analysis for piroplasms with PCR and sequencing, as well as by phylogenetic comparison of detected genotypes with piroplasms infecting carnivores. Eleven of 90 blood DNA extracts from dogs, and all five samples from badgers were PCR-positive for piroplasms. In addition to the presence of B. canis DNA in five dogs, sequencing identified the DNA of badger-associated "Babesia sp. Meles-Hu1" in six dogs and in all five badgers. The DNA of "Babesia sp. Meles-Hu1" occurred significantly more frequently in dogs often taken to forests (i.e. the preferred habitat of badgers in Hungary), than in dogs without this characteristic. Moreover, detection of DNA from this Babesia sp. was significantly associated with hunting dogs in comparison with dogs not used for hunting. Two PCR-positive dogs (in one of which the DNA of the badger-associated Babesia sp. was identified, whereas in the other the DNA of B. canis was present) showed clinical signs of babesiosis. Engorged specimens of both I. canisuga and I. hexagonus were collected from badgers with parasitaemia, but only I. canisuga contained the DNA of "Babesia sp. Meles-Hu1". This means a significant association of the DNA from "Babesia sp. Meles-Hu1" with I. canisuga. Phylogenetically, "Babesia sp. Meles-Hu1" belonged to the "B. microti" group. This is the first detection of the DNA from a badger

  6. Microbiologically influenced corrosion of galvanized steel by Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. in the presence of Ag–Cu ions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ilhan-Sungur, Esra, E-mail: esungur@istanbul.edu.tr [Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, 34134 Vezneciler, Istanbul (Turkey); Unsal-Istek, Tuba [Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, 34134 Vezneciler, Istanbul (Turkey); Cansever, Nurhan [Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Chemistry-Metallurgy, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, 34210 Esenler, Istanbul (Turkey)

    2015-07-15

    The effects of Ag–Cu ions on the microbiologically induced corrosion of galvanized steel in the presence of Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. were investigated. The corrosion behavior of galvanized steel was analyzed by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The biofilm, corrosion products and Ag–Cu ions on the surfaces were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and elemental mapping. The biofilm layer formed by the Desulfovibrio sp. was stable covering the all surface of galvanized steel coupons, while that by Desulfosporosinus sp. was intermittent, highly porous and heterogeneous. It was found that both of the sulfate reducing bacteria species accelerated corrosion of the galvanized steel. However, it was detected that Desulfosporosinus sp. was more corrosive for galvanized steel than Desulfovibrio sp. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. in biofilm clustered into patches on the galvanized steel surface when the culture contained toxic Ag–Cu ions. The ions affected the growth of the sulfate reducing bacteria strains in different ways and hence the corrosion behaviors. It was observed that the Ag–Cu ions affected negatively growth of Desulfosporosinus sp. especially after 24 h of exposure leading to a decrease in the corrosion rate of galvanized steel. However, Desulfovibrio sp. showed more corrosive effect in the presence of the ions according to the ions-free culture. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis showed that corrosion products on the surfaces were mainly composed of Zn, S, Na, O and P. - Highlights: • Galvanized steel was corroded by Desulfosporosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. • Desulfosporosinus sp. is more corrosive than Desulfovibrio sp. • The Ag–Cu ions affected corrosion behavior of Desulfosporosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. on galvanized steel.

  7. Microbiologically influenced corrosion of galvanized steel by Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. in the presence of Ag–Cu ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ilhan-Sungur, Esra; Unsal-Istek, Tuba; Cansever, Nurhan

    2015-01-01

    The effects of Ag–Cu ions on the microbiologically induced corrosion of galvanized steel in the presence of Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. were investigated. The corrosion behavior of galvanized steel was analyzed by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The biofilm, corrosion products and Ag–Cu ions on the surfaces were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and elemental mapping. The biofilm layer formed by the Desulfovibrio sp. was stable covering the all surface of galvanized steel coupons, while that by Desulfosporosinus sp. was intermittent, highly porous and heterogeneous. It was found that both of the sulfate reducing bacteria species accelerated corrosion of the galvanized steel. However, it was detected that Desulfosporosinus sp. was more corrosive for galvanized steel than Desulfovibrio sp. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. in biofilm clustered into patches on the galvanized steel surface when the culture contained toxic Ag–Cu ions. The ions affected the growth of the sulfate reducing bacteria strains in different ways and hence the corrosion behaviors. It was observed that the Ag–Cu ions affected negatively growth of Desulfosporosinus sp. especially after 24 h of exposure leading to a decrease in the corrosion rate of galvanized steel. However, Desulfovibrio sp. showed more corrosive effect in the presence of the ions according to the ions-free culture. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis showed that corrosion products on the surfaces were mainly composed of Zn, S, Na, O and P. - Highlights: • Galvanized steel was corroded by Desulfosporosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. • Desulfosporosinus sp. is more corrosive than Desulfovibrio sp. • The Ag–Cu ions affected corrosion behavior of Desulfosporosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. on galvanized steel

  8. Graphene-on-diamond devices with increased current-carrying capacity: carbon sp2-on-sp3 technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jie; Liu, Guanxiong; Sumant, Anirudha V; Goyal, Vivek; Balandin, Alexander A

    2012-03-14

    Graphene demonstrated potential for practical applications owing to its excellent electronic and thermal properties. Typical graphene field-effect transistors and interconnects built on conventional SiO(2)/Si substrates reveal the breakdown current density on the order of 1 μA/nm(2) (i.e., 10(8) A/cm(2)), which is ~100× larger than the fundamental limit for the metals but still smaller than the maximum achieved in carbon nanotubes. We show that by replacing SiO(2) with synthetic diamond, one can substantially increase the current-carrying capacity of graphene to as high as ~18 μA/nm(2) even at ambient conditions. Our results indicate that graphene's current-induced breakdown is thermally activated. We also found that the current carrying capacity of graphene can be improved not only on the single-crystal diamond substrates but also on an inexpensive ultrananocrystalline diamond, which can be produced in a process compatible with a conventional Si technology. The latter was attributed to the decreased thermal resistance of the ultrananocrystalline diamond layer at elevated temperatures. The obtained results are important for graphene's applications in high-frequency transistors, interconnects, and transparent electrodes and can lead to the new planar sp(2)-on-sp(3) carbon-on-carbon technology. © 2012 American Chemical Society

  9. Development relationship of color with anthocyanins and chlorophyll content in diferent degrees of maturity of mortiño (Vaccinium floribundum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mónica Arteaga Dalgo

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The relationship between color development with anthocyanins and chlorophyll content at different stages of maturity of mortiño (Vaccinum floribundum was studied. The fruits were harvested by surface color from 100% green to 100% black. The color scale was measured according to CIE L* a* b* and color difference (∆E was determined. The anthocyanin and chlorophyll content was performed by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. The following scale was used to establish the stage of maturity: (1 green, (2 green/pink, (3 pink, (4 pink/black and (5 black; It was observed that increasing the maturation stage, the brightness and color saturation decrease. Results showed positive values of a* and negative of b* for maturity stages 3, 4 and 5 (red and blue; and negative values ​​of a * and positive of b * for states 1 and 2 (green and yellow. Smallest differences in color (∆E were found between states 4 and 5. Among the states 1 and 5 was evident a decreased of 0,052 mg/g in chlorophyll content and an increase of 13700mg/kg in anthocyanins. The degree of maturity of the fruit has a direct relationship between the color tone and content of components with antioxidant activity constituting a precedent for future researches and its use of this fruit in different stages of maturity.

  10. Analysis list: SP2 [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available SP2 Blood,Liver,Pluripotent stem cell + hg19 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyus...hu-u/hg19/target/SP2.1.tsv http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/hg19/target/SP2.5.tsv http://dbarchive....biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/hg19/target/SP2.10.tsv http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/hg19/colo/SP2.Blood.tsv,http:...//dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/hg19/colo/SP2.Liver.tsv,http:...//dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/hg19/colo/SP2.Pluripotent_stem_cell.tsv http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc

  11. Differential requirement for satellite cells during overload-induced muscle hypertrophy in growing versus mature mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murach, Kevin A; White, Sarah H; Wen, Yuan; Ho, Angel; Dupont-Versteegden, Esther E; McCarthy, John J; Peterson, Charlotte A

    2017-07-10

    Pax7+ satellite cells are required for skeletal muscle fiber growth during post-natal development in mice. Satellite cell-mediated myonuclear accretion also appears to persist into early adulthood. Given the important role of satellite cells during muscle development, we hypothesized that the necessity of satellite cells for adaptation to an imposed hypertrophic stimulus depends on maturational age. Pax7 CreER -R26R DTA mice were treated for 5 days with vehicle (satellite cell-replete, SC+) or tamoxifen (satellite cell-depleted, SC-) at 2 months (young) and 4 months (mature) of age. Following a 2-week washout, mice were subjected to sham surgery or 10 day synergist ablation overload of the plantaris (n = 6-9 per group). The surgical approach minimized regeneration, de novo fiber formation, and fiber splitting while promoting muscle fiber growth. Satellite cell density (Pax7+ cells/fiber), embryonic myosin heavy chain expression (eMyHC), and muscle fiber cross sectional area (CSA) were evaluated via immunohistochemistry. Myonuclei (myonuclei/100 mm) were counted on isolated single muscle fibers. Tamoxifen treatment depleted satellite cells by ≥90% and prevented myonuclear accretion with overload in young and mature mice (p overload. Average muscle fiber CSA increased ~20% in young SC+ (p = 0.07), mature SC+ (p overload (p overload-induced hypertrophy is dependent on maturational age, and global responses to overload differ in young versus mature mice.

  12. The human luteinizing hormone receptor gene promoter: activation by Sp1 and Sp3 and inhibitory regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng, Y; Tsai-Morris, C H; Zhang, Y; Dufau, M L

    1999-09-24

    To understand the transcriptional mechanism(s) of human LH receptor (LHR) gene expression, we have identified the dominant functional cis-elements that regulate the activity of the promoter domain (-1 to -176 bp from ATG). Mutagenesis demonstrated that the promoter activity was dependent on two Sp1 domains (-79 bp, -120 bp) in a transformed normal placental cell (PLC) and the choriocarcinoma JAR cell. Both elements interacted with endogenous Sp1 and Sp3 factors but not with Sp2 or Sp4. In Drosophila SL2 cells, the promoter was activated by either Sp1 or Sp3. An ERE half-site (EREhs) at -174 bp was inhibitory (by 100%), but was unresponsive to estradiol and did not bind the estrogen receptor or orphan receptors ERR1 and SF-1. The 5' upstream sequence (-177 to -2056 bp) inhibited promoter activity in PLC by 60%, but only minimally in JAR cells. Activation of the human LHR promoter through Sp1/3 factors is negatively regulated through EREhs and upstream sequences to exert control of gene expression. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

  13. Transcription factor SP4 is a susceptibility gene for bipolar disorder.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xianjin Zhou

    Full Text Available The Sp4 transcription factor plays a critical role for both development and function of mouse hippocampus. Reduced expression of the mouse Sp4 gene results in a variety of behavioral abnormalities relevant to human psychiatric disorders. The human SP4 gene is therefore examined for its association with both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in European Caucasian and Chinese populations respectively. Out of ten SNPs selected from human SP4 genomic locus, four displayed significant association with bipolar disorder in European Caucasian families (rs12668354, p = 0.022; rs12673091, p = 0.0005; rs3735440, p = 0.019; rs11974306, p = 0.018. To replicate the genetic association, the same set of SNPs was examined in a Chinese bipolar case control sample. Four SNPs displayed significant association (rs40245, p = 0.009; rs12673091, p = 0.002; rs1018954, p = 0.001; rs3735440, p = 0.029, and two of them (rs12673091, rs3735440 were shared with positive SNPs from European Caucasian families. Considering the genetic overlap between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, we extended our studies in Chinese trios families for schizophrenia. The SNP7 (rs12673091, p = 0.012 also displayed a significant association. The SNP7 (rs12673091 was therefore significantly associated in all three samples, and shared the same susceptibility allele (A across all three samples. On the other hand, we found a gene dosage effect for mouse Sp4 gene in the modulation of sensorimotor gating, a putative endophenotype for both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The deficient sensorimotor gating in Sp4 hypomorphic mice was partially reversed by the administration of dopamine D2 antagonist or mood stabilizers. Both human genetic and mouse pharmacogenetic studies support Sp4 gene as a susceptibility gene for bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. The studies on the role of Sp4 gene in hippocampal development may provide novel insights for the contribution of hippocampal abnormalities in these

  14. Rhodotorula bloemfonteinensis sp. nov., Rhodotorula eucalyptica sp. nov., Rhodotorula orientis sp. nov. and Rhodotorula pini sp. nov., yeasts isolated from monoterpene-rich environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pohl, Carolina H; Smit, Martha S; Albertyn, Jacobus

    2011-09-01

    Recent rDNA sequencing of 25 isolates from a previous study, during which limonene-utilizing yeasts were isolated from monoterpene-rich environments by using 1,4-disubstituted cyclohexanes as sole carbon sources, led to the identification of four hitherto unknown Rhodotorula species. Analyses of the 26S rDNA D1/D2 region as well as the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) domain indicated that two isolates (CBS 8499(T) and CBS 10736) were identical and were closely related to Rhodotorula cycloclastica, a previously described limonene-utilizing yeast. These novel isolates differed from known yeast species and could be distinguished from R. cycloclastica by standard physiological tests. The other three isolates represent three novel Rhodotorula species, closely related to Sporobolomyces magnisporus. These three species could also be distinguished from other Rhodotorula species by standard physiological tests. Based on these results, we suggest that the new isolates represent novel species, for which the names Rhodotorula eucalyptica sp. nov. (type strain CBS 8499(T)  = NRRL Y-48408(T)), Rhodotorula pini sp. nov. (type strain CBS 10735(T)  = NRRL Y-48410(T)), Rhodotorula bloemfonteinensis sp. nov. (type strain CBS 8598(T)  = NRRL Y-48407(T)) and Rhodotorula orientis sp. nov. (type strain CBS 8594(T)  = NRRL Y-48719(T)) are proposed. R. eucalyptica and R. pini can also utilize limonene.

  15. Genome sequencing and annotation of Proteus sp. SAS71

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samy Selim

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We report draft genome sequence of Proteus sp. strain SAS71, isolated from water spring in Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia. The draft genome size is 3,037,704 bp with a G + C content of 39.3% and contains 6 rRNA sequence (single copies of 5S, 16S & 23S rRNA. The genome sequence can be accessed at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank under the accession no. LDIU00000000.

