Impact of Media Richness on Reduction of Knowledge-Hiding Behavior in Enterprises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Labafi, Somayeh; Khajeheian, Datis; Williams, Idongesit

2018-01-01

in a qualitative study. Thematic analysis is used to analyze transcribed interview data from employees in a software company in Iran. The findings of the analysis show that media richness significantly impacts on organizational learning and influences on knowledge hiding behavior in employees. This article...... suggests that entrepreneurs and managers of small firms should provide employees’ access to rich media content as well as established organizational learning as part of their organizational culture.......Knowledge hiding is one of the major obstacles in the progression of organizations that hinder the use of tacit knowledge of employees. The negative impact of this behavior is more significant in enterprises and small firms because they are more reliant on knowledge of their employees...

Genome sequence of the button mushroom Agaricus bisporus reveals mechanisms governing adaptation to a humic-rich ecological niche

Science.gov (United States)

Morin, Emmanuelle; Kohler, Annegret; Baker, Adam R.; Foulongne-Oriol, Marie; Lombard, Vincent; Nagye, Laszlo G.; Ohm, Robin A.; Patyshakuliyeva, Aleksandrina; Brun, Annick; Aerts, Andrea L.; Bailey, Andrew M.; Billette, Christophe; Coutinho, Pedro M.; Deakin, Greg; Doddapaneni, Harshavardhan; Floudas, Dimitrios; Grimwood, Jane; Hildén, Kristiina; Kües, Ursula; LaButti, Kurt M.; Lapidus, Alla; Lindquist, Erika A.; Lucas, Susan M.; Murat, Claude; Riley, Robert W.; Salamov, Asaf A.; Schmutz, Jeremy; Subramanian, Venkataramanan; Wösten, Han A. B.; Xu, Jianping; Eastwood, Daniel C.; Foster, Gary D.; Sonnenberg, Anton S. M.; Cullen, Dan; de Vries, Ronald P.; Lundell, Taina; Hibbett, David S.; Henrissat, Bernard; Burton, Kerry S.; Kerrigan, Richard W.; Challen, Michael P.; Grigoriev, Igor V.; Martin, Francis

2012-01-01

Agaricus bisporus is the model fungus for the adaptation, persistence, and growth in the humic-rich leaf-litter environment. Aside from its ecological role, A. bisporus has been an important component of the human diet for over 200 y and worldwide cultivation of the “button mushroom” forms a multibillion dollar industry. We present two A. bisporus genomes, their gene repertoires and transcript profiles on compost and during mushroom formation. The genomes encode a full repertoire of polysaccharide-degrading enzymes similar to that of wood-decayers. Comparative transcriptomics of mycelium grown on defined medium, casing-soil, and compost revealed genes encoding enzymes involved in xylan, cellulose, pectin, and protein degradation are more highly expressed in compost. The striking expansion of heme-thiolate peroxidases and β-etherases is distinctive from Agaricomycotina wood-decayers and suggests a broad attack on decaying lignin and related metabolites found in humic acid-rich environment. Similarly, up-regulation of these genes together with a lignolytic manganese peroxidase, multiple copper radical oxidases, and cytochrome P450s is consistent with challenges posed by complex humic-rich substrates. The gene repertoire and expression of hydrolytic enzymes in A. bisporus is substantially different from the taxonomically related ectomycorrhizal symbiont Laccaria bicolor. A common promoter motif was also identified in genes very highly expressed in humic-rich substrates. These observations reveal genetic and enzymatic mechanisms governing adaptation to the humic-rich ecological niche formed during plant degradation, further defining the critical role such fungi contribute to soil structure and carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems. Genome sequence will expedite mushroom breeding for improved agronomic characteristics. PMID:23045686

VLADIMIR AXIONOV ABOUT GHEORGHE NEAGADS COMPONISTIC REPERTOIRE

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CHICIUC NATALIA

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This article presents one side of Vladimir Axionov’s scientific research, namely the one referring to Gheorghe NeagaUs componistic repertoire. A frequent analysis of Gh. NeagaUs works, practically, all the musicologyst’s studies, separately or together with the works of other authors, show that this composer’s repertoire played an important role in the creative processes occurring in Moldovan music, Gheorghe Neaga exemplifying many trends that have emerged in native composition.

Song repertoire size correlates with measures of body size in Eurasian blackbirds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hesler, Nana; Mundry, Roger; Sacher, Thomas

2012-01-01

In most oscine bird species males possess a repertoire of different song patterns. The size of these repertoires is assumed to serve as an honest signal of male quality. The Eurasian blackbird’s (Turdus merula) song contains a large repertoire of different element types with a flexible song...... organisation. Here we investigated whether repertoire size in Eurasian blackbirds correlates with measures of body size, namely length of wing, 8th primary, beak and tarsus. So far, very few studies have investigated species with large repertoires and a flexible song organisation in this context. We found...... positive correlations, meaning that larger males had larger repertoires. Larger males may have better fighting abilities and, thus, advantages in territorial defence. Larger structural body size may also reflect better conditions during early development. Therefore, under the assumption that body size...