  16. Oral antibiotics increase blood neutrophil maturation and reduce bacteremia and necrotizing enterocolitis in the immediate postnatal period of preterm pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nguyen, Duc Ninh; Fuglsang, Eva; Jiang, Pingping

    2016-01-01

    in blood parameters and bacterial composition in the intestine, blood and immune organs were analyzed. Newborn preterm pigs had few blood neutrophils and a high frequency of progenitor cells. Neutrophils gradually matured after preterm birth with increasing CD14 and decreasing CD172a expressions. Preterm...... neutrophil and monocyte TLR2 expression and TLR2-mediated blood cytokine responses were low relative to adults. ORA pigs showed enhanced blood neutrophil maturation with reduced cell size and CD172a expression. Only ORA pigs, but not SYS pigs, were protected from a high density of gut Gram-positive bacteria......, high gut permeability, Gram-positive bacteremia and NEC. Neonatal oral antibiotics may benefit mucosal and systemic immunity via delayed gut colonization and enhanced blood neutrophil maturation just after preterm birth....

  17. Surfactant protein A (SP-A)-mediated clearance of Staphylococcus aureus involves binding of SP-A to the staphylococcal adhesin eap and the macrophage receptors SP-A receptor 210 and scavenger receptor class A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever-Chroneos, Zvjezdana; Krupa, Agnieszka; Davis, Jeremy; Hasan, Misbah; Yang, Ching-Hui; Szeliga, Jacek; Herrmann, Mathias; Hussain, Muzafar; Geisbrecht, Brian V; Kobzik, Lester; Chroneos, Zissis C

    2011-02-11

    Staphylococcus aureus causes life-threatening pneumonia in hospitals and deadly superinfection during viral influenza. The current study investigated the role of surfactant protein A (SP-A) in opsonization and clearance of S. aureus. Previous studies showed that SP-A mediates phagocytosis via the SP-A receptor 210 (SP-R210). Here, we show that SP-R210 mediates binding and control of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus by macrophages. We determined that SP-A binds S. aureus through the extracellular adhesin Eap. Consequently, SP-A enhanced macrophage uptake of Eap-expressing (Eap(+)) but not Eap-deficient (Eap(-)) S. aureus. In a reciprocal fashion, SP-A failed to enhance uptake of Eap(+) S. aureus in peritoneal Raw264.7 macrophages with a dominant negative mutation (SP-R210(DN)) blocking surface expression of SP-R210. Accordingly, WT mice cleared infection with Eap(+) but succumbed to sublethal infection with Eap- S. aureus. However, SP-R210(DN) cells compensated by increasing non-opsonic phagocytosis of Eap(+) S. aureus via the scavenger receptor scavenger receptor class A (SR-A), while non-opsonic uptake of Eap(-) S. aureus was impaired. Macrophages express two isoforms: SP-R210(L) and SP-R210(S). The results show that WT alveolar macrophages are distinguished by expression of SP-R210(L), whereas SR-A(-/-) alveolar macrophages are deficient in SP-R210(L) expressing only SP-R210(S). Accordingly, SR-A(-/-) mice were highly susceptible to both Eap(+) and Eap(-) S. aureus. The lungs of susceptible mice generated abnormal inflammatory responses that were associated with impaired killing and persistence of S. aureus infection in the lung. In conclusion, alveolar macrophage SP-R210(L) mediates recognition and killing of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus in vivo, coordinating inflammatory responses and resolution of S. aureus pneumonia through interaction with SR-A.

  18. Serological discrimination by indirect enzyme immunoassay between the antibody response to Brucella sp and Yersinia enterocolitica O : 9 in cattle and pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, K.; Smith, P.; Yu, W.

    2006-01-01

    A rapid, inexpensive and rugged serological test that distinguishes cattle and swine infected with Brucella sp. or Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 is described. The test protocol, which is an indirect enzyme immunoassay uses a high concentration of divalent cation chelating agents to minimize binding...... with Brucella sp. Sera from 58 cattle and 38 swine exposed to Y. enterocolitica O:9 were negative while only 20 sera from 121 'false positive' reactors of unspecified origin gave low level positive reactions, eliminating 84% of the false positive reactions. Crown...

  19. Cabira rangarajani n. sp. (Polychaeta: Pilargidae) from the Goa coast, central west coast of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Mandal, Sumit; Harkantra, S.N.; Salazar-Vallejo, S.I.

    Cabira rangarajani n. sp., is described from the Goa coast, in central west coast of India. It differs from C. brevicirris (Rangarajan, 1964), by having a single type of neurochaetae while the other species has three types. The new species also...

  20. Dialysis Access Surgery: Does Anesthesia Type Affect Maturation and Complication Rates?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Andrew; Mannoia, Kristyn; Herrera, Anthony; Chizari, Mohammad; Hagdoost, Muhammad; Molkara, Afshin

    2016-05-01

    Creation of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred method of establishing long-term dialysis access. There are multiple anesthetic techniques used for patients undergoing this surgery including general endotracheal intubation, laryngeal mask airway, regional anesthesia with nerve blocks, and monitored anesthesia care with local infiltration. It is unclear what effect the method of anesthesia has on AVF creation success rate. It is our objective to determine if anesthesia type affects success of these surgeries defined by complication and maturation rates. A retrospective review was performed in a single institution, single surgeon study of 253 patients who underwent AVF creation between January 2003 and December 2010. Patients were cross analyzed between 3 anesthesia types (General Endotracheal Intubation, Laryngeal Mask Airway and Local Infiltration with Monitored Anesthesia Care) and AVF creation surgeries (radiocephalic, brachiocephalic, and basilic vein transposition). No patients had regional anesthesia performed. Demographic data including comorbidities and risk factors were stratified among all categories. Analysis of variance, chi-squared testing, and Fisher's exact P testing was performed across all anesthesia types and specific operations and measured according to success of fistula maturation and complication rates (including death within 30 days, myocardial infarction within 30 days, respiratory insufficiency, venous hypertension, wound infections, neuropathy, and vascular steal syndrome). There were no significant differences in maturation rate in terms of all 3 anesthesia types for radiocephalic (P = 0.191), brachiocephalic (P = 0.191), and basilic vein transposition surgeries (P = 0.305). In addition, there were no differences in complication rates between the surgeries and the 3 types of anesthesia (P = 0.557). Our study shows that despite anesthesia type, outcomes in terms of maturation and complication rate are not statistically

  1. Position-dependent Effects of Polylysine on Sec Protein Transport*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Fu-Cheng; Bageshwar, Umesh K.; Musser, Siegfried M.

    2012-01-01

    The bacterial Sec protein translocation system catalyzes the transport of unfolded precursor proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. Using a recently developed real time fluorescence-based transport assay, the effects of the number and distribution of positive charges on the transport time and transport efficiency of proOmpA were examined. As expected, an increase in the number of lysine residues generally increased transport time and decreased transport efficiency. However, the observed effects were highly dependent on the polylysine position in the mature domain. In addition, a string of consecutive positive charges generally had a more significant effect on transport time and efficiency than separating the charges into two or more charged segments. Thirty positive charges distributed throughout the mature domain resulted in effects similar to 10 consecutive charges near the N terminus of the mature domain. These data support a model in which the local effects of positive charge on the translocation kinetics dominate over total thermodynamic constraints. The rapid translocation kinetics of some highly charged proOmpA mutants suggest that the charge is partially shielded from the electric field gradient during transport, possibly by the co-migration of counter ions. The transport times of precursors with multiple positively charged sequences, or “pause sites,” were fairly well predicted by a local effect model. However, the kinetic profile predicted by this local effect model was not observed. Instead, the transport kinetics observed for precursors with multiple polylysine segments support a model in which translocation through the SecYEG pore is not the rate-limiting step of transport. PMID:22367204

  2. Position-dependent effects of polylysine on Sec protein transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Fu-Cheng; Bageshwar, Umesh K; Musser, Siegfried M

    2012-04-13

    The bacterial Sec protein translocation system catalyzes the transport of unfolded precursor proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. Using a recently developed real time fluorescence-based transport assay, the effects of the number and distribution of positive charges on the transport time and transport efficiency of proOmpA were examined. As expected, an increase in the number of lysine residues generally increased transport time and decreased transport efficiency. However, the observed effects were highly dependent on the polylysine position in the mature domain. In addition, a string of consecutive positive charges generally had a more significant effect on transport time and efficiency than separating the charges into two or more charged segments. Thirty positive charges distributed throughout the mature domain resulted in effects similar to 10 consecutive charges near the N terminus of the mature domain. These data support a model in which the local effects of positive charge on the translocation kinetics dominate over total thermodynamic constraints. The rapid translocation kinetics of some highly charged proOmpA mutants suggest that the charge is partially shielded from the electric field gradient during transport, possibly by the co-migration of counter ions. The transport times of precursors with multiple positively charged sequences, or "pause sites," were fairly well predicted by a local effect model. However, the kinetic profile predicted by this local effect model was not observed. Instead, the transport kinetics observed for precursors with multiple polylysine segments support a model in which translocation through the SecYEG pore is not the rate-limiting step of transport.

  3. Single test isolated lupus anticoagulant positivity is associated with increased plasma levels of inflammatory markers and dyslipidemia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Just, S A; Nybo, M; Laustrup, H

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether a single positive test for lupus anticoagulant (LA) is associated with levels of inflammatory markers and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, independent of autoimmune disease, thrombophilia and occurrence of other antiphospholipid antibodies. METHODS: In a ...

  4. Hypertrophy of mature xenopus muscle fibres in culture induced by synergy of albumin and insulin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jaspers, R.T.; van Beek-Harmsen, B.J.; Blankenstein, M.A.; Goldspink, G.; Huijing, P.A.J.B.M.; van der Laarse, W.J.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate effects of albumin and insulin separately as well as in combination on mature muscle fibres during long-term culture. Single muscle fibres were dissected from m. iliofibularis of Xenopus laevis and attached to a force transducer in a culture chamber. Fibres

  5. Cr(VI) reduction from contaminated soils by Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 isolated from chromium deposits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukuda, Tsubasa; Ishino, Yasuhiro; Ogawa, Akane; Tsutsumi, Kadzuyo; Morita, Hiroshi

    2008-10-01

    Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 are chromate-resistant filamentous fungi that were isolated from Cr(VI) contaminated soil based on their ability to decrease hexavalent chromium levels in the growth medium. After 120 h of growth in a medium containing 50 ppm Cr(VI) at near neutral pH, Aspergillus sp. N2 reduced the Cr(VI) concentration by about 75%. Penicillium sp. N3 was able to reduce the Cr(VI) concentration by only 35%. However, Penicillium sp. N3 reduced the Cr(VI) concentration in the medium by 93% under acidic conditions. Interestingly, the presence of Cu(II) enhanced the Cr(VI) reducing ability of Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 at near neutral pH. Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 reduced the Cr(VI) concentration in the growth medium to a virtually undetectable level within 120 h. For both Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3, mycelial seed cultures were more efficient at Cr(VI) reduction than conidium seed cultures. The mechanisms of Cr(VI) reduction in Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 were enzymatic reduction and sorption to mycelia. Enzymatic activity contributed significantly to Cr(VI) reduction. Aspergillus sp. N2 and Penicillium sp. N3 reduced the levels of Cr(VI) in polluted soil samples, suggesting that these strains might be useful for cleaning up chromium-contaminated sites.

  6. Twinning processes in Cu-Al-Ni martensite single crystals investigated by neutron single crystal diffraction method

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Molnar, P.; Šittner, P.; Novák, V.; Lukáš, Petr

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 481, Sp.Iss.SI (2008), s. 513-517 ISSN 0921-5093 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100480704 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10480505 Keywords : Cu-Al-Ni * single crystals * neutron diffraction Subject RIV: BG - Nuclear, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Colliders Impact factor: 1.806, year: 2008

  7. Bicarbonate Transport During Enamel Maturation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Kaifeng; Paine, Michael L

    2017-11-01

    Amelogenesis (tooth enamel formation) is a biomineralization process consisting primarily of two stages (secretory stage and maturation stage) with unique features. During the secretory stage, the inner epithelium of the enamel organ (i.e., the ameloblast cells) synthesizes and secretes enamel matrix proteins (EMPs) into the enamel space. The protein-rich enamel matrix forms a highly organized architecture in a pH-neutral microenvironment. As amelogenesis transitions to maturation stage, EMPs are degraded and internalized by ameloblasts through endosomal-lysosomal pathways. Enamel crystallite formation is initiated early in the secretory stage, however, during maturation stage the more rapid deposition of calcium and phosphate into the enamel space results in a rapid expansion of crystallite length and mineral volume. During maturation-stage amelogenesis, the pH value of enamel varies considerably from slightly above neutral to acidic. Extracellular acid-base balance during enamel maturation is tightly controlled by ameloblast-mediated regulatory networks, which include significant synthesis and movement of bicarbonate ions from both the enamel papillary layer cells and ameloblasts. In this review we summarize the carbonic anhydrases and the carbonate transporters/exchangers involved in pH regulation in maturation-stage amelogenesis. Proteins that have been shown to be instrumental in this process include CA2, CA6, CFTR, AE2, NBCe1, SLC26A1/SAT1, SLC26A3/DRA, SLC26A4/PDS, SLC26A6/PAT1, and SLC26A7/SUT2. In addition, we discuss the association of miRNA regulation with bicarbonate transport in tooth enamel formation.

  8. Results of an interlaboratory method performance study for the size determination and quantification of silver nanoparticles in chicken meat by single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (sp-ICP-MS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weigel, Stefan; Peters, Ruud; Loeschner, Katrin; Grombe, Ringo; Linsinger, Thomas P J

    2017-08-01

    Single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (sp-ICP-MS) promises fast and selective determination of nanoparticle size and number concentrations. While several studies on practical applications have been published, data on formal, especially interlaboratory validation of sp-ICP-MS, is sparse. An international interlaboratory study was organized to determine repeatability and reproducibility of the determination of the median particle size and particle number concentration of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) in chicken meat. Ten laboratories from the European Union, the USA, and Canada determined particle size and particle number concentration of two chicken meat homogenates spiked with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-stabilized AgNPs. For the determination of the median particle diameter, repeatability standard deviations of 2 and 5% were determined, and reproducibility standard deviations were 15 and 25%, respectively. The equivalent median diameter itself was approximately 60% larger than the diameter of the particles in the spiking solution. Determination of the particle number concentration was significantly less precise, with repeatability standard deviations of 7 and 18% and reproducibility standard deviations of 70 and 90%.

  9. Penggunaan Jamur Antagonis Trichoderma SP. Dan Gliocladium SP. Untuk Mengendalikan Penyakit Layu Fusarium Pada Tanaman Bawang Merah (Allium Ascalonicum L.)

    OpenAIRE

    Arie Ramadhina, Arie Ramadhina; Lisnawita, Lisnawita; Lubis, Lahmuddin

    2013-01-01

    The use of antagonism fungus of Trichoderma sp. and Gliocladium sp. for controlling wilt(Fusarium oxysporum) in red onion plants. The aim of the research was to know the effectiviness ofantagonism fungus of Trichoderma sp. and Gliocladium sp. in controlling wilt in red onion plants.The research used non-factorial RAK (random group design) with eight treatments: control, 10grams of F. oxysporum, 12 grams of Trichoderma sp., 18 grams of Trichoderma sp., 24 grams ofTrichoderma sp., and 12 grams ...

  10. Whose Maturity is it Anyway?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lasrado, Lester Allan; Vatrapu, Ravi; Mukkamala, Raghava Rao

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents results from an ongoing empirical study that seeks to understand the influence of different quantitative methods on the design and assessment of maturity models. Although there have been many academic publications on maturity models, there exists a significant lack of understa...

  11. Prone position as prevention of lung injury in comatose patients: a prospective, randomized, controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beuret, Pascal; Carton, Marie-Jose; Nourdine, Karim; Kaaki, Mahmoud; Tramoni, Gerard; Ducreux, Jean-Claude

    2002-05-01

    Comatose patients frequently exhibit pulmonary function worsening, especially in cases of pulmonary infection. It appears to have a deleterious effect on neurologic outcome. We therefore conducted a randomized trial to determine whether daily prone positioning would prevent lung worsening in these patients. Prospective, randomized, controlled study. Sixteen-bed intensive care unit. Fifty-one patients who required invasive mechanical ventilation because of coma with Glascow coma scores of 9 or less. In the prone position (PP) group: prone positioning for 4 h once daily until the patients could get up to sit in an armchair; in the supine position (SP) group: supine positioning. The primary end point was the incidence of lung worsening defined by an increase in the Lung Injury Score of at least 1 point since the time of randomization. The secondary end point was the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). A total of 25 patients were randomly assigned to the PP group and 26 patients to the SP group. The characteristics of the patients from the two groups were similar at randomization. The incidence of lung worsening was lower in the PP group (12%) than in the SP group (50%) ( p=0.003). The incidence of VAP was 20% in the PP group and 38.4% in the SP group ( p=0.14). There was no serious complication attributable to prone positioning, however, there was a significant increase of intracranial pressure in the PP. In a selected population of comatose ventilated patients, daily prone positioning reduced the incidence of lung worsening.

  12. Intra-follicular interactions affecting mammalian oocyte maturation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Tol, H.T.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/313871817

    2009-01-01

    Nuclear oocyte maturation is defined as reinitiation and progression of the first meiotic division and subsequently formation of the methaphase II (MII) plate. Concomitantly with nuclear maturation, cytoplasmic maturation which is essential for proper fertilization and early embryo development is

  13. Quantitative skeletal evaluation based on cervical vertebral maturation: a longitudinal study of adolescents with normal occlusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, L; Liu, J; Xu, T; Long, X; Lin, J

    2010-07-01

    The study aims were to investigate the correlation between vertebral shape and hand-wrist maturation and to select characteristic parameters of C2-C5 (the second to fifth cervical vertebrae) for cervical vertebral maturation determination by mixed longitudinal data. 87 adolescents (32 males, 55 females) aged 8-18 years with normal occlusion were studied. Sequential lateral cephalograms and hand-wrist radiographs were taken annually for 6 consecutive years. Lateral cephalograms were divided into 11 maturation groups according to Fishman Skeletal Maturity Indicators (SMI). 62 morphological measurements of C2-C5 at 11 different developmental stages (SMI1-11) were measured and analysed. Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing, correlation coefficient analysis and variable cluster analysis were used for statistical analysis. Of the 62 cervical vertebral parameters, 44 were positively correlated with SMI, 6 were negatively correlated and 12 were not correlated. The correlation coefficients between cervical vertebral parameters and SMI were relatively high. Characteristic parameters for quantitative analysis of cervical vertebral maturation were selected. In summary, cervical vertebral maturation could be used reliably to evaluate the skeletal stage instead of the hand-wrist radiographic method. Selected characteristic parameters offered a simple and objective reference for the assessment of skeletal maturity and timing of orthognathic surgery. Copyright 2010 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Growth indicators in orthodontic patients. Part 1: comparison of cervical vertebral maturation and hand-wrist skeletal maturation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Litsas, G; Ari-Demirkaya, A

    2010-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to predict the skeletal maturation status based on the assessment of cervical vertebrae from lateral cephalometric radiographs and to compare these findings with the skeletal maturity of the same individuals judged from the hand-wrist radiographs. Lateral cephalometric and left hand-wrist radiographs of 393 Caucasian children from 8 to 18 years old were evaluated. On the hand-wrist radiographs the classification of Bjork [1972] and Grave and Brown [1976] was used to assess skeletal maturity (HWSS). Cervical vertebral maturation was also evaluated on lateral cephalometric radiographs using the improved CVMS method described by Baccetti, Franchi, and McNamara [2002]. These methods were correlated using the chi-square test. The chi-square test showed that skeletal maturational values obtained by the CVMS method were significantly correlated with the skeletal values obtained from the hand-wrist analysis for both genders (pmaturity.

  15. The Effectiveness of Extracts Basil Leaves (Ocimum sanctum Linn) against Saprolegnia sp. by in Vitro

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudarno; Luthfi Hakim, Muhammad; Kusdarwati, Rahayu

    2017-02-01

    Saprolegnia SP. is a fungi which is opportunistic and generally as a secondary pathogen on fish. Saprolegnia sp. infects epidermis tissue that begins at the head or fins and can spread over the entire surface of the body. The result of the using of chemicals to control infections of Saprolegnia spp. can cause pollution of the environment and harm the consumer. The purpose of this research was to determine the potential and the minimum concentration of extracts basil leaves (Ocimum sanctum Linn) as antifungi against the growth of Saprolegnia sp. by vitro. The research was held in Fish Quarantine Kelas I Juanda Suarabaya in January 2015. A positive result was obtained in the test of the effectiveness of basil leaves in inhibiting the growth of the fungus Saprolegnia sp. Concentration of the extract given to treatment 90% and 100% was able to inhibit the growth of Saprolegnia sp., indicated by the formation of the inhibitory zones at a concentration of treatment, and had the best results on the concentration of 100%.

  16. Pseudoxanthomonas koreensis sp. nov. and Pseudoxanthomonas daejeonensis sp. nov.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Deok-Chun; Im, Wan-Taek; Kim, Myung Kyum; Lee, Sung-Taik

    2005-03-01

    Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacteria, T7-09(T) and TR6-08(T), were isolated from soil from a ginseng field in South Korea and characterized to determine their taxonomic position. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the two isolates shared 99.5 % sequence similarity. Strains T7-09(T) and TR6-08(T) were shown to belong to the Proteobacteria and showed the highest levels of sequence similarity to Pseudoxanthomonas broegbernensis DSM 12573(T) (98.1 %), Pseudoxanthomonas mexicana AMX 26B(T) (97.4-97.5 %), Pseudoxanthomonas japonensis 12-3(T) (96.5-96.6 %), Pseudoxanthomonas taiwanensis ATCC BAA-404(T) (95.7 %) and Xanthomonas campestris ATCC 33913(T) (96.3-96.5 %). The sequence similarity values with respect to any species with validly published names in related genera were less than 96.5 %. The detection of a quinone system with Q-8 as the predominant compound and a fatty acid profile with C(15 : 0) iso as the predominant acid supported the assignment of the novel isolates to the order 'Xanthomonadales'. The two isolates could be distinguished from the established species of the genus Pseudoxanthomonas by the presence of quantitative unsaturated fatty acid C(17 : 1) iso omega9c and by their unique biochemical profiles. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization clearly demonstrated that T7-09(T) and TR6-08(T) represent separate species. On the basis of these data, it is proposed that T7-09(T) (=KCTC 12208(T)=IAM 15116(T)) and TR6-08(T) (=KCTC 12207(T)=IAM 15115(T)) be classified as the type strains of two novel Pseudoxanthomonas species, for which the names Pseudoxanthomonas koreensis sp. nov. and Pseudoxanthomonas daejeonensis sp. nov., respectively, are proposed.

  17. Early life stress accelerates behavioral and neural maturation of the hippocampus in male mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bath, K; Manzano-Nieves, G; Goodwill, H

    2016-06-01

    Early life stress (ELS) increases the risk for later cognitive and emotional dysfunction. ELS is known to truncate neural development through effects on suppressing cell birth, increasing cell death, and altering neuronal morphology, effects that have been associated with behavioral profiles indicative of precocious maturation. However, how earlier silencing of growth drives accelerated behavioral maturation has remained puzzling. Here, we test the novel hypothesis that, ELS drives a switch from growth to maturation to accelerate neural and behavioral development. To test this, we used a mouse model of ELS, fragmented maternal care, and a cross-sectional dense sampling approach focusing on hippocampus and measured effects of ELS on the ontogeny of behavioral development and biomarkers of neural maturation. Consistent with previous work, ELS was associated with an earlier developmental decline in expression of markers of cell proliferation (Ki-67) and differentiation (doublecortin). However, ELS also led to a precocious arrival of Parvalbumin-positive cells, led to an earlier switch in NMDA receptor subunit expression (marker of synaptic maturity), and was associated with an earlier rise in myelin basic protein expression (key component of the myelin sheath). In addition, in a contextual fear-conditioning task, ELS accelerated the timed developmental suppression of contextual fear. Together, these data provide support for the hypothesis that ELS serves to switch neurodevelopment from processes of growth to maturation and promotes accelerated development of some forms of emotional learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Maturity acceleration of Italian dried sausage by Staphylococcus carnosus - Relationship between maturity and flavor compounds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stahnke, Louise Heller; Holck, A.; Jensen, Anni

    2002-01-01

    . Sausages with S. carnosus 833 matured more than 2 wk faster than control sausages. Maturity correlated significantly with higher amounts of branched-chain aldehydes and alcohols and both branched- and straight-chain methyl ketones-compounds arising from the breakdown of the amino acids leucine, isoleucine...

  19. Description of spinal findings and determining the MR positive spondylitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penkov, M.

    2015-01-01

    Full text: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is an umbrella term applied to a family of rheumatic diseases that have both features in common with, as well as being distinct from, other inflammatory arthritides, particularly rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recently, the ASAS working group established classification criteria to distinguish 2 broad categories of SpA: peripheral SpA and axSpA (Rudwaleit, 2011; Rudwaleit, 2010; Rudwaleit, 2009c). This division is based on the body part predominantly involved in the inflammatory process and those areas of the body that may respond similarly well to medication. Therefore, peripheral SpA includes diseases affecting mainly peripheral joints, such as reactive arthritis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), whereas axSpA comprises those diseases with mainly axial involvement (sacroiliac joints and spine), including ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and nonradiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA). Patients with AS have definitive evidence of structural changes in the sacroiliac joint (sacroiliitis) on x-ray, fulfilling the Modified New York classification criteria (mNY-positive) (van der linden, 1984), whereas in those with nr-axSpA structural changes on conventional radiographs do not meet the mNy criteria (mNY-negative) (Rudwaleit, 2005; Dougados, 1991). Axial SpA is a chronic inflammatory disease that impacts a substantial proportion of the population. Limited evidence exists regarding the exact prevalence of axSpA. In the US, however, recent data suggest that the prevalence is similar to that of RA (axSpA: 0.7% to 1.4%; RA: 0.5% to 1.0%) (Reveille; 2012; Myasoedova, 2010; Helmick, 2008). In patients with axSpA, the disease typically originates in the sacroiliac joints, then progresses to the spine. In the sacroiliac joints and the spine, active inflammation results in erosions, sclerosis, and fatty lesions. However, the most characteristic feature is new bone formation leading to ankylosis of the sacroiliac joints and syndesmophytes attached to the vertebral

  20. Penggunaan Streptomyces sp. Sebagai Biokontrol Penyakit Layu Pada Tanaman Cabai Merah (Capsicum annuum L. yang Disebabkan Oleh Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. capsici

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANINDA OKTAVIA RAHARINI

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A research has been conducted to find out Streptomyces bacteria at Bukit Jimbaran, to inhibitionpotency of Streptomyces sp. to pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. capsici, and to find outantifungal activity of Streptomyces filtrate to F.oxysporum f.sp. capsici in chili (Capsicum annuumL. plants. Streptomyces sp. isolation was done by platting method with selective media YMA (ISP4.Identification of Streptomyces sp. used Bergey’s book entitled Manual Determinative Bacteriology.Test inhibition against F.oxysporum f.sp. capsici and in vivo test used by dying the roots of the chili(C.annuum L. plant with F.oxysporum f.sp. capsici and after 30 seconds the roots were dying withStreptomyces sp. culture, furthermore sterile soil on polybag watered by F.oxysporum f.sp. capsicispore and Streptomyces sp. culture at the same time. The result found five isolates Streptomyces sp.with different morphological. The antagonis test showed Streptomyces sp. 4 had ability (82% againstFusarium, Streptomyces sp.1 (72%, Streptomyces sp.2 (64%, Streptomyces sp.3 (76%, andStreptomyces sp. 5 (32%. All Streptomyces suppressed the growth of Fusarium on chili plants inglass house (p<0,05. Streptomyces sp.4 suppressed Fusarium wilt disease in chili from 80% in controlto 8%.

  1. A PACS maturity model: a systematic meta-analytic review on maturation and evolvability of PACS in the hospital enterprise.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wetering, R. van de; Batenburg, R.

    2009-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: With PACS and medical imaging technology maturing, the importance of organizational maturity and effective deployment of PACS in the hospital enterprise are becoming significant. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is twofold. Firstly, PACS literature on maturity and evolvability in

  2. Design of a Single-Cell Positioning Controller Using Electroosmotic Flow and Image Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jhong-Yin Chen

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the current research was not only to provide a fast and automatic positioning platform for single cells, but also improved biomolecular manipulation techniques. In this study, an automatic platform for cell positioning using electroosmotic flow and image processing technology was designed. The platform was developed using a PCI image acquisition interface card for capturing images from a microscope and then transferring them to a computer using human-machine interface software. This software was designed by the Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench, a graphical language for finding cell positions and viewing the driving trace, and the fuzzy logic method for controlling the voltage or time of an electric field. After experiments on real human leukemic cells (U-937, the success of the cell positioning rate achieved by controlling the voltage factor reaches 100% within 5 s. A greater precision is obtained when controlling the time factor, whereby the success rate reaches 100% within 28 s. Advantages in both high speed and high precision are attained if these two voltage and time control methods are combined. The control speed with the combined method is about 5.18 times greater than that achieved by the time method, and the control precision with the combined method is more than five times greater than that achieved by the voltage method.