Hierarchy and predictability in spontaneous behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Berman, Gordon; Bialek, William; Shaevitz, Joshua

2015-03-01

Animals perform a complex array of behaviors, from changes in body posture to vocalizations to other dynamic outputs. Far from being a disordered collection of actions, however, there is thought to be an intrinsic structure to the set of behaviors and their temporal organization. This structure has often been hypothesized to be hierarchical, with certain behaviors grouped together into modules that interact with other modules at time scales that are long with respect to that of an individual behavior. There have been few measurements, however, showing that a particular animal's behavioral repertoire is organized hierarchically. This has largely resulted from an inability to measure the entirety of an animal's behavioral repertoire or even to definite precisely what a ``behavior'' is. In this talk, I will apply our novel method for mapping the behavioral space of animals to videos of freely-behaving fruit flies (D. melanogaster), showing that the organisms' behavioral repertoire consists of a hierarchically-organized set of stereotyped behaviors. This hierarchical patterning results in the emergence of long time scales of memory in the system, providing insight into the mechanisms of behavioral control and patterning.

Computational Strategies for Dissecting the High-Dimensional Complexity of Adaptive Immune Repertoires

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Enkelejda Miho

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The adaptive immune system recognizes antigens via an immense array of antigen-binding antibodies and T-cell receptors, the immune repertoire. The interrogation of immune repertoires is of high relevance for understanding the adaptive immune response in disease and infection (e.g., autoimmunity, cancer, HIV. Adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing (AIRR-seq has driven the quantitative and molecular-level profiling of immune repertoires, thereby revealing the high-dimensional complexity of the immune receptor sequence landscape. Several methods for the computational and statistical analysis of large-scale AIRR-seq data have been developed to resolve immune repertoire complexity and to understand the dynamics of adaptive immunity. Here, we review the current research on (i diversity, (ii clustering and network, (iii phylogenetic, and (iv machine learning methods applied to dissect, quantify, and compare the architecture, evolution, and specificity of immune repertoires. We summarize outstanding questions in computational immunology and propose future directions for systems immunology toward coupling AIRR-seq with the computational discovery of immunotherapeutics, vaccines, and immunodiagnostics.

Social Class and Group Size as Predictors of Behavior in Male Equus kiang

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Prameek M. Kannan

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Ethograms provide a systematic approach to identify and quantify the repertoire of behaviors of an organism. This information may assist animal welfare in zoos, increase awareness of conservation needs, and help curb high-risk behaviors during human-wildlife conflict. Our primary objective was to utilize an equid ethogram to produce activity budgets for Equus kiang males, a social ungulate that is among the least-studied mammals worldwide, and unknown to the ethological literature. We recently reported the existence of three social classes of this species; Territorial males, Bachelor males and ‘Transient’ males. Therefore, our secondary objective was to compare activity budgets in each of these three groups. We found that kiang spent >70% of their time performing six behaviors: vigilance (34%, locomotion (24.2%, resting (14.2%, mixed foraging (12.5%, browsing (5.1%, and antagonism (1.1%. Over 2% of the total behavioral investment was spent on olfactory investigations (genital sniffing, sniffing proximity and flehmen. Eleven of the eighteen behaviors differed by class. Habitat selection differed strongly by each group, with Territorial males favoring mesic sites with greater vegetation abundance. Vigilance also differed according to habitat selection, but not group size. Animals in the xeric, least vegetation-rich area were far less vigilant than animals at more attractive sites. We found that the full repertoire of behaviors, and relative investments in each, differ according to social class. These findings are a reminder that researchers should make every effort to disambiguate social class among ungulates– and other taxa where behaviors are class-dependent.

Programming in the Zone: Repertoire Selection for the Large Ensemble

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Michael

2013-01-01

One of the great challenges ensemble directors face is selecting high-quality repertoire that matches the musical and technical levels of their ensembles. Thoughtful repertoire selection can lead to increased student motivation as well as greater enthusiasm for the music program from parents, administrators, teachers, and community members. Common…

An Annotated Guide and Interactive Database for Solo Horn Repertoire

Science.gov (United States)

Schouten, Sarah

2012-01-01

Given the horn's lengthy history, it is not surprising that many scholars have examined the evolution of the instrument from the natural horn to the modern horn and its expansive repertoire. Numerous dissertations, theses, and treatises illuminate specific elements of the horn's solo repertoire; however, no scholar has produced a…

Immune Repertoire after Immunization As Seen by Next-Generation Sequencing and Proteomics

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Martijn M. VanDuijn

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The immune system produces a diverse repertoire of immunoglobulins in response to foreign antigens. During B-cell development, VDJ recombination and somatic mutations generate diversity, whereas selection processes remove it. Using both proteomic and NGS approaches, we characterized the immune repertoires in groups of rats after immunization with purified antigens. Proteomics and NGS data on the repertoire are in qualitative agreement, but did show quantitative differences that may relate to differences between the biological niches that were sampled for these approaches. Both methods contributed complementary information in the characterization of the immune repertoire. It was found that the immune repertoires resulting from each antigen had many similarities that allowed samples to cluster together, and that mutated immunoglobulin peptides were shared among animals with a response to the same antigen significantly more than for different antigens. However, the number of shared sequences decreased in a log-linear fashion relative to the number of animals that share them, which may affect future applications. A phylogenetic analysis on the NGS reads showed that reads from different individuals immunized with the same antigen populated distinct branches of the phylogram, an indication that the repertoire had converged. Also, similar mutation patterns were found in branches of the phylogenetic tree that were associated with antigen-specific immunoglobulins through proteomics data. Thus, data from different analysis methods and different experimental platforms show that the immunoglobulin repertoires of immunized animals have overlapping and converging features. With additional research, this may enable interesting applications in biotechnology and clinical diagnostics.

Evolution of the Immune Repertoire with and without Somatic DNA Recombination

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Takumi, K.; Hogeweg, P.