  3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY: AN ASSESSMENT OF MATURITY FOR DEVELOPING PILOT PLANTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.K. Mittermaier

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available

    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite the current economic climate, the South African mining and engineering industry is experiencing a very promising future, with a large number of capital projects in the offing. It is inevitable that pilot plant development will form part of this future as a risk mitigation technique. This study found that, even though the terms ‘pilot plant’ and ‘project management maturity’ are familiar within the industry, no link between these two could be found in the literature. A number of maturity models exist; and one developed by PMSolutions was selected to perform an assessment of the current level of project management maturity within the South African mining and engineering industry pertaining to the development of pilot plants. The Delphi technique was used to determine the views of experts in the South African mining, mineral processing, petrochemical, nuclear, and mechanical sectors regarding this maturity. A significant difference was observed between the current level of maturity and the required level of maturity in all but one of the nine knowledge areas defined by the Project Management Institute. The two knowledge areas of project time and risk management showed significant differences between current and required maturity levels, and were identified as key areas for improvement.

    AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ten spyte van die huidige ekonomiese klimaat ondervind die Suid-Afrikaanse mynbou- en ingenieursbedryf ’n baie bemoedigende toekoms, met ’n groot aantal kapitaalprojekte in die vooruitsig. Ten einde risiko’s te verlaag, sal die ontwikkeling van loodsaanlegte noodwendig deel van hierdie toekoms uitmaak. Daar is gevind dat, alhoewel die terme ‘loodsaanleg’ en ‘projekbestuur volwassenheid’ in die nywerheid bekend is, geen skakeling van hierdie twee terme in die literatuur opgespoor kon word nie. ’n Aantal volwassenheid modelle bestaan; en een wat deur PMSolutions ontwikkel is, is gekies om

  4. Guide til gode spørgeskemaer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Henning

    Spørgeskemaundersøgelser bliver ofte brugt til at dokumentere forskellige forhold og begrunde politiske beslutninger. Men resultaterne kan være forbundet med stor usikkerhed. Det kræver omhu og stor sproglig formåen at udarbejde spørgeskemaer. Seniorforsker Henning Olsen har i flere år arbejdet med...... viden om, hvordan folk forstår sproglige meddelelser og genkalder sig informationer. I guiden behandles emner som fx styrende problemstillinger og spørgsmåls fokus og neutralitet, formulering af åbne eller lukkede spørgsmål og svarkategorier, tematiske spørgeforløb, aflastning af svarpersoners...

  5. Maturation of the human fetal startle response: evidence for sex-specific maturation of the human fetus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buss, Claudia; Davis, Elysia Poggi; Class, Quetzal A; Gierczak, Matt; Pattillo, Carol; Glynn, Laura M; Sandman, Curt A

    2009-10-01

    Despite the evidence for early fetal experience exerting programming influences on later neurological development and health risk, very few prospective studies of human fetal behavior have been reported. In a prospective longitudinal study, fetal nervous system maturation was serially assessed by monitoring fetal heart rate (FHR) responses to vibroacoustic stimulation (VAS) in 191 maternal/fetal dyads. Responses were not detected at 26 weeks gestational age (GA). Sex-specific, age-characteristic changes in the FHR response to VAS were observed by 31 weeks' GA. Males showed larger responses and continued to exhibit maturational changes until 37 weeks' GA, females however, presented with a mature FHR startle response by 31 weeks' GA. The results indicate that there are different rates of maturation in the male and female fetuses that may have implications for sex-specific programming influences.

  6. [Synthesis of exo-β-glucosaminidase BY FUNGUS Penicillium sp. IB-37-2].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktuganov, G E; Galimzyanova, N F; Teregulova, G A; Melentjev, A I

    2016-01-01

    A new strain Penicillium sp. IB-37-2, which actively hydrolyzes chitosan (SD ∼80–85%) but possesses low activity against colloidal chitin, was isolated. The fungus was observed to have a high level chitosanase biosynthesis (1.5–3.0 U/mL) during submerged cultivation at 28°C, with a pH of 3.5–7.0 and 220 rpm in nutrient media containing chitosan or chitin from shells of crabs. Purification of the chitosanase enzyme complex from Penicillium sp. IB-37-2 by ultrafiltration and hydrophobic chromatography, followed by denaturing electrophoresis, revealed two predominant proteins with molecular weights of 89 and 41 kDa. The purified enzyme complex demonstrated maximal activity (maximal rate of hydrolysis of dissolved chitosan) and stability at 50–55°C and a pH of 3.5–4.0. The enzyme preparation also hydrolyzed laminarin, β-(1,3)-(1,4)-glycan, and colloidal chitin. Exohydrolysis of chitosan by the preparation isolated from Penicillium sp. IB-37-2 resulted in the formation of single product, D-glucosamine.

  7. Assessment of skeletal maturation using mandibular second molar maturation stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, S; Goyal, S; Gugnani, N

    2014-01-01

    To investigate the relationship between cervical vertebrae maturation and mandibular second molar calcification stages. The study was designed as a retrospective, descriptive and crosssectional research project. Pre-treatment lateral cephalograms and panoramic radiographs of 99 males and 110 females in the age range of 7 to 18 years 7 months were evaluated with Demirjian Index (DI) and cervical vertebrae maturation indicators (CVMI) of Hassel and Farman. A null hypothesis was proposed that there is no relation between CVMI and DI. A highly significant association (Pearson's contingency coefficient 0.713 for males and 0.863 for females) was found between DI and CVMI. In males, the DI stage E corresponded to stage 2 of CVMI (pre-peak of pubertal growth spurt) and DI stages F and G corresponded to stages 3 and 4 of CVMI (peak of pubertal growth spurt). DI stage H was associated with stages 5 and 6 of CVMI (end of pubertal growth spurt). In females, the DI stages C, D corresponded to CVMI stages 1, 2; DI stages E, F with CVMI stages 3, 4; DI stages G, H with CVMI stages 5, 6. Mandibular second molar calcification stages can be used as indicators for assessment of skeletal maturity.

  8. Realization of Arbitrary Positive-Operator-Value Measurement of Single Atomic Qubit via Cavity QED

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Han; Wei, Wu; Chun-Wang, Wu; Hong-Yi, Dai; Cheng-Zu, Li

    2008-01-01

    Positive-operator-value measurement (POVM) is the most general class of quantum measurement. We propose a scheme to deterministically implement arbitrary POVMs of single atomic qubit via cavity QED catalysed by only one ancilla atomic qubit. By appropriately entangling two atomic qubits and sequentially measuring the ancilla qubit, any POVM can be implemented step by step. As an application of our scheme, the realization of a specific POVM for optimal unambiguous discrimination (OUD) between two nonorthogonal states is given

  9. Realization of Arbitrary Positive-Operator-Value Measurement of Single Atomic Qubit via Cavity QED

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Yang; Wu, Wei; Wu, Chun-Wang; Dai, Hong-Yi; Li, Cheng-Zu

    2008-12-01

    Positive-operator-value measurement (POVM) is the most general class of quantum measurement. We propose a scheme to deterministically implement arbitrary POVMs of single atomic qubit via cavity QED catalysed by only one ancilla atomic qubit. By appropriately entangling two atomic qubits and sequentially measuring the ancilla qubit, any POVM can be implemented step by step. As an application of our scheme, the realization of a specific POVM for optimal unambiguous discrimination (OUD) between two nonorthogonal states is given.

  10. DISTRIBUSI Solen sp DI PERAIRAN KABUPATEN BANGKALAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Ari Wahyuni

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available DISTRIBUTION OF Solen sp IN BANGKALAN WATERSSolen sp potential needs to be developed on the island of Madura, particularly in Bangkalan. Solen sp utilization has increased which has the potential to overfishing. Therefore, this study aims to determine the density of Solen sp and their ecology in the waters Modung village, Modung District, Bangkalan. The experiment was conducted in April 2015 using the descriptive method. The materials used include Solen sp and physico-chemical parameters of the environment (temperature, salinity, pH, and substrate. The analyzes were conducted at the Laboratory of Marine Science, Department of Marine Sciences, Trunojoyo University of Madura by using the tool grabsampler, sieveshaker, and pipetting with gravimetric method. The analysis shows the range of values of temperature between 29-300C, salinity between 31-32 ppt, pH were 7.9-8.0 and the type of substrate in the form of sandy mud, as well as the density of Solen sp from 8-10 individuals/m2. All measurement results indicate normal conditions and in accordance with the sea water quality standard for marine life, which can be a suitable habitat for the growth and development of Solen sp. This condition is thought to affect the density of Solen sp.Keywords: Bangkalan, density, distribution, Solen sp, substrate.ABSTRAKPotensi Solen sp perlu dikembangkan di pulau Madura, khususnya di Kabupaten Bangkalan. Pemanfaatan Solen sp mengalami peningkatan sehingga berpotensi overfishing. Untuk itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kepadatan Solen sp dan ekologinya di perairan desa Modung, Kecamatan Modung, Kabupaten Bangkalan. Penelitian dilaksanakan pada bulan April 2015 dengan metode deskriptif. Materi dan bahan yang digunakan diantaranya Solen sp dan parameter fisika-kimia lingkungan (suhu, salinitas, pH, dan substrat. Analisa dilakukan di Laboratorium Ilmu Kelautan, Program studi/Jurusan Ilmu Kelautan Universitas Trunojoyo Madura dengan menggunakan alat

  11. Lactobacillus paralimentarius sp. nov., isolated from sourdough.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Y; Okada, H; Mori, H; Benno, Y; Nakase, T

    1999-10-01

    Six strains of lactic acid bacteria isolated from sourdough were characterized taxonomically. They were Gram-positive, catalase-negative, facultatively anaerobic rods that did not produce gas from glucose. Morphological and physiological data indicated that the strains belong to the genus Lactobacillus and they were similar to Lactobacillus alimentarius in phenotypic characteristics. These strains shared the same phenotypic characteristics and exhibited intragroup DNA homology values of over 89.8%, indicating that they comprised a single species. The G + C content of the DNA for the strains was 37.2-38.0 mol%. The 16S rRNA sequence of representative strain TB 1T was determined and aligned with that of other Lactobacillus species. This strain was placed in the genus Lactobacillus on the basis of phylogenetic analysis. L. alimentarius was the most closely related species in the phylogenetic tree and this species also showed the highest sequence homology value (96%) with strain TB 1T. DNA-DNA hybridization indicated that strain TB 1T did not belong to L. alimentarius. It is proposed that these strains are placed in the genus Lactobacillus as a new species, Lactobacillus paralimentarius sp. nov. The type strain of L. paralimentarius is TB 1T, which has been deposited in the Japan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM) as strain JCM 10415T.

  12. A Set Theoretical Approach to Maturity Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lasrado, Lester; Vatrapu, Ravi; Andersen, Kim Normann

    2016-01-01

    characterized by equifinality, multiple conjunctural causation, and case diversity. We prescribe methodological guidelines consisting of a six-step procedure to systematically apply set theoretic methods to conceptualize, develop, and empirically derive maturity models and provide a demonstration......Maturity Model research in IS has been criticized for the lack of theoretical grounding, methodological rigor, empirical validations, and ignorance of multiple and non-linear paths to maturity. To address these criticisms, this paper proposes a novel set-theoretical approach to maturity models...

  13. A maturity model for blockchain adoption

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Huaiqing; Chen, Kun; Xu, Dongming

    2016-01-01

    Background: The rapid development of the blockchain technology and its various applications has rendered it important to understand the guidelines for adopting it. Methods: The comparative analysis method is used to analyze different dimensions of the maturity model, which is mainly based on the commonly used capability maturity model. Results: The blockchain maturity model and its adoption process have been discussed and presented. Conclusions: This study serves as a guide to institutions to...

  14. Endosulfan induced alteration in bacterial protein profile and RNA yield of Klebsiella sp. M3, Achromobacter sp. M6, and Rhodococcus sp. M2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Madhu; Singh, Dileep Kumar

    2014-01-30

    Three bacterial strains identified as Klebsiella sp. M3, Achromobacter sp. M6 and Rhodococcus sp. M2 were isolated by soil enrichment with endosulfan followed by shake flask enrichment technique. They were efficiently degrading endosulfan in the NSM (non sulfur medium) broth. Degradation of endosulfan was faster with the cell free extract of bacterial cells grown in the sulfur deficient medium (NSM) supplemented with endosulfan than that of nutrient rich medium (Luria Bertani). In the cell free extract of NSM supplemented with endosulfan as sole sulfur source, a unique band was visualized on SDS-PAGE but not with magnesium sulfate as the sole sulfur source in NSM and LB with endosulfan. Expression of a unique polypeptide band was speculated to be induced by endosulfan under sulfur starved condition. These unique polypeptide bands were identified as OmpK35 protein, sulfate binding protein and outer membrane porin protein, respectively, in Klebsiella sp. M3, Achromobacter sp. M6 and Rhodococcus sp. M2. Endosulfan showed dose dependent negative effect on total RNA yield of bacterial strains in nutrient rich medium. Absence of plasmid DNA indicated the presence of endosulfan metabolizing gene on genomic DNA. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. SP-A binding sites on bovine alveolar macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plaga, S; Plattner, H; Schlepper-Schaefer, J

    1998-11-25

    Surfactant protein A (SP-A) binding to bovine alveolar macrophages was examined in order to characterize SP-A binding proteins on the cell surface and to isolate putative receptors from these cells that could be obtained in large amounts. Human SP-A, unlabeled or labeled with gold particles, was bound to freshly isolated macrophages and analyzed with ELISA or the transmission electron microscope. Binding of SP-A was inhibited by Ca2+ chelation, by an excess of unlabeled SP-A, or by the presence of 20 mg/ml mannan. We conclude that bovine alveolar macrophages expose binding sites for SP-A that are specific and that depend on Ca2+ and on mannose residues. For isolation of SP-A receptors with homologous SP-A as ligand we isolated SP-A from bovine lung lavage. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified SP-A showed a protein of 32-36 kDa. Functional integrity of the protein was demonstrated. Bovine SP-A bound to Dynabeads was used to isolate SP-A binding proteins. From the fractionated and blotted proteins of the receptor preparation two proteins bound SP-A in a Ca2+-dependent manner, a 40-kDa protein showing mannose dependency and a 210-kDa protein, showing no mannose sensitivity. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

  16. First record of Babesia sp. in Antarctic penguins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montero, Estrella; González, Luis Miguel; Chaparro, Alberto; Benzal, Jesús; Bertellotti, Marcelo; Masero, José A; Colominas-Ciuró, Roger; Vidal, Virginia; Barbosa, Andrés

    2016-04-01

    This is the first reported case of Babesia sp. in Antarctic penguins, specifically a population of Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) in the Vapour Col penguin rookery in Deception Island, South Shetlands, Antarctica. We collected peripheral blood from 50 adult and 30 chick Chinstrap penguins. Examination of the samples by microscopy showed intraerythrocytic forms morphologically similar to other avian Babesia species in 12 Chinstrap penguin adults and seven chicks. The estimated parasitaemias ranged from 0.25×10(-2)% to 0.75×10(-2)%. Despite the low number of parasites found in blood smears, semi-nested PCR assays yielded a 274 bp fragment in 12 of the 19 positive blood samples found by microscopy. Sequencing revealed that the fragment was 97% similar to Babesia sp. 18S rRNA from Australian Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) confirming presence of the parasite. Parasite prevalence estimated by microscopy in adults and chicks was higher (24% vs. 23.3%, respectively) than found by semi-nested PCR (16% vs. 13.3% respectively). Although sampled penguins were apparently healthy, the effect of Babesia infection in these penguins is unknown. The identification of Babesia sp. in Antarctic penguins is an important finding. Ixodes uriae, as the only tick species present in the Antarctic Peninsula, is the key to understanding the natural history of this parasite. Future work should address the transmission dynamics and pathogenicity of Babesia sp. in Chinstrap penguin as well as in other penguin species, such as Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) and Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), present within the tick distribution range in the Antarctic Peninsula. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  17. ALTERNATIVE OAK IN THE MATURATION OF WINES CABERNET SAUVIGNON

    OpenAIRE

    T. B. Hamm; R. A. G. Kohn; E. P. Pinto; L. Lucchetta; V. Manfroi; C. V. Rombaldi

    2014-01-01

    The wine maturation with classic oak is a practice used for a long time, but recently the alternative means (fragments) has been used for its lower cost and practicality. In this study, the alternative wooden barrel was evaluated sit tested two types of oak fragment (chip and cube) and two doses (1 and 2 g L-1). The variables analyzed were as physicochemical characteristics and sensory analysis. The wines showed positive characteristics in general quality, highlighting the conditions of body ...

  18. Interactions of protamine with the marine bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas sp. NCIMB 2021.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pustam, A; Smith, C; Deering, C; Grosicki, K M T; Leng, T Y; Lin, S; Yang, J; Pink, D; Gill, T; Graham, L; Derksen, D; Bishop, C; Demont, M E; Wyeth, R C; Smith-Palmer, T

    2014-03-01

    Pseudoalteromonas sp. NCIMB 2021 (NCIMB 2021) was grown in synthetic seawater (SSW) containing pyruvate, in the presence (SSW(++) ) and absence (SSW(-) ) of divalent cations. Cultures contained single cells. Addition of the cationic antibacterial peptide (CAP), protamine, did not inhibit, but rather increased, the growth of NCIMB 2021 in SSW(++) and caused the bacteria to grow in chains. Bacterial growth was assessed using turbidity, cell counts and the sodium salt of resazurin. In SSW(-) , NCIMB 2021 was no longer resistant to protamine. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 5 mg ml(-1) . Protamine is a cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAP), which is active against a variety of bacteria. This is the first in-depth study of the interaction of protamine with a marine bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas sp. NCIMB 2021. Our results show that protamine is only active in seawater in the absence of divalent cations. In the presence of the divalent cations, Mg(2+) and Ca(2+) , protamine enhances the growth of Pseudoalteromonas sp. NCIMB 2021 and produces chains rather than individual cells. These are important considerations when deciding on applications for protamine and in terms of understanding its mechanism of action. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  19. Intact cell MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry on single bovine oocyte and follicular cells combined with top-down proteomics: A novel approach to characterise markers of oocyte maturation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labas, Valérie; Teixeira-Gomes, Ana-Paula; Bouguereau, Laura; Gargaros, Audrey; Spina, Lucie; Marestaing, Aurélie; Uzbekova, Svetlana

    2018-03-20

    Intact cell MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (ICM-MS) was adapted to bovine follicular cells from individual ovarian follicles to obtain the protein/peptide signatures (top-down workflow using high resolution MS/MS (TD HR-MS) was performed on the protein extracts from oocytes, CC and GC. The TD HR-MS proteomic approach allowed for: (1) identification of 386 peptide/proteoforms encoded by 194 genes; and (2) characterisation of proteolysis products likely resulting from the action of kallikreins and caspases. In total, 136 peaks observed by ICM-MS were annotated by TD HR-MS (ProteomeXchange PXD004892). Among these, 16 markers of maturation were identified, including IGF2 binding protein 3 and hemoglobin B in the oocyte, thymosins beta-4 and beta-10, histone H2B and ubiquitin in CC. The combination of ICM-MS and TD HR-MS proved to be a suitable strategy to identify non-invasive markers of oocyte quality using limited biological samples. Intact cell MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry on single oocytes and their surrounding cumulus cells, coupled to an optimised top-down HR-MS proteomic approach on ovarian follicular cells, was used to identify specific markers of oocyte meiotic maturation represented by whole low molecular weight proteins or products of degradation by specific proteases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Remote sensing data of SP Mountain and SP Lava flow in North-Central Arizona

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaber, G.G.; Elachi, C.; Farr, T.G.

    1980-01-01

    Multifrequency airborne radar image data of SP Mountain [Official name of feature (U.S. Geological Survey, 1970)] and SP flow (and vicinity) in north-central Arizona were obtained in diverse viewing directions and direct and cross-polarization, then compared with surface and aerial photography, LANDSAT multispectral scanner data, airborne thermal infrared imagery, surface geology, and surface roughness statistics. The extremely blocky, basaltic andesite of SP flow is significantly brighter on direct-polarization K-band (0.9-cm wavelength) images than on cross-polarized images taken simultaneously. Conversely, for the longer wavelength (25 cm) L-band radar images, the cross-polarization image returns from SP flow are brighter than the direct-polarized image. This effect is explained by multiple scattering and the strong wavelength dependence of polarization effects caused by the rectilinear basaltic andesite scatters. Two distinct types of surface relief on SP flow, one extremely blocky, the other subdued, are found to be clearly discriminated on the visible and thermal wavelength images but are separable only on the longer wavelength L-band radar image data. The inability of the K- and X- (3-cm wavelength) band radars to portray the differences in roughness between the two SP flow surface units is attributed to the radar frequency dependence of the surface-relief scale, which, described as the Rayleigh criterion, represents the transition between quasispecular and primarily diffuse backscatter. ?? 1980.

  1. Dynamic strength of the interaction between lung surfactant protein D (SP-D) and saccharide ligands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thormann, Esben; Dreyer, Jakob K; Simonsen, Adam C

    2007-01-01

    In order to investigate the dynamic strength of the interaction between lung surfactant protein D (SP-D) and different sugars, maltose, mannose, glucose, and galactose, we have used an atomic force microscope to monitor the interaction on a single molecule scale. The experiment is performed...

  2. Nucleotide fluctuation of radiation-resistant Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 single-stranded DNA-binding protein (RPA) genes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holden, Todd; Tremberger, G., Jr.; Cheung, E.; Subramaniam, R.; Gadura, N.; Schneider, P.; Sullivan, R.; Flamholz, A.; Lieberman, D.; Cheung, T. D.

    2009-08-01

    The Single-Stranded DNA-Binding Protein (RPA) Genes in gamma ray radiation-resistant halophilic archaeon Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 were analyzed in terms of their nucleotide fluctuations. In an ATCG sequence, each base was assigned a number equal to its atomic number. The resulting numerical sequence was the basis of the statistical analysis in this study. Fractal analysis using the Higuchi method gave fractal dimensions of 2.04 and 2.06 for the gene sequences VNG2160 and VNG2162, respectively. The 16S rRNA sequence has a fractal dimension of 1.99. The di-nucleotide Shannon entropy values were found to be negatively correlated with the observed fractal dimensions (R2~ 0.992, N=3). Inclusion of Deinococcus radiodurans Rad-A in the regression analysis decreases the R2 slightly to 0.98 (N=4). A third VNG2163 RPA gene of unknown function but with upregulation activity under irradiation was found to have a fractal dimension of 2.05 and a Shannon entropy of 3.77 bits. The above results are similar to those found in bacterial Deinococcus radiodurans and suggest that their high radiation resistance property would have favored selection of CG di-nucleotide pairs. The two transcription factors TbpD (VNG7114) and TfbA (VNG 2184) were also studied. Using VNG7114, VNG2184, and VNG2163; the regression analysis of fractal dimension versus Shannon entropy shows that R2 ~ 0.997 for N =3. The VNG2163 unknown function may be related to the pathways with transcriptions closely regulated to sequences VNG7114 and VNG2184.

  3. AFM-based force spectroscopy measurements of mature amyloid fibrils of the peptide glucagon

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dong, M. D.; Hovgaard, M. B.; Mamdouh, W.

    2008-01-01

    We report on the mechanical characterization of individual mature amyloid fibrils by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and AFM-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS). These self-assembling materials, formed from the 29-residue amphiphatic peptide hormone glucagon, were found to display...... a reversible elastic behaviour. Based on AFM morphology and SMFS studies, we suggest that the observed elasticity is due to a force-induced conformational transition which is reversible due to the beta-helical conformation of protofibrils, allowing a high degree of extension. The elastic properties...... of such mature fibrils contribute to their high stability, suggesting that the internal hydrophobic interactions of amyloid fibrils are likely to be of fundamental importance in the assembly of amyloid fibrils and therefore for the understanding of the progression of their associated pathogenic disorders...

  4. Anatomy of virgin and mature externae of Loxothylacus texanus, parasitic on the dark blue crab Callinectes rathbunae (Crustacea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alvarez, Fernando; Bortolini, José Luis; Høeg, Jens Thorvald

    2010-01-01

    the reproductive biology and the taxonomy of these specialized parasites. We use scanning electron microscopy and histological methods to study the anatomy of juvenile and the mature externae of the rhizocephalan barnacle Loxothylacus texanus parasitizing the blue crab Callinectes rathbunae. We put emphasis......, as is characteristic for the genus Loxothylacus. The internal anatomy of the mature externa of L. texanus is in most features similar to that seen in other species of the Sacculinidae, which comprises the majority of rhizocephalan species. However, the single receptacle creates a situation where the two implanted...

  5. Bacillus niameyensis sp. nov., a new bacterial species isolated from human gut

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Tidjani Alou

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Bacillus niameyensis sp. nov. strain SIT3T (= CSUR P1266 = DSM 29725 is the type strain of B. niameyensis sp. nov. This Gram-positive strain was isolated from the digestive flora of a child with kwashiorkor and is a facultative anaerobic rod and a member of the Bacillaceae family. This organism is hereby described alongside its complete genome sequence and annotation. The 4  286  116 bp long genome (one chromosome but no plasmid contains 4130 protein-coding and 66 RNA genes including five rRNA genes.

  6. Noncontiguous finished genome sequence and description of Nocardioides massiliensis sp. nov. GD13T

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Dubourg

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Nocardioides massiliensis sp. nov strain GD13T is the type strain of N. massiliensis sp. nov., a new species within the genus Nocardioides. This strain was isolated from the faeces of a 62-year-old man admitted to intensive care for Guillain-Barré syndrome. Nocardioides massiliensis is a strictly aerobic Gram-positive rod. Herein we describe the features of this bacterium, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 4 006 620 bp long genome contains 4132 protein-coding and 47 RNA genes.

  7. Impact of serum SP-A and SP-D levels on comparison and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kai; Ju, Qing; Cao, Jing; Tang, Wenze; Zhang, Jian

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background and objective: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has a poor prognosis in general; however, it is heterogeneous to detect relative biomarkers for predicting the disease progression. Serum biomarkers can be conveniently collected to detect and help to differentially diagnose IPF and predict IPF prognosis. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the use of serum surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A and SP-D) for differential diagnosis and prognosis of IPF. Methods: Relevant articles were searched in PubMed, Embase, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases and reviewed by 2 independent readers. Standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the difference in serum levels of SP-A/D among patients with IPF, when compared to patients with non-IPF interstitial lung disease (ILD), pulmonary infection, and healthy control. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI were used to compare the relative risk of mortality. Results: Twenty-one articles (totalling 1289 IPF patients) were included in final meta-analysis. Serum SP-A levels were significantly higher in patients with IPF than in patients with non-IPF ILD (SMD: 1.108 [0.584, 1.632], P infection (SMD: 1.320 [0.999, 1.640], P SMD: 2.802 [1.901, 3.702], P SMD: 0.459 [−0.000, 0.919], P = .050). Serum SP-D levels were significantly higher in patients with IPF than in patients with pulmonary infection (SMD: 1.308 [0.813, 1.803], P SMD: 2.235 [1.739, 2.731], P < .001). Risk of death in patients with IPF and elevated serum SP-A was increased 39% compared to patients with low SP-A groups. Elevated SP-D increased risk by 111% when compared to low SP-D. In acute exacerbation of IPF, serum SP-A/D were higher than those in stable stage. The comparisons and prognosis might be different in Asian and Caucasian patients. Conclusions: Serum SP-A/D detection might be useful for differential diagnosis and prediction of survival in patients with IPF. PMID:28591049

  8. Simultaneous Production of Anabaenopeptins and Namalides by the Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. CENA543.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shishido, Tânia K; Jokela, Jouni; Fewer, David P; Wahlsten, Matti; Fiore, Marli F; Sivonen, Kaarina

    2017-11-17

    Anabaenopeptins are a diverse group of cyclic peptides, which contain an unusual ureido linkage. Namalides are shorter structural homologues of anabaenopeptins, which also contain an ureido linkage. The biosynthetic origins of namalides are unknown despite a strong resemblance to anabaenopeptins. Here, we show the cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. CENA543 strain producing new (nostamide B-E (2, 4, 5, and 6)) and known variants of anabaenopeptins (schizopeptin 791 (1) and anabaenopeptin 807 (3)). Surprisingly, Nostoc sp. CENA543 also produced namalide B (8) and the new namalides D (7), E (9), and F (10) in similar amounts to anabaenopeptins. Analysis of the complete Nostoc sp. CENA543 genome sequence indicates that both anabaenopeptins and namalides are produced by the same biosynthetic pathway through module skipping during biosynthesis. This unique process involves the skipping of two modules present in different nonribosomal peptide synthetases during the namalide biosynthesis. This skipping is an efficient mechanism since both anabaenopeptins and namalides are synthesized in similar amounts by Nostoc sp. CENA543. Consequently, gene skipping may be used to increase and possibly broaden the chemical diversity of related peptides produced by a single biosynthetic gene cluster. Genome mining demonstrated that the anabaenopeptin gene clusters are widespread in cyanobacteria and can also be found in tectomicrobia bacteria.