1998-01-01

Repertoire of an immune system is a set of antigen receptors each having a unique specificity to bind an antigen. In many vertebrate species, antigen receptors are produced via combinatorial arrangements of DNA segments in specialized immune cells. Due to this molecular mechanism, repertoire

Self assertion modeled as a network repertoire of multi-determinant antibodies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Takumi, K.; Boer, R.J. de

1996-01-01

We study repertoire selection in a network of natural antibodies that is maintained by stimulatory idiotypic interactions. The natural antibody repertoire develops in an environment of self epitopes to which the self-reactive B cell clones are completely tolerant. For the modeling formalism, we

Light phase testing of social behaviors: not a problem

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Mu Yang

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The rich repertoire of mouse social behaviors makes it possible to use mouse models to study neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by social deficits. The fact that mice are naturally nocturnal animals raises a critical question of whether behavioral experiments should be strictly conducted in the dark phase and whether light phase testing is a major methodologically mistake. Although mouse social tasks have been performed in both phases in different laboratories, there seems to be no general consensus on whether testing phase is a critical factor or not. A recent study from our group showed remarkably similar social scores obtained from inbred mice tested in the light and the dark phase, providing evidence that light phase testing could yield reliable results as robust as dark phase testing for the sociability test. Here we offer a comprehensive review on mouse social behaviors measured in light and dark phases and explain why it is reasonable to test laboratory mice in experimental social tasks in the light phase.

Quantitative Analysis of Repertoire-Scale Immunoglobulin Properties in Vaccine-Induced B-Cell Responses

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Ilja V. Khavrutskii

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Recent advances in the next-generation sequencing of B-cell receptors (BCRs enable the characterization of humoral responses at a repertoire-wide scale and provide the capability for identifying unique features of immune repertoires in response to disease, vaccination, or infection. Immunosequencing now readily generates 103–105 sequences per sample; however, statistical analysis of these repertoires is challenging because of the high genetic diversity of BCRs and the elaborate clonal relationships among them. To date, most immunosequencing analyses have focused on reporting qualitative trends in immunoglobulin (Ig properties, such as usage or somatic hypermutation (SHM percentage of the Ig heavy chain variable (IGHV gene segment family, and on reducing complex Ig property distributions to simple summary statistics. However, because Ig properties are typically not normally distributed, any approach that fails to assess the distribution as a whole may be inadequate in (1 properly assessing the statistical significance of repertoire differences, (2 identifying how two repertoires differ, and (3 determining appropriate confidence intervals for assessing the size of the differences and their potential biological relevance. To address these issues, we have developed a technique that uses Wilcox’ robust statistics toolbox to identify statistically significant vaccine-specific differences between Ig repertoire properties. The advantage of this technique is that it can determine not only whether but also where the distributions differ, even when the Ig repertoire properties are non-normally distributed. We used this technique to characterize murine germinal center (GC B-cell repertoires in response to a complex Ebola virus-like particle (eVLP vaccine candidate with known protective efficacy. The eVLP-mediated GC B-cell responses were highly diverse, consisting of thousands of clonotypes. Despite this staggering diversity, we identified statistically

Developing Professional “Game Teacher” Repertoires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lieberoth, Andreas; Hanghøj, Thorkild

2017-01-01

for in their professional careers. We expand and explain these findings using embedded mixed methods analysis, and conclude that games are a good practical case for training various teaching competences, but that building flexible professional repertoires requires more varied experiences than a single course can muster.......The first Danish Game-Based Learning course offered by a teachers college enrolled 42 students with a variety of backgrounds and interests in games. We characterize the students who enrolled in the course in terms of gaming literacies and preferences, and gauge the impact of the course in terms...... of building actionable skill sets. Following Schön (1986) we use these data to frame students’ transition from gamers or game curious teachers to developing professional repertoires.Interviews and statistical comparison to other students indicate that while student’s existing preferences for the “heavier...

Quantitative Analysis of Repertoire Scale Immunoglobulin properties in Vaccine Induced B cell Responses

Science.gov (United States)

Immunosequencing now readily generates 103105 sequences per sample ; however, statistical analysis of these repertoires is challenging because of the high genetic...diversity of BCRs and the elaborate clonal relationships among them. To date, most immunosequencing analyses have focused on reporting qualitative ...repertoire differences, (2) identifying how two repertoires differ, and (3) determining appropriate confidence intervals for assessing the size of the differences and their potential biological relevance.

Strategies for B-cell receptor repertoire analysis in Primary Immunodeficiencies:From severe combined immunodeficiency to common variable immunodeficiency

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Hanna eIJspeert

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The antigen receptor repertoires of B and T cells form the basis of the adaptive immune response. The repertoires should be sufficiently diverse to recognize all possible pathogens. However, careful selection is needed to prevent responses to self or harmless antigens. Limited antigen receptor repertoire diversity leads to immunodeficiency, whereas unselected or misdirected repertoires can result in autoimmunity. The antigen receptor repertoire harbors information about abnormalities in many immunological disorders. Recent developments in next generation sequencing allow the analysis of the antigen receptor repertoire in much greater detail than ever before. Analyzing the antigen receptor repertoire in patients with mutations in genes responsible for the generation of the antigen receptor repertoire will give new insights into repertoire formation and selection. In this perspective we describe strategies and considerations for analysis of the naive and antigen selected B-cell repertoires in primary immunodeficiency (PID patients with a focus on severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID and common variable immunodeficiency (CVID.