  9. Actin- and dynamin-dependent maturation of bulk endocytosis restores neurotransmission following synaptic depletion.

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    Tam H Nguyen

    Full Text Available Bulk endocytosis contributes to the maintenance of neurotransmission at the amphibian neuromuscular junction by regenerating synaptic vesicles. How nerve terminals internalize adequate portions of the presynaptic membrane when bulk endocytosis is initiated before the end of a sustained stimulation is unknown. A maturation process, occurring at the end of the stimulation, is hypothesised to precisely restore the pools of synaptic vesicles. Using confocal time-lapse microscopy of FM1-43-labeled nerve terminals at the amphibian neuromuscular junction, we confirm that bulk endocytosis is initiated during a sustained tetanic stimulation and reveal that shortly after the end of the stimulation, nerve terminals undergo a maturation process. This includes a transient bulging of the plasma membrane, followed by the development of large intraterminal FM1-43-positive donut-like structures comprising large bulk membrane cisternae surrounded by recycling vesicles. The degree of bulging increased with stimulation frequency and the plasmalemma surface retrieved following the transient bulging correlated with the surface membrane internalized in bulk cisternae and recycling vesicles. Dyngo-4a, a potent dynamin inhibitor, did not block the initiation, but prevented the maturation of bulk endocytosis. In contrast, cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of actin polymerization, hindered both the initiation and maturation processes. Both inhibitors hampered the functional recovery of neurotransmission after synaptic depletion. Our data confirm that initiation of bulk endocytosis occurs during stimulation and demonstrates that a delayed maturation process controlled by actin and dynamin underpins the coupling between exocytosis and bulk endocytosis.

  10. Realization of arbitrary positive-operator-value measurement of single atomic qubit via cavity QED

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Yang; Wu Wei; Wu Chunwang; Dai Hongyi; Li Chengzu

    2008-01-01

    Positive-operator-value measurement (POVM) is the most general class of quantum measurement. We propose a scheme to deterministically implement arbitrary POVMs of single atomic qubit via cavity QED catalysed by only one ancilla atomic qubit. By appropriately entangling two atomic qubits and sequentially measuring the ancilla qubit, any POVM can be implemented step by step. As an application of our scheme, the realization of a specific POVM for optimal unambiguous discrimination (OUD) between two nonorthogonal states is given. (authors)

  11. Social Representations of the Process of Ageing in Young and Mature Romanian Adults

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    Gherman, M.A.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research was to investigate Romanians’ social representations of ageing and positive ageing, as well as the variations of these social representations according to the age and gender of the participants in what regards the centrality of the components and basic cognitive scheme activations. Study 1 was conducted on 80 participants who filled in two associative map tasks (Dafinoiu & Crumpei, 2013 that had as inductors “ageing” and, respectively, “positive ageing”. Results have shown a notable variation between the two social representations, in the sense that the latter was entirely made up of positive associations, whereas the former comprised both positive and negative associations. The second study was conducted on another sample of 80 participants (20 young adult men and 20 young adult women and, respectively, 20 mature adult men and 20 mature adult women and it found by employing the questioning principle (“mise-en-cause”, Moliner, 1994 that two core elements of the social representation of ageing vary in centrality according to the age of the participants. Moreover, variations across age were also encountered in the overall activation of basic cognitive schemes as well as in the activation of the three dimensions: Description, Praxis and Attribution / Evaluation (Rateau, 1995. Results are discussed in the light of their contribution to the social representations theory.

  12. Structural Analysis of Planar sp3 and sp2 Films: Diamond-Like Carbon and Graphene Overlayers

    KAUST Repository

    Mansour, Ahmed

    2011-07-07

    smooth and sp3-rich DLC films on model Si substrates. Graphene has attracted worldwide attention since its recent discovery in 2004, due to its extraordinary properties. One of the most promising applications of graphene is its use as a transparent conducting electrode in photovoltaic and display applications. Unfortunately, large scale deposition of graphene is still a challenge and a limiting factor. Solution processing of graphene oxide, a type of chemically derived graphene that forms well dispersed single sheet solutions, is an easy method of depositing large scale graphene films. Subsequent reduction allows recovering part of the properties of graphene. However, residual defects and oxide groups remain in the sheet even after optimal reduction processes, making it difficult to achieve the extraordinary electrical and transport properties of graphene. We investigate the structural, chemical, and morphological implications of plasma oxidation of CVD graphene to better understand the nature of graphene oxide. One of the common threads of this study is the use of Raman spectroscopy (RS) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) to understand the structural and compositional changes of both FCVA-deposited DLC films and plasma-oxidized graphene. In both cases, the analysis allows to obtain detailed insight into structural evolution of sp3 and sp2-rich films during plasma processing. Optimum FCVA deposited DLC films were obtained at a deposition angle of 70° for 30 sec deposition time on a biased substrate (-100 V), in terms of both surface roughness and sp3 content. RMS roughness of deposited films were around 0.15 nm with a ~50% sp3 content. Structural and chemical changes of oxygen plasma treated CVD graphene were shown to vary over three distinct stages depending on the time of plasma exposure. Initial exposure up to 3 seconds was mainly accompanied by structural changes without net uptake of oxygen, introducing more defects and

  13. BjussuSP-I: a new thrombin-like enzyme isolated from Bothrops jararacussu snake venom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sant' Ana, Carolina D; Ticli, Fabio K; Oliveira, Leandro L; Giglio, Jose R; Rechia, Carem G V; Fuly, André L; Selistre de Araújo, Heloisa S; Franco, João J; Stabeli, Rodrigo G; Soares, Andreimar M; Sampaio, Suely V

    2008-11-01

    A thrombin-like enzyme named BjussuSP-I, isolated from B. jararacussu snake venom, is an acidic single chain glycoprotein with approximately 6% sugar, Mr=61,000 under reducing conditions and pI approximately 3.8, representing 1.09% of the chromatographic A(280) recovery. BjussuSP-I is a glycosylated serine protease containing both N-linked carbohydrates and sialic acid in its structure. BjussuSP-I showed a high clotting activity upon human plasma, which was inhibited by PMSF, leupeptin, heparin and 1,10-phenantroline. This enzyme showed high stability regarding coagulant activity when analyzed at different temperatures (-70 to 37 degrees C), pHs (4.5 to 8.0), and presence of two divalent metal ions (Ca(2+) and Mg(2+)). It also displayed TAME esterase and proteolytic activities toward natural (fibrinogen and fibrin) and synthetic (BAPNA) substrates, respectively, being also inhibited by PMSF and leupeptin. BjussuSP-I can induce production of polyclonal antibodies able to inhibit its clotting activity, but unable to inhibit its proteolytic activity on fibrinogen. The enzyme also showed crossed immunoreactivity against 11 venom samples of Bothrops, 1 of Crotalus, and 1 of Calloselasma snakes, in addition of LAAO isolated from B. moojeni venom. It displayed neither hemorrhagic, myotoxic, edema-inducing profiles nor proteolytic activity on casein. BjussuSP-I showed an N-terminal sequence (VLGGDECDINEHPFLA FLYS) similar to other thrombin-like enzymes from snake venoms. Based on its biochemical, enzymatic and pharmacological characteristics, BjussuSP-I was identified as a new thrombin-like enzyme isoform from Bothrops jararacussu snake venom.

  14. Lama Penyimpanan, Karakterisasi Fisiologi, dan Viabilitas Bakteri Endofit Bacillus sp. dalam Formula Tepung

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    Diana putri

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Endophytic bacteria can be formulated to retain its ability as disease control agents. Three of endophytic bacteria which had the capability to suppress infection of Meloidogyne sp, and to enhance pepper growth were gained from the previous study. This research was aimed to evaluate the influence of storage time on the viability of endophytic bacteria, Bacillus sp. AA2, Bacillus sp. MER and MSJ, and to study its physiological charaterization during storage. The formulation evaluated in this study was : formulation 1 (50 g talc, 1 g pepton, 0.5 g CMC, and brown sugar 1.5 g, formulation 2 (50 g talc, 1 g pepton, 0.5 g CMC, and 1.5 g white sugar, formulation 3 (50 g talc, 1 g pepton, 0.5 g CMC, 1 g yeast extract, and 1.5 gwhite sugar and formulation 4 (50 g talc, 1 g pepton, 0.5 g CMC, 1 g yeast extract, 3 mL molasses, 1 gbentonite, 0.75 g calcium carbonate, and 1 g dextrose. The results of the bacterial characterization showed that Bacillus sp AA2 and Bacillus sp MER belongs to Gram positive, produced lipase and protease enzyme, as well as  IAA hormone. N2 fixation is only existed in Bacillussp. AA2 and MSJ isolate. The highest viability was shown on MSJ isolate with 2.5×106 cfu mL-1. in the fourth formulation, whereas Bacillus sp. AA2 and Bacillus sp. MER viability was 1.9×106 cfu mL-1. and 1.2×106 cfu mL-1. , respectively. 

  15. Establishment of a Novel Lingual Organoid Culture System: Generation of Organoids Having Mature Keratinized Epithelium from Adult Epithelial Stem Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hisha, Hiroko; Tanaka, Toshihiro; Kanno, Shohei; Tokuyama, Yoko; Komai, Yoshihiro; Ohe, Shuichi; Yanai, Hirotsugu; Omachi, Taichi; Ueno, Hiroo

    2013-11-01

    Despite the strong need for the establishment of a lingual epithelial cell culture system, a simple and convenient culture method has not yet been established. Here, we report the establishment of a novel lingual epithelium organoid culture system using a three-dimensional matrix and growth factors. Histological analyses showed that the generated organoids had both a stratified squamous epithelial cell layer and a stratum corneum. Very recently, we showed via a multicolor lineage tracing method that Bmi1-positive stem cells exist at the base of the epithelial basal layer in the interpapillary pit. Using our new culture system, we found that organoids could be generated by single Bmi1-positive stem cells and that in the established organoids, multiple Bmi1-positive stem cells were generated at the outermost layer. Moreover, we observed that organoids harvested at an early point in culture could be engrafted and maturate in the tongue of recipient mice and that the organoids generated from carcinogen-treated mice had an abnormal morphology. Thus, this culture system presents valuable settings for studying not only the regulatory mechanisms of lingual epithelium but also lingual regeneration and carcinogenesis.

  16. The effects of EGF and IGF-1 on FSH-mediated in vitro maturation of domestic cat oocytes derived from follicular and luteal stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yıldırım, Koray; Vural, M Rıfat; Küplülü, Sükrü; Ozcan, Ziya; Polat, I Mert

    2014-04-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin like growth factor-I (IGF-1) on the in vitro maturation of cat oocytes recovered from follicular and luteal stage ovaries. Oocytes from follicular (n=580) and luteal (n=209) stages were harvested and divided into four groups, which were cultured in FSH-mediated maturation medium supplemented with: (1) EGF alone (25ng/mL); (2) IGF-1 alone (100ng/mL); (3) EGF+IGF-1 (25ng/mL EGF+100ng/mL IGF-I); or (4) no growth factor (control). The proportion of follicular stage oocytes reaching the metaphase II stage was significantly higher than that of oocytes obtained at the luteal stage in both control and study groups (pIGF-1, and 78.1% in EGF+IGF-1 groups, whereas the respective values for gametes collected from luteal stage ovaries were 12.5%, 17.5%, 12.5%, and 16.9%. Additionally, the differences between the study and control groups were significant in the case of follicular stage oocytes. Finally, supplementing the maturation medium with EGF and/or IGF-1 significantly enhanced the meiotic maturation of oocytes recovered from follicular stage ovaries. The present study also demonstrated that the combination of EGF and IGF-I provides an additional or synergic effect on meiotic maturation of oocytes recovered from the follicular stage. Copyright © 2014 Society for Biology of Reproduction & the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.

  17. Induction of the Nitrate Assimilation nirA Operon and Protein-Protein Interactions in the Maturation of Nitrate and Nitrite Reductases in the Cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. Strain PCC 7120.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frías, José E; Flores, Enrique

    2015-07-01

    Nitrate is widely used as a nitrogen source by cyanobacteria, in which the nitrate assimilation structural genes frequently constitute the so-called nirA operon. This operon contains the genes encoding nitrite reductase (nirA), a nitrate/nitrite transporter (frequently an ABC-type transporter; nrtABCD), and nitrate reductase (narB). In the model filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, which can fix N2 in specialized cells termed heterocysts, the nirA operon is expressed at high levels only in media containing nitrate or nitrite and lacking ammonium, a preferred nitrogen source. Here we examined the genes downstream of the nirA operon in Anabaena and found that a small open reading frame of unknown function, alr0613, can be cotranscribed with the operon. The next gene in the genome, alr0614 (narM), showed an expression pattern similar to that of the nirA operon, implying correlated expression of narM and the operon. A mutant of narM with an insertion mutation failed to produce nitrate reductase activity, consistent with the idea that NarM is required for the maturation of NarB. Both narM and narB mutants were impaired in the nitrate-dependent induction of the nirA operon, suggesting that nitrite is an inducer of the operon in Anabaena. It has previously been shown that the nitrite reductase protein NirA requires NirB, a protein likely involved in protein-protein interactions, to attain maximum activity. Bacterial two-hybrid analysis confirmed possible NirA-NirB and NarB-NarM interactions, suggesting that the development of both nitrite reductase and nitrate reductase activities in cyanobacteria involves physical interaction of the corresponding enzymes with their cognate partners, NirB and NarM, respectively. Nitrate is an important source of nitrogen for many microorganisms that is utilized through the nitrate assimilation system, which includes nitrate/nitrite membrane transporters and the nitrate and nitrite reductases. Many cyanobacteria

  18. Comparison of middle phalanx of the middle finger and cervical vertebrae as skeletal maturity indicators

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    Pavitra Tripura Javangula

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To investigate the relationship between chronological age and the stages of maturation of cervical vertebrae maturation index (CVMI and the middle phalanx of the middle finger (MP3 and to determine the correlation between CVMI and MP3. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study included 100 children (boys - 50, girls - 50 aged 8–14 years based on nonprobability quota sampling. The study included digital radiographs of the MP3 of the right hand and conventional lateral cephalograms. Chronological age was assessed by the date of birth, MP3 maturation by Rajagopal and Kansal's criteria, and CVMI development by Hassel and Farman's method. Statistical Analysis: Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient was applied to measure the association between stages of MP3 and CVMI. Results: Progressive stages of MP3 and CVMI were seen as chronological age advanced. Girls showed an advanced trend than boys in both MP3 and CVMI stages. MP3 and CVMI stages showed a strong positive correlation (r + 0.836, P < 0.01. Conclusions: MP3 and CVMI both are equally good indicators of skeletal maturity. Assessment of skeletal maturity on lateral cephalogram (CVMI is advantageous as it avoids the need for an additional radiograph.

  19. Use of computer technologies in physical education of women of the first mature age

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    Julia Tomilina

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: the improvement of process of physical education of women of the first mature age by means of Pilates with use of information technologies. Material & Methods: the experience of development and deployment of computer technologies in the process of physical education of women of mature age was systematized by means of the analysis of scientific and methodical and special literature and the best pedagogical and coach's practices, which is presented in mass media. The ways of application of computer programs were revealed, and the computer program ‘’Pilates’’ was developed by means of programming in the system Visual Basic. Results: the computer program ‘’Pilates’’, which consists of directory, settlement and recreational blocks, is offered for the purpose of improvement of the process of physical education of women of the first mature age by means of Pilates and increase in their motivation to classes by physical exercises. Conclusions: it is revealed that application of the computer programs has the positive effect in practice of physical education of women of the first mature age. The computer program ‘’Pilates’’ is submitted.

  20. Phylogenetic analysis and systematic position of two new species of the ant genus Crematogaster (Hymenoptera, Formicidae from Southeast Asia

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    Shingo Hosoishi

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Two distinct new species of the ant genus Crematogaster, C. khmerensis sp. nov. and C. pfeifferi sp. nov., are described from Cambodia and Malaysia, respectively. The two species are unique among Asian Crematogaster in that they have vertically directed propodeal spines, but their systematic positions have not been determined based on morphological characters alone. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of 89 Crematogaster taxon matrices previously published plus C. khmerensis sp. nov., using nuclear genes, reveals that C. khmerensis sp. nov. is nested within the Australo-Asian Crematogaster clade. Morphological assignment of the developed pronotal shoulders implies a close relationship between C. khmerensis sp. nov. and the C. tetracantha-group. Based on molecular and morphological evidence, we erect a new species group, C. khmerensis-group, to contain C. khmerensis sp. nov. and C. pfeifferi sp. nov. Divergence time estimates using MCMCTree shows that the root node of the C. khmerensis sp. nov. terminal is estimated to be of middle Miocene age at 15 million years old. The position of the C. khmerensis-group well supports the Oriental- to Australian-region dispersal history that has been proposed for the Australo-Asian Crematogaster clade.

  1. Bifidobacterium mongoliense sp. nov., from airag, a traditional fermented mare's milk product from Mongolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Koichi; Makino, Hiroshi; Sasamoto, Masae; Kudo, Yuko; Fujimoto, Junji; Demberel, Shirchin

    2009-06-01

    Two novel micro-organisms, designated strains YIT 10443(T) and YIT 10738, were isolated from airag, a traditional fermented mare's milk from Mongolia. The two strains were Gram-positive-staining, non-motile, asporogenous, catalase-negative, facultatively anaerobic rods of various shapes. Comparative analyses of 16S rRNA and ClpC ATPase (clpC) gene sequences and the presence of fructose-6-phosphate phosphoketolase (F6PPK) demonstrated that the novel strains were members of the genus Bifidobacterium. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the type strains of Bifidobacterium minimum (96.6 %) and Bifidobacterium psychraerophilum (95.7 %) were the closest neighbours of the novel strains, and DNA-DNA reassociation values with these strains were found to be lower than 15 %. The phenotypic and genotypic features demonstrated that the two strains represent a single, novel Bifidobacterium species, for which the name Bifidobacterium mongoliense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIT 10443(T) (=JCM 15461(T) =DSM 21395(T)).

  2. STUDY OF EMOTIONAL MATURITY OF STUDENTS FROM THE PEDAGOGICAL HIGH SCHOOL

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    T. L. Shabanova

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The article analyzes the phenomenon of emotional maturity from the position of various psychological approaches (psychoanalytic, existential, humanistic, cognitive, cultural-historical. It is emphasized that the problem of studying emotional maturity, its structure, mechanisms, conditions of formation, especially in the context of growing young people and preparing for the implementation of specific professional activities, remains the subject of scientific discussions and is not fully understood by domestic and foreign psychologists.Materials and Methods. The results of our own research in the period 2015-2017 are described. on the sample of students of three faculties of the pedagogical university (Mininsky University (the volume of 157 people of the indicators of emotional maturity in accordance with the presented author's model, which includes the following components: emotional value orientation, cognitive reactions and emotional cognition, affective reactions, emotional self-regulation of behavior.Results. The system of mechanisms of fastening and manifestation of emotions at different levels of the personality structure characterizing the opposite variants of emotional development of students is described: crisis and mature. A significant percentage of the young people surveyed (44, 6 with a crisis type of emotional development was revealed. These subjects have significantly higher rates of personal anxiety and accompanying experiences of fear, shame and guilt, a less developed ability to emotionally cognize and control their emotions, dominate strategies to avoid difficulties and problems, as well as aggressive behavior towards others in stressful situations.Discussion and Conclusions. The obtained results testify to the need for special psychological work with students-future teachers in the framework of training. First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the formation of work skills with their own experiences, the

  3. Differentiation of Spermatogonia Stem Cells into Functional Mature Neurons Characterized with Differential Gene Expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bojnordi, Maryam Nazm; Azizi, Hossein; Skutella, Thomas; Movahedin, Mansoureh; Pourabdolhossein, Fereshteh; Shojaei, Amir; Hamidabadi, Hatef Ghasemi

    2017-09-01

    Transplantation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, ESCs are not usable clinically due to immunological and ethical limitations. The identification of an alternative safe cell source opens novel options via autologous transplantation in neuro-regeneration circumventing these problems. Here, we examined the neurogenic capacity of embryonic stem-like cells (ES-like cells) derived from the testis using neural growth factor inducers and utilized them to generate functional mature neurons. The neuronal differentiation of ES-like cells is induced in three stages. Stage 1 is related to embryoid body (EB) formation. To induce neuroprogenitor cells, EBs were cultured in the presence of retinoic acid, N 2 supplement and fibroblast growth factor followed by culturing in a neurobasal medium containing B 27 , N 2 supplements for additional 10 days, to allow the maturation and development of neuronal progenitor cells. The neurogenic differentiation was confirmed by immunostaining for markers of mature neurons. The differentiated neurons were positive for Tuj1 and Tau1. Real-time PCR dates indicated the expression of Nestin and Neuro D (neuroprogenitor markers) in induced cells at the second stage of the differentiation protocol. The differentiated mature neurons exhibited the specific neuron markers Map2 and β-tubulin. The functional maturity of neurons was confirmed by an electrophysiological analysis of passive and active neural membrane properties. These findings indicated a differentiation capacity of ES-like cells derived from the testis to functionally mature neurons, which proposes them as a novel cell source for neuroregenerative medicine.

  4. Modelling phenolic and technological maturities of grapes by means of the multivariate relation between organoleptic and physicochemical properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meléndez, E; Ortiz, M C; Sarabia, L A; Íñiguez, M; Puras, P

    2013-01-25

    The ripeness of grapes at the harvest time is one of the most important parameters for obtaining high quality red wines. Traditionally the decision of harvesting is to be taken only after analysing sugar concentration, titratable acidity and pH of the grape juice (technological maturity). However, these parameters only provide information about the pulp ripeness and overlook the real degree of skins and seeds maturities (phenolic maturity). Both maturities, technological and phenolic, are not simultaneously reached, on the contrary they tend to separate depending on several factors: grape variety, cultivar, adverse weather conditions, soil, water availability and cultural practices. Besides, this divergence is increasing as a consequence of the climate change (larger quantities of CO(2), less rain, and higher temperatures). 247 samples collected in vineyards representative of the qualified designation of origin Rioja from 2007 to 2011 have been analysed. Samples contain the four grape varieties usual in the elaboration of Rioja wines ('tempranillo', 'garnacha', 'mazuelo' and 'graciano'). The present study is the first systematic investigation on the maturity of grapes that includes the organoleptic evaluation of the degree of grapes maturity (sugars/acidity maturity, aromatic maturity of the pulp, aromatic maturity of the skins and tannins maturity) together with the values of the physicochemical parameters (probable alcohol degree, total acidity, pH, malic acid, K, total index polyphenolics, anthocyans, absorbances at 420, 520 and 620 nm, colour index and tartaric acid) determined over the same samples. A varimax rotation of the latent variables of a PLS model between the physicochemical variables and the mean of four sensory variables allows identifying both maturities. Besides, the position of the samples in the first plane defines the effect that the different factors exert on both phenolic and technological maturities. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All

  5. First Report of Granulicatella sp. Endocarditis in a Kidney Transplant Patient

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    Flávio Jota de Paula

    Full Text Available Abstract Granulicatella and Abiotrophia are genera of fastidious Gram-positive cocci commensal of the oral, genitourinary, and intestinal flora. We report the first case of infective endocarditis caused by Granulicatella sp. in a kidney transplant recipient. A 67-year-old male kidney transplant recipient was admitted to the hospital for investigation of fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. On physical examination, he was dehydrated. Laboratory tests identified impaired renal function (creatinine level of 15.5 mg/dl; reference, 3.0 mg/dl, metabolic acidosis, and electrolyte disturbances. Cryptosporidium sp. was identified as the cause of the diarrhea, and the infection was treated with nitazoxanide. On admission, cultures of blood, urine, and stool samples were negative. Echocardiography results were normal. Despite the antimicrobial treatment, the fever persisted. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed infective endocarditis of the mitral valve, and Granulicatella spp. were isolated in blood cultures. Although the patient was treated with penicillin and amikacin, he evolved to septic shock of pulmonary origin and died. Infective endocarditis caused by Granulicatella sp. should be suspected in cases of culture-negative endocarditis.

  6. Rax Homeoprotein Regulates Photoreceptor Cell Maturation and Survival in Association with Crx in the Postnatal Mouse Retina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irie, Shoichi; Sanuki, Rikako; Muranishi, Yuki; Kato, Kimiko; Chaya, Taro; Furukawa, Takahisa

    2015-08-01

    The Rax homeobox gene plays essential roles in multiple processes of vertebrate retina development. Many vertebrate species possess Rax and Rax2 genes, and different functions have been suggested. In contrast, mice contain a single Rax gene, and its functional roles in late retinal development are still unclear. To clarify mouse Rax function in postnatal photoreceptor development and maintenance, we generated conditional knockout mice in which Rax in maturing or mature photoreceptor cells was inactivated by tamoxifen treatment (Rax iCKO mice). When Rax was inactivated in postnatal Rax iCKO mice, developing photoreceptor cells showed a significant decrease in the level of the expression of rod and cone photoreceptor genes and mature adult photoreceptors exhibited a specific decrease in cone cell numbers. In luciferase assays, we found that Rax and Crx cooperatively transactivate Rhodopsin and cone opsin promoters and that an optimum Rax expression level to transactivate photoreceptor gene expression exists. Furthermore, Rax and Crx colocalized in maturing photoreceptor cells, and their coimmunoprecipitation was observed in cultured cells. Taken together, these results suggest that Rax plays essential roles in the maturation of both cones and rods and in the survival of cones by regulating photoreceptor gene expression with Crx in the postnatal mouse retina. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  7. Relationship between cervical vertebral maturation and mandibular growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball, Gina; Woodside, Donald; Tompson, Bryan; Hunter, W Stuart; Posluns, James

    2011-05-01

    The cervical vertebrae have been proposed as a method of determining biologic maturity. The purposes of this study were to establish a pattern of mandibular growth and to relate this pattern to the stages of cervical vertebral maturation. Cephalometric radiographs, taken annually from ages 9 to 18 years, were evaluated for 90 boys from the Burlington Growth Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mandibular lengths were measured from articulare to gnathion, and incremental growth was determined. Cervical vertebral maturation stages were assessed by using a 6-stage method. Advanced, average, and delayed maturation groups were established. The prepubertal mandibular growth minimum velocity occurred during cervical stages 1 through 4 (P = 0.7327). Peak mandibular growth velocity occurred most frequently during stage 4 in all 3 maturation groups, with a statistical difference in the average and delayed groups (P cervical stages 1 through 6 does not occur annually; time spent in each stage varies depending on the stage and the maturation group. Cervical vertebral maturation stages cannot accurately identify the mandibular prepubertal growth minimum and therefore cannot predict the onset of the peak in mandibular growth. The cervical vertebral maturation stages should be used with other methods of biologic maturity assessment when considering both dentofacial orthopedic treatment and orthognathic surgery. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Effects of Crocin Supplementation during In Vitro Maturation of Mouse Oocytes on Glutathione Synthesis and Cytoplasmic Maturation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elham Mokhber Maleki

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Crocin is an active ingredient of saffron (Crocus sativus L. and its antioxidant properties have been previously investigated. This carotenoid scavenges free radicals and stimulates glutathione (GSH synthesis; consequently, it may protect cells against oxidative stress. The aim of this research is to protect oocytes from oxidative stress by the addition of a natural source antioxidant. Materials and Methods: In the present in vitro experimental study, we collected cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs from mouse ovaries of euthanized, 6-8 week-old female Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI mice. Oocytes were subjected to in vitro maturation (IVM in the presence of either crocin (5 or 10 μg/ml, 5 mM buthionine-[S-R]- sulfoximine (BSO, or the combination of crocin plus BSO. Oocytes that matured in vitro in a medium without crocin or BSO supplements were considered as controls. Following 16-18 hours of IVM, matured oocytes (n=631 were fertilized by capacitated sperm from NMRI male mice, and cultured in vitro for up to 96 hours to assess preimplantation embryonic development. The levels of GSH in metaphase II (MII oocytes after IVM (n=240 were also assessed by the 5, 5-dithio-bis (2-nitrobenzoic acid (DTNB-GSH reductase recycling assay. Results: Supplementation of IVM media with 10 μg/ml crocin significantly (P<0.05 increased nuclear maturation, preimplantation development and GSH concentrations compared with the control group. Maturation of oocytes in IVM medium supplemented with BSO alone or the combination of 5 μg/ml crocin and BSO drastically decreased GSH concentrations and subsequently resulted in low rates of maturation, fertilization and blastocyst development. However, the combination of 10 μg/ml crocin with 5 mM BSO increased the level of nuclear maturation which was comparable to the control group. Conclusion: Supplementation of IVM media with crocin can improve nuclear maturation rates and subsequent developmental potential

  9. Influence of low dose irradiation on differentiation, maturation and T-cell activation of human dendritic cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jahns, Jutta [Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University of Leipzig, Stephanstrasse 21, 04103 Leipzig (Germany); Anderegg, Ulf; Saalbach, Anja [Department for Dermatology, Venerology and Allergology, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 30, 04103 Leipzig (Germany); Rosin, Britt; Patties, Ina; Glasow, Annegret [Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University of Leipzig, Stephanstrasse 21, 04103 Leipzig (Germany); Kamprad, Manja [Institute for Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 30, 04103 Leipzig (Germany); Scholz, Markus [Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, University of Leipzig, Haertelstr. 16-18, 04103 Leipzig (Germany); Hildebrandt, Guido, E-mail: Guido.Hildebrandt@uni-rostock.de [Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University of Rostock, Suedring 75, 18059 Rostock (Germany); Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University of Leipzig, Stephanstrasse 21, 04103 Leipzig (Germany)

    2011-05-10

    Ionizing irradiation could act directly on immune cells and may induce bystander effects mediated by soluble factors that are released by the irradiated cells. This is the first study analyzing both the direct effect of low dose ionizing radiation (LDIR) on the maturation and cytokine release of human dendritic cells (DCs) and the functional consequences for co-cultured T-cells. We showed that irradiation of DC-precursors in vitro does not influence surface marker expression or cytokine profile of immature DCs nor of mature DCs after LPS treatment. There was no difference of single dose irradiation versus fractionated irradiation protocols on the behavior of the mature DCs. Further, the low dose irradiation did not change the capacity of the DCs to stimulate T-cell proliferation. But the irradiation of the co-culture of DCs and T-cells revealed significantly lower proliferation of T-cells with higher doses. Summarizing the data from approx. 50 DC preparations there is no significant effect of low dose ionizing irradiation on the cytokine profile, surface marker expression and maturation of DCs in vitro although functional consequences cannot be excluded.