Antibody Repertoire Development in Swine

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Butler, J. E.; Wertz, N.; Šinkora, Marek

2017-01-01

Roč. 5, FEB 17 (2017), s. 255-279 ISSN 2165-8102 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-02274S; GA ČR(CZ) GA16-09296S Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : swine * pre-immune antibody repertoire * ileal Peyer's patches Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology OBOR OECD: Microbiology Impact factor: 4.708, year: 2016

Systems Analysis Reveals High Genetic and Antigen-Driven Predetermination of Antibody Repertoires throughout B Cell Development

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Victor Greiff

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Antibody repertoire diversity and plasticity is crucial for broad protective immunity. Repertoires change in size and diversity across multiple B cell developmental stages and in response to antigen exposure. However, we still lack fundamental quantitative understanding of the extent to which repertoire diversity is predetermined. Therefore, we implemented a systems immunology framework for quantifying repertoire predetermination on three distinct levels: (1 B cell development (pre-B cell, naive B cell, plasma cell, (2 antigen exposure (three structurally different proteins, and (3 four antibody repertoire components (V-gene usage, clonal expansion, clonal diversity, repertoire size extracted from antibody repertoire sequencing data (400 million reads. Across all three levels, we detected a dynamic balance of high genetic (e.g., >90% for V-gene usage and clonal expansion in naive B cells and antigen-driven (e.g., 40% for clonal diversity in plasma cells predetermination and stochastic variation. Our study has implications for the prediction and manipulation of humoral immunity.

Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship

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Dean Wesley R

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Mexican-origin women in the U.S. living in colonias (new-destination Mexican-immigrant communities along the Texas-Mexico border suffer from a high incidence of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. Understanding environmental factors that influence food-related behaviors among this population will be important to improving the well-being of colonia households. This article focuses on cultural repertoires that enable food choice and the everyday uses of technology in food-related practice by Mexican-immigrant women in colonia households under conditions of material hardship. Findings are presented within a conceptual framework informed by concepts drawn from sociological accounts of technology, food choice, culture, and material hardship. Methods Field notes were provided by teams of promotora-researchers (indigenous community health workers and public-health professionals trained as participant observers. They conducted observations on three separate occasions (two half-days during the week and one weekend day within eight family residences located in colonias near the towns of Alton and San Carlos, Texas. English observations were coded inductively and early observations stressed the importance of technology and material hardship in food-related behavior. These observations were further explored and coded using the qualitative data package Atlas.ti. Results Technology included kitchen implements used in standard and adapted configurations and household infrastructure. Residents employed tools across a range of food-related activities identified as forms of food acquisition, storage, preparation, serving, feeding and eating, cleaning, and waste processing. Material hardships included the quality, quantity, acceptability, and uncertainty dimensions of food insecurity, and insufficient consumption of housing, clothing and medical care. Cultural repertoires for coping with material hardship included reliance on

Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Wesley R; Sharkey, Joseph R; Johnson, Cassandra M; St John, Julie

2012-05-15

BSTRACT: Mexican-origin women in the U.S. living in colonias (new-destination Mexican-immigrant communities) along the Texas-Mexico border suffer from a high incidence of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. Understanding environmental factors that influence food-related behaviors among this population will be important to improving the well-being of colonia households. This article focuses on cultural repertoires that enable food choice and the everyday uses of technology in food-related practice by Mexican-immigrant women in colonia households under conditions of material hardship. Findings are presented within a conceptual framework informed by concepts drawn from sociological accounts of technology, food choice, culture, and material hardship. Field notes were provided by teams of promotora-researchers (indigenous community health workers) and public-health professionals trained as participant observers. They conducted observations on three separate occasions (two half-days during the week and one weekend day) within eight family residences located in colonias near the towns of Alton and San Carlos, Texas. English observations were coded inductively and early observations stressed the importance of technology and material hardship in food-related behavior. These observations were further explored and coded using the qualitative data package Atlas.ti. Technology included kitchen implements used in standard and adapted configurations and household infrastructure. Residents employed tools across a range of food-related activities identified as forms of food acquisition, storage, preparation, serving, feeding and eating, cleaning, and waste processing. Material hardships included the quality, quantity, acceptability, and uncertainty dimensions of food insecurity, and insufficient consumption of housing, clothing and medical care. Cultural repertoires for coping with material hardship included reliance on inexpensive staple foods and dishes, and

Shape memory behavior of single and polycrystalline nickel rich nickel titanium alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Kaya, Irfan

NiTi is the most commonly used shape memory alloy (SMA) and has been widely used for bio-medical, electrical and mechanical applications. Nickel rich NiTi shape memory alloys are coming into prominence due to their distinct superelasticity and shape memory properties as compared to near equi-atomic NiTi shape memory alloys. Besides, their lower density and higher work output than steels makes these alloys an excellent candidate for aerospace and automotive industry. Shape memory properties and phase transformation behavior of high Ni-rich Ni54Ti46 (at.%) polycrystals and Ni-rich Ni 51Ti49 (at.%) single-crystals are determined. Their properties are sensitive to heat treatments that affect the phase transformation behavior of these alloys. Phase transformation properties and microstructure were investigated in aged Ni54Ti46 alloys with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to reveal the precipitation characteristics and R-phase formation. It was found that Ni54Ti46 has the ability to exhibit perfect superelasticity under high stress levels (~2 GPa) with 4% total strain after 550°C-3h aging. Stress independent R-phase transformation was found to be responsible for the change in shape memory behavior with stress. The shape memory responses of [001], [011] and [111] oriented Ni 51Ti49 single-crystals alloy were reported under compression to reveal the orientation dependence of their shape memory behavior. It has been found that transformation strain, temperatures and hysteresis, Classius-Clapeyron slopes, critical stress for plastic deformation are highly orientation dependent. The effects of precipitation formation and compressive loading at selected temperatures on the two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) properties of a [111]- oriented Ni51Ti49 shape memory alloy were revealed. Additionally, aligned Ni4Ti3 precipitates were formed in a single crystal of Ni51Ti49 alloy by aging under applied compression stress along the

Low arousing positive affect broadens visual attention and alters the thought-action repertoire while broadened visual attention does not

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Daniel Thomas Jäger

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The Broaden-and-Build Theory states that positive emotions broaden cognition and therefore build personal resources. However, missing theoretical precision regarding the interaction of the cognitive processes involved offers a variety of possible explanations for the mechanisms of broadening and building. In Experiment 1 we tested the causality assumption which states that positive emotions first broaden visual attention which in turn leads to broadened cognition. We examined the effects of a broadened, narrowed or neutral attentional scope of 72 subjects (30 men on their momentary thought-action repertoire. Results showed that there were no significant differences between groups regarding the breadth or the content of the thought-action repertoire. In Experiment 2 we studied the non-causality hypothesis which assumes a non-causal relationship between cognitive processes. We did so by investigating the effects of negative, neutral, and positive affect on the visual attentional scope of 85 subjects (41 men in Experiment 2a, as well as on the thought-action repertoire of 85 participants (42 men in Experiment 2b. Results revealed an attentional broadening effect in Experiment 2a but no differences between groups concerning the breadth of the thought-action repertoire in Experiment 2b. However, a theory driven content analysis showed that positive affect promoted social actions whereas negative affect endorsed resource protecting actions. Thus, our results favor the non-causality assumption. Moreover, results indicate that positive emotions do not target personal resources in general but rather resources associated with social behavior. In conclusion, we argue that the Broaden-and-Build Theory should be refined.

VDJtools: Unifying Post-analysis of T Cell Receptor Repertoires.

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Mikhail Shugay

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Despite the growing number of immune repertoire sequencing studies, the field still lacks software for analysis and comprehension of this high-dimensional data. Here we report VDJtools, a complementary software suite that solves a wide range of T cell receptor (TCR repertoires post-analysis tasks, provides a detailed tabular output and publication-ready graphics, and is built on top of a flexible API. Using TCR datasets for a large cohort of unrelated healthy donors, twins, and multiple sclerosis patients we demonstrate that VDJtools greatly facilitates the analysis and leads to sound biological conclusions. VDJtools software and documentation are available at https://github.com/mikessh/vdjtools.

High prevalence of abnormal motor repertoire at 3 months corrected age in extremely preterm infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Fjørtoft, Toril; Evensen, Kari Anne I; Øberg, Gunn Kristin; Songstad, Nils Thomas; Labori, Cathrine; Silberg, Inger Elisabeth; Loennecken, Marianne; Møinichen, Unn Inger; Vågen, Randi; Støen, Ragnhild; Adde, Lars

2016-03-01

To compare early motor repertoire between extremely preterm and term-born infants. An association between the motor repertoire and gestational age and birth weight was explored in extremely preterm infants without severe ultrasound abnormalities. In a multicentre study, the early motor repertoire of 82 infants born extremely preterm (ELGAN:<28 weeks) and/or with extremely low birth weight (ELBW:<1000 g) and 87 term-born infants were assessed by the "Assessment of Motor Repertoire - 2 to 5 Months" (AMR) which is part of Prechtl's "General Movement Assessment", at 12 weeks post-term age. Fidgety movements were classified as normal if present and abnormal if absent, sporadic or exaggerated. Concurrent motor repertoire was classified as normal if smooth and fluent and abnormal if monotonous, stiff, jerky and/or predominantly fast or slow. Eight-teen ELBW/ELGAN infants had abnormal fidgety movements (8 absent, 7 sporadic and 3 exaggerated fidgety movements) compared with 2 control infants (OR:12.0; 95%CI:2.7-53.4) and 46 ELBW/ELGAN infants had abnormal concurrent motor repertoire compared with 17 control infants (OR:5.3; 95%CI:2.6-10.5). Almost all detailed aspects of the AMR differed between the groups. Results were the same when three infants with severe ultrasound abnormalities were excluded. In the remaining ELBW/ELGAN infants, there was no association between motor repertoire and gestational age or birth weight. ELBW/ELGAN infants had poorer quality of early motor repertoire than term-born infants.The findings were not explained by severe abnormalities on neonatal ultrasound scans and were not correlated to the degree of prematurity. The consequences of these abnormal movement patterns remain to be seen in future follow-up studies. Copyright © 2015 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Statistical inference of the generation probability of T-cell receptors from sequence repertoires.

Science.gov (United States)

Murugan, Anand; Mora, Thierry; Walczak, Aleksandra M; Callan, Curtis G

2012-10-02

Stochastic rearrangement of germline V-, D-, and J-genes to create variable coding sequence for certain cell surface receptors is at the origin of immune system diversity. This process, known as "VDJ recombination", is implemented via a series of stochastic molecular events involving gene choices and random nucleotide insertions between, and deletions from, genes. We use large sequence repertoires of the variable CDR3 region of human CD4+ T-cell receptor beta chains to infer the statistical properties of these basic biochemical events. Because any given CDR3 sequence can be produced in multiple ways, the probability distribution of hidden recombination events cannot be inferred directly from the observed sequences; we therefore develop a maximum likelihood inference method to achieve this end. To separate the properties of the molecular rearrangement mechanism from the effects of selection, we focus on nonproductive CDR3 sequences in T-cell DNA. We infer the joint distribution of the various generative events that occur when a new T-cell receptor gene is created. We find a rich picture of correlation (and absence thereof), providing insight into the molecular mechanisms involved. The generative event statistics are consistent between individuals, suggesting a universal biochemical process. Our probabilistic model predicts the generation probability of any specific CDR3 sequence by the primitive recombination process, allowing us to quantify the potential diversity of the T-cell repertoire and to understand why some sequences are shared between individuals. We argue that the use of formal statistical inference methods, of the kind presented in this paper, will be essential for quantitative understanding of the generation and evolution of diversity in the adaptive immune system.