  10. A single-nucleotide polymorphism of human neuropeptide s gene originated from Europe shows decreased bioactivity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng Deng

    Full Text Available Using accumulating SNP (Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism data, we performed a genome-wide search for polypeptide hormone ligands showing changes in the mature regions to elucidate genotype/phenotype diversity among various human populations. Neuropeptide S (NPS, a brain peptide hormone highly conserved in vertebrates, has diverse physiological effects on anxiety, fear, hyperactivity, food intake, and sleeping time through its cognate receptor-NPSR. Here, we report a SNP rs4751440 (L(6-NPS causing non-synonymous substitution on the 6(th position (V to L of the NPS mature peptide region. L(6-NPS has a higher allele frequency in Europeans than other populations and probably originated from European ancestors ~25,000 yrs ago based on haplotype analysis and Approximate Bayesian Computation. Functional analyses indicate that L(6-NPS exhibits a significant lower bioactivity than the wild type NPS, with ~20-fold higher EC50 values in the stimulation of NPSR. Additional evolutionary and mutagenesis studies further demonstrate the importance of the valine residue in the 6(th position for NPS functions. Given the known physiological roles of NPS receptor in inflammatory bowel diseases, asthma pathogenesis, macrophage immune responses, and brain functions, our study provides the basis to elucidate NPS evolution and signaling diversity among human populations.

  11. Automated FiO2-SpO2 control system in neonates requiring respiratory support: a comparison of a standard to a narrow SpO2 control range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilinska, Maria; Bachman, Thomas; Swietlinski, Janusz; Kostro, Maria; Twardoch-Drozd, Marta

    2014-05-28

    Managing the oxygen saturation of preterm infants to a target range has been the standard of care for a decade. Changes in target ranges have been shown to significantly impact mortality and morbidity. Selecting and implementing the optimal target range are complicated not only by issues of training, but also the realities of staffing levels and demands. The potential for automatic control is becoming a reality. Results from the evaluation of different systems have been promising and our own experience encouraging. This study was conducted in two tertiary level newborn nurseries, routinely using an automated FiO2-SpO2 control system (Avea-CLiO2, Yorba Linda CA, USA). The aim of this study was to compare the performance of the system as used routinely (set control range of 87-93% SpO2), to a narrower higher range (90-93%). We employed a 12-hour cross-over design with the order of control ranges randomly assigned for each of up to three days. The primary prospectively identified end points were time in the 87-93% SpO2 target range, time at SpO2 extremes and the distribution of the SpO2 exposure. Twenty-one infants completed the study. The infants were born with a median EGA of 27 weeks and studied at a median age of 17 days and weight of 1.08 kg. Their median FiO2 was 0.32; 8 were intubated, and the rest noninvasively supported (7 positive pressure ventilation and 6 CPAP). The control in both arms was excellent, and required less than 2 manual FiO2 adjustments per day. There were no differences in the three primary endpoints. The narrower/higher set control range resulted in tighter control (IQR 3.0 vs. 4.3 p < 0.001), and less time with the SpO2 between 80-86 (6.2% vs. 8.4%, p = 0.006). We found that a shift in the median of the set control range of an automated FiO2-SpO2 control system had a proportional effect on the median and distribution of SpO2 exposure. We found that a dramatic narrowing of the set control range had a disproportionally smaller impact. Our

  12. Electrostatic sensing and electrochemistry with single carbon nanotubes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heller, I.

    2009-01-01

    This thesis describes the experimental study of devices based on single carbon nanotubes in the context of (bio)sensing in aqueous solutions. Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical molecules of sp2- carbon, about one nanometer in diameter and typically several micrometers long, which have semiconducting

  13. Eimeria pipistrellus n. sp. from Pipistrellus kuhlii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Saudi Arabia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Dakhil, Mohamed; Al-Shawa, Yaser

    1999-01-01

    Fecal samples from 12 Pipistrellus kuhlii captured at Shagrah, Saudi Arabia, were examined for coccidia and three (25%) found to harbor a undescribed eimerian, herein described as Eimeria pipistrellus n. sp. Sporulated oocysts were subspherical, 24.8×23.2 (22-27×20-25) µm, with a bilayered and smooth wall. The micropyle was absent, but a large oocyst residuum and a single polar granule were present. Sporocysts were ovoid, 11.6×8.3 (10.5-13×7.5-9) µm, with a prominent Stieda body, but without a substiedal body; sporozoites lay head to tail in sporocysts and contained one large posterior refractile body. Eimeria pipistrellus n. sp. is the 3rd species of the genus Eimeria found from bats of the genus Pipistrellus. PMID:10188376

  14. Cold Exposure Induces Proliferation of Mature Brown Adipocyte in a ß3-Adrenergic Receptor-Mediated Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukano, Keigo; Okamatsu-Ogura, Yuko; Tsubota, Ayumi; Nio-Kobayashi, Junko; Kimura, Kazuhiro

    2016-01-01

    Hyperplasia of brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a fundamental mechanism for adaptation to survive in the cold environment in rodents. To determine which cell types comprising BAT contribute to tissue hyperplasia, immunohistochemical analysis using a proliferative marker Ki67 was performed on the BAT from 6-week-old C57BL/6J mice housed at 23°C (control) or 10°C (cold) for 5 days. Interestingly, in the control group, the cell proliferative marker Ki67 was detected in the nuclei of uncoupling protein 1-positive mature brown adipocytes (7.2% ± 0.4% of brown adipocyte), as well as in the non-adipocyte stromal-vascular (SV) cells (19.6% ± 2.3% of SV cells), which include preadiopocytes. The percentage of Ki67-positive brown adipocytes increased to 25.6% ± 1.8% at Day 1 after cold exposure and was significantly higher than the non-cold acclimated control until Day 5 (21.8% ± 1.7%). On the other hand, the percentage of Ki67-positive SV cells gradually increased by a cold exposure and peaked to 42.1% ± 8.3% at Day 5. Injection of a ß3-adrenergic receptor (ß3-AR) agonist for continuous 5 days increased the number of Ki67-positive brown adipocytes even at Day 1 but not that of SV cells. In addition, the ß3-AR antagonist, but not ß1-AR antagonist, attenuated the cold exposure-induced increase in the number of Ki67-positive brown adipocytes. These results suggest that mature brown adipocytes proliferate immediately after cold exposure in a ß3-AR-mediated pathway. Thus, proliferation of mature brown adipocytes as well as preadipocytes in SV cells may contribute to cold exposure-induced BAT hyperplasia.

  15. Descriptions of spinal MRI lesions and definition of a positive MRI of the spine in axial spondyloarthritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hermann, Kay-Geert A; Baraliakos, Xenofon; van der Heijde, Désirée M F M

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to define characteristic MRI findings in the spine of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) and provide a definition of a positive spinal MRI for inflammation and structural changes.......The aim of this study was to define characteristic MRI findings in the spine of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) and provide a definition of a positive spinal MRI for inflammation and structural changes....

  16. Estimation of Compton Imager Using Single 3D Position-Sensitive LYSO Scintillator: Monte Carlo Simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Taewoong; Lee, Hyounggun; Kim, Younghak; Lee, Wonho [Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-07-15

    The performance of a Compton imager using a single three-dimensional position-sensitive LYSO scintillator detector was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation. The Compton imager consisted of a single LYSO scintillator with a pixelized structure. The size of the scintillator and each pixel were 1.3 × 1.3 × 1.3 cm{sup 3} and 0.3 × 0.3 × 0.3 cm{sup 3}, respectively. The order of γ-ray interactions was determined based on the deposited energies in each detector. After the determination of the interaction sequence, various types of reconstruction algorithms such as simple back-projection, filtered back-projection, and list-mode maximum-likelihood expectation maximization (LM-MLEM) were applied and compared with each other in terms of their angular resolution and signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) for several γ-ray energies. The LM-MLEM reconstruction algorithm exhibited the best performance for Compton imaging in maintaining high angular resolution and SNR. The two sources of {sup 137}Cs (662 keV) could be distinguishable if they were more than 17 ◦ apart. The reconstructed Compton images showed the precise position and distribution of various radiation isotopes, which demonstrated the feasibility of the monitoring of nuclear materials in homeland security and radioactive waste management applications.

  17. Taxonomy Icon Data: Synechocystis sp.PCC 6803 [Taxonomy Icon

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Synechocystis sp.PCC 6803 Synechocystis sp.PCC 6803 Synechocystis_sp_PCC_6803_L.png Synecho...cystis_sp_PCC_6803_NL.png Synechocystis_sp_PCC_6803_S.png Synechocystis_sp_PCC_6803_NS.png http://bi...osciencedbc.jp/taxonomy_icon/icon.cgi?i=Synechocystis+sp%2ePCC+6803&t=L http://biosciencedbc.jp/taxonomy_icon/icon.cgi?i=Synecho...cystis+sp%2ePCC+6803&t=NL http://biosciencedbc.jp/taxonomy_icon/icon.cgi?i=Synecho...cystis+sp%2ePCC+6803&t=S http://biosciencedbc.jp/taxonomy_icon/icon.cgi?i=Synechocystis

  18. Gilliamella intestini sp. nov., Gilliamella bombicola sp. nov., Gilliamella bombi sp. nov. and Gilliamella mensalis sp. nov.: Four novel Gilliamella species isolated from the bumblebee gut.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Praet, Jessy; Cnockaert, Margo; Meeus, Ivan; Smagghe, Guy; Vandamme, Peter

    2017-06-01

    Spectra of five isolates (LMG 28358 T , LMG 29879 T , LMG 29880 T , LMG 28359 T and R-53705) obtained from gut samples of wild bumblebees of Bombus pascuorum, Bombus lapidarius and Bombus terrestris were grouped into four MALDI-TOF MS clusters. RAPD analysis revealed an identical DNA fingerprint for LMG 28359 T and R-53705 which also grouped in the same MALDI-TOF MS cluster, while different DNA fingerprints were obtained for the other isolates. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of the four different strains identified Gilliamella apicola NCIMB 14804 T as nearest neighbour species. Average nucleotide identity values of draft genome sequences of the four isolates and of G. apicola NCIMB 14804 T were below the 96% threshold value for species delineation and all four strains and G. apicola NCIMB 14804 T were phenotypically distinct. Together, the draft genome sequences and phylogenetic and phenotypic data indicate that the four strains represent four novel Gilliamella species for which we propose the names Gilliamella intestini sp. nov., with LMG 28358 T as the type strain, Gilliamella bombicola sp. nov., with LMG 28359 T as the type strain, Gilliamella bombi sp. nov., with LMG 29879 T as the type strain and Gilliamella mensalis sp. nov., with LMG 29880 T as the type strain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  19. Subspace preservation, subspace locality, and gluing of completely positive maps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aaberg, Johan

    2004-01-01

    Three concepts concerning completely positive maps (CPMs) and trace preserving CPMs (channels) are introduced and investigated. These are named subspace preserving (SP) CPMs, subspace local (SL) channels, and gluing of CPMs. SP CPMs has, in the case of trace preserving CPMs, a simple interpretation as those which preserve probability weights on a given orthogonal sum decomposition of the Hilbert space of a quantum system. The proposed definition of subspace locality of quantum channels is an attempt to answer the question of what kind of restriction should be put on a channel, if it is to act 'locally' with respect to two 'locations', when these naturally correspond to a separation of the total Hilbert space in an orthogonal sum of subspaces, rather than a tensor product decomposition. As a description of the concept of gluings of quantum channels, consider a pair of 'evolution machines', each with the ability to evolve the internal state of a 'particle' inserted into its input. Each of these machines is characterized by a channel describing the operation the internal state has experienced when the particle is returned at the output. Suppose a particle is put in a superposition between the input of the first and the second machine. Here it is shown that the total evolution caused by a pair of such devices is not uniquely determined by the channels of the two machines. Such 'global' channels describing the machine pair are examples of gluings of the two single machine channels. Various expressions to generate the set of SP and SL channels, as well as expressions to generate the set of gluings of given channels, are deduced. We discuss conceptual aspects of the nature of these channels and the nature of the non-uniqueness of gluings

  20. Limnobacter thiooxidans gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel thiosulfate-oxidizing bacterium isolated from freshwater lake sediment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spring, S; Kämpfer, P; Schleifer, K H

    2001-07-01

    Two novel thiosulfate-oxidizing strains were isolated from sediment of the littoral zone of a freshwater lake (Lake Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany). The new isolates, designated CS-K1 and CS-K2T, were gram-negative, slightly curved rods with pointed ends that were motile by means of single polar flagella. Both strains were obligately aerobic and grew on a variety of organic substrates, but not autotrophically. The utilization of thiosulfate led to an increase in the growth yield, indicating that these strains were able to grow chemolithoheterotrophically by oxidation of thiosulfate to sulfate. The optimum thiosulfate concentrations for growth were determined to be 10 mM for strain CS-K1 and 20 mM for strain CS-K2T. Phylogenetically, both strains were affiliated to the beta-Proteobacteria. Their characterization by a polyphasic approach resulted in the placement of both strains into a single species that is related only distantly to any known type species. Thus, the creation of a novel taxon is proposed, with the name Limnobacter thiooxidans gen. nov., sp. nov., to include the novel strains. In addition, the phylogenetic position of the chemolithoheterotrophic strain 'Thiobacillus' Q was determined.