High diversity of the T-cell receptor repertoire of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in basal cell carcinoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Omland, Silje H; Hamrouni, Abdelbasset; Gniadecki, Robert

2017-01-01

to determine the clonality of TCR and degree of overlap in TCR repertoires between skin resident T-cells and TILs. We found high diversity of the TCR repertoire in BCC and control skin with random V-J gene usage and similar CDR3-length distribution. Lack of TCR repertoire restriction indicates absence of tumor......Whether specific T-cell clones are present in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in BCC is unknown. We employed deep sequencing of mRNA coding for the T-cell receptor (TCR) chains α- and β to characterize the repertoire of TILs in BCC. V and J gene-usage and CDR3 length were computed...

Negotiation over self-control and activity: an analysis of balancing in the repertoires of Finnish healthy lifestyles.

Science.gov (United States)

Pajari, Pia M; Jallinoja, Piia; Absetz, Pilvikki

2006-05-01

This study analyses arguments for and against the notion of healthy lifestyles, and the construction of responsibility for health, in group discussions in Finland. With data from four focus groups, we identified five interpretative repertoires: a strong activity repertoire reflects the dominant cultural value of health and emphasizes self-control. Three other repertoires--illness, external barriers, and weak character--share the underlying values of the activity repertoire, but exemplify situations where the individual lacks control, seeking to justify deviations from the norm of activity. One counter-repertoire, the pleasure repertoire, questions the hegemonic value of health, and discusses other competing values. The discussion of health is an ongoing dialectical process drawing from the different repertoires. In order to avoid stigmatization and to save face in the social situation of a focus group, the subjects strive to balance their accounts of behaviours considered unhealthy by also claiming healthy behaviours. They also strike a balance between extreme rigidity and carelessness, emphasizing the ideal of moderation and harmony. The findings point to a need to consider variations in and underpinnings of a "good life" at the individual level. Encouraging people to specify the meaning and content of moderation in their personal lives could provide a new perspective for health education and health promotion.

Friendship Repertoires and Care Arrangement: A Praxeological Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahmann, Julia

2017-01-01

Friends are important companions and serve as sources for diverse dimensions of social support, including elderly care. Rather than researching populations that have already established care arrangements including friends, the author seeks to understand relationship systems with a focus on the inner logic friendship to consequently describe and understand involved care arrangements, be it with family members or friends. To illustrate the diversity of friendship repertoires, qualitative interviews with older adult Germans are analyzed regarding cognitive concepts of friendships in contrast to familiar ties as well as social practices around relationship systems. While some repertoires successfully include chosen ties in their care arrangements, others not only focus on family, they do not wish to receive care from friends. The article's praxeological approach highlights the need to reflect habitual differences when thinking about elderly informal care arrangements. © The Author(s) 2016.

BRAZILIAN FEMINIST MOVEMENT: REPERTOIRE AND STRATEGIES FOR ACTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carla de Paiva Bezerra

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This article aims at analyzing the development of and changes in, the repertoire and strategies for action of the Brazilian feminist movement, in the period between the democratic “re-opening” set in the 1980s and the first decade of the XXI century. Our interest is centered in two foci of analysis: on the one hand, it focuses on the movement’s positioning in relation to the State, which varied from a situation of opposition, or even of indifference, to direct attempts at influencing public policies and actions in the State sphere, whether through party politics or participative institutions. On the other hand, we are interested in analyzing how, and in which specific moments, agency beyond the national feminist frontiers takes place and in which measure this influences the local repertoires and vice-versa.

Phenotypic deconstruction of gene circuitry.

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Lomnitz, Jason G; Savageau, Michael A

2013-06-01

It remains a challenge to obtain a global perspective on the behavioral repertoire of complex nonlinear gene circuits. In this paper, we describe a method for deconstructing complex systems into nonlinear sub-systems, based on mathematically defined phenotypes, which are then represented within a system design space that allows the repertoire of qualitatively distinct phenotypes of the complex system to be identified, enumerated, and analyzed. This method efficiently characterizes large regions of system design space and quickly generates alternative hypotheses for experimental testing. We describe the motivation and strategy in general terms, illustrate its use with a detailed example involving a two-gene circuit with a rich repertoire of dynamic behavior, and discuss experimental means of navigating the system design space.

Phenotypic deconstruction of gene circuitry

Science.gov (United States)

Lomnitz, Jason G.; Savageau, Michael A.

2013-06-01

It remains a challenge to obtain a global perspective on the behavioral repertoire of complex nonlinear gene circuits. In this paper, we describe a method for deconstructing complex systems into nonlinear sub-systems, based on mathematically defined phenotypes, which are then represented within a system design space that allows the repertoire of qualitatively distinct phenotypes of the complex system to be identified, enumerated, and analyzed. This method efficiently characterizes large regions of system design space and quickly generates alternative hypotheses for experimental testing. We describe the motivation and strategy in general terms, illustrate its use with a detailed example involving a two-gene circuit with a rich repertoire of dynamic behavior, and discuss experimental means of navigating the system design space.

Identification and comparative analysis of sixteen fungal peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase repertoires

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Pemberton Trevor J

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase class of proteins is present in all known eukaryotes, prokaryotes, and archaea, and it is comprised of three member families that share the ability to catalyze the cis/trans isomerisation of a prolyl bond. Some fungi have been used as model systems to investigate the role of PPIases within the cell, however how representative these repertoires are of other fungi or humans has not been fully investigated. Results PPIase numbers within these fungal repertoires appears associated with genome size and orthology between repertoires was found to be low. Phylogenetic analysis showed the single-domain FKBPs to evolve prior to the multi-domain FKBPs, whereas the multi-domain cyclophilins appear to evolve throughout cyclophilin evolution. A comparison of their known functions has identified, besides a common role within protein folding, multiple roles for the cyclophilins within pre-mRNA splicing and cellular signalling, and within transcription and cell cycle regulation for the parvulins. However, no such commonality was found with the FKBPs. Twelve of the 17 human cyclophilins and both human parvulins, but only one of the 13 human FKBPs, identified orthologues within these fungi. hPar14 orthologues were restricted to the Pezizomycotina fungi, and R. oryzae is unique in the known fungi in possessing an hCyp33 orthologue and a TPR-containing FKBP. The repertoires of Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Aspergillus nidulans were found to exhibit the highest orthology to the human repertoire, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae one of the lowest. Conclusion Given this data, we would hypothesize that: (i the evolution of the fungal PPIases is driven, at least in part, by the size of the proteome, (ii evolutionary pressures differ both between the different PPIase families and the different fungi, and (iii whilst the cyclophilins and parvulins have evolved to perform conserved

Persisting fetal clonotypes influence the structure and overlap of adult human T cell receptor repertoires.

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Mikhail V Pogorelyy

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The diversity of T-cell receptors recognizing foreign pathogens is generated through a highly stochastic recombination process, making the independent production of the same sequence rare. Yet unrelated individuals do share receptors, which together constitute a "public" repertoire of abundant clonotypes. The TCR repertoire is initially formed prenatally, when the enzyme inserting random nucleotides is downregulated, producing a limited diversity subset. By statistically analyzing deep sequencing T-cell repertoire data from twins, unrelated individuals of various ages, and cord blood, we show that T-cell clones generated before birth persist and maintain high abundances in adult organisms for decades, slowly decaying with age. Our results suggest that large, low-diversity public clones are created during pre-natal life, and survive over long periods, providing the basis of the public repertoire.

Immune Repertoire Characteristics and Dynamics in Cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Xiao

The diversity of T and B cells in terms of their receptors is huge in the invertebrate’s immune system, to provide broad protection against the vast diversity of pathogens. Immune repertoire is defined as the sum of total subtypes that makes the organism’s immune system, either T cell receptor or...

Antibody repertoire profiling with mimotope arrays

OpenAIRE

Pashova, Shina; Schneider, Christoph; von Gunten, Stephan; Pashov, Anastas

2016-01-01

Large-scale profiling and monitoring of antibody repertoires is possible through next generation sequencing (NGS), phage display libraries and microarrays. These methods can be combined in a pipeline, which ultimately maps the antibody reactivities onto defined arrays of structures - peptides or carbohydrates. The arrays can help analyze the individual specificities or can be used as complex patterns. In any case, the targets recognized should formally be considered mimotopes unless they are ...

Co-regulation of a large and rapidly evolving repertoire of odorant receptor genes

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Lane Robert P

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract The olfactory system meets niche- and species-specific demands by an accelerated evolution of its odorant receptor repertoires. In this review, we describe evolutionary processes that have shaped olfactory and vomeronasal receptor gene families in vertebrate genomes. We emphasize three important periods in the evolution of the olfactory system evident by comparative genomics: the adaptation to land in amphibian ancestors, the decline of olfaction in primates, and the delineation of putative pheromone receptors concurrent with rodent speciation. The rapid evolution of odorant receptor genes, the sheer size of the repertoire, as well as their wide distribution in the genome, presents a developmental challenge: how are these ever-changing odorant receptor repertoires coordinated within the olfactory system? A central organizing principle in olfaction is the specialization of sensory neurons resulting from each sensory neuron expressing only ~one odorant receptor allele. In this review, we also discuss this mutually exclusive expression of odorant receptor genes. We have considered several models to account for co-regulation of odorant receptor repertoires, as well as discussed a new hypothesis that invokes important epigenetic properties of the system.

Antibodies: From novel repertoires to defining and refining the structure of biologically important targets.

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Conroy, Paul J; Law, Ruby H P; Caradoc-Davies, Tom T; Whisstock, James C

2017-03-01

Antibodies represent a highly successful class of molecules that bind a wide-range of targets in therapeutic-, diagnostic- and research-based applications. The antibody repertoire is composed of the building blocks required to develop an effective adaptive immune response against foreign insults. A number of species have developed novel genetic and structural mechanisms from which they derive these antibody repertoires, however, traditionally antibodies are isolated from human, and rodent sources. Due to their high-value therapeutic, diagnostic, biotechnological and research applications, much innovation has resulted in techniques and approaches to isolate novel antibodies. These approaches are bolstered by advances in our understanding of species immune repertoires, next generation sequencing capacity, combinatorial antibody discovery and high-throughput screening. Structural determination of antibodies and antibody-antigen complexes has proven to be pivotal to our current understanding of the immune repertoire for a range of species leading to advances in man-made libraries and fine tuning approaches to develop antibodies from immune-repertoires. Furthermore, the isolation of antibodies directed against antigens of importance in health, disease and developmental processes, has yielded a plethora of structural and functional insights. This review highlights the significant contribution of antibody-based crystallography to our understanding of adaptive immunity and its application to providing critical information on a range of human-health related indications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The porcine antibody repertoire: Variations on the textbook theme

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John eButler

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The genes encoding the heavy and light chains of swine antibodies are organized in the same manner as in other eutherian mammals. There are ~ 30 VH genes, two functional DH genes and one functional JH gene. There are 14-60 V genes and 5 J segments, >22V genes and at least four JC cassettes. The heavy chain constant regions encode the same repertoire of isotypes common to other eutherian mammals. The piglet models offers advantage over rodent models since the fetal repertoire develops without maternal influences and the precocial nature of their multiple offspring allows the experimenter to control the influences of environmental and maternal factors on repertoire development postnatally. B cell lymphogenesis in swine begins in the fetal yolk sac at 20 days of gestation (DG, moves to the fetal liver at 30 DG and eventually to the bone marrow which dominates until birth (114 DG and to at least 5 weeks postpartum. There is no evidence that the ileal Peyers patches are a site of B cell lymphogenesis or are required for B cell maintenance. Unlike rodents and humans, light chain rearrangement begins first in the lambda locus; kappa rearrangements are not seen until late gestation.Dissimilar to lab rodents and more in the direction of the rabbit, swine utilize a small number of VH genes to form >90% of their pre-immune repertoire. Diversification in response to environmental antigen does not alter this pattern and is achieved by somatic hypermutation (SHM of the same small number of VH genes. The situation for light chains is less-well studied, but certain V and J and V and J are dominant in transcripts. The transcribed and secreted pre-immune antibodies of the fetus include mainly IgM, IgA and IgG3; this last isotype may provide a type of first responder mucosal immunity. Development of functional adaptive immunity is dependent on bacterial PAMPs or PAMPs provided by viral infections, indicating the importance of innate

Iterative Design toward Equity: Youth Repertoires of Practice in a High School Maker Space

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Martin, Lee; Dixon, Colin; Betser, Sagit

2018-01-01

Despite their potential, maker activities do not always support equitable engagement. The authors report on a design research study where they worked to support equitable engagement of youth repertoires of practice in a high school makerspace. Their orientation toward equity is grounded in the construct of repertoires of practice, and they focus…

METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF FORMING REPERTOIRE OF STUDENTS’ FOLK INSTRUMENTAL ORCHESTRA

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Mykola Pshenychnykh

2016-11-01

Full Text Available One of the main aspects of forming future music teachers’ professional competence, connected with mastering professional musical and performing skills in the course “Orchestra Class” and realized in the activity of students’ performing group, is revealed. Nowadays the problem of creative personality development is relevant, as creative future music art teachers freely orient themselves and guide pupils students in today's cultural environment, music and media space, have a strong musical taste and aesthetic guidelines. The music genre groups have been characterized in the article. It is thought that these groups are the traditional components of repertoire of folk and orchestra student groups: arrangements of folk tunes; works of Ukrainian and world classics, orchestrated for the folk groups, taking into account each orchestra performing possibilities; works by contemporary authors, written specifically for the orchestra of folk instruments. The main methodological principles of selecting the repertoire for the student orchestra of folk instruments are disclosed, including: technical, artistic and performing capabilities of student groups; involvement of works of different genres into the repertoire; correspondence of orchestra scores to instrumental composition of the student orchestra, and their correction if it is necessary; selecting works, whose performing arouses interest of the student audience; using the experience of the leading professional ensembles of folk instruments; constant updating the orchestra's repertoire. In the conclusion the author emphasizes that taking into account the methodological tips helps solve the main tasks within the course of “Orchestra Class”. These tips are the following: students’ acquaintance with the history of foundation, composition, ways of musicianship, technique of playing the instrument of folk instrument orchestra and acquaintance with specific orchestral music; development of all

Linking experiences with emotions and the development of interpretive repertoires

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McRae, Norah I.

2010-03-01

In this paper I consider the case of one student, Todd Alexander, through analyzing the transcripts of his interviews between him and his teacher (Wolff-Michael Roth). I examine the role that emotions play in the development of the interpretive repertoires that Todd employed as he talked about his scientific and his religious beliefs. I identify how lived experiences support the development of emotions and what educational conditions are necessary to allow for appropriate lived experiences. In so doing we might be able to support educational conditions that result in interpretive repertoires that allow for acceptance of multiple perspectives with a moral grounding, leading to students who are well positioned to be valuable contributors to society.

Analysis of B Cell Repertoire Dynamics Following Hepatitis B Vaccination in Humans, and Enrichment of Vaccine-specific Antibody Sequences.

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Galson, Jacob D; Trück, Johannes; Fowler, Anna; Clutterbuck, Elizabeth A; Münz, Márton; Cerundolo, Vincenzo; Reinhard, Claudia; van der Most, Robbert; Pollard, Andrew J; Lunter, Gerton; Kelly, Dominic F

2015-12-01

Generating a diverse B cell immunoglobulin repertoire is essential for protection against infection. The repertoire in humans can now be comprehensively measured by high-throughput sequencing. Using hepatitis B vaccination as a model, we determined how the total immunoglobulin sequence repertoire changes following antigen exposure in humans, and compared this to sequences from vaccine-specific sorted cells. Clonal sequence expansions were seen 7 days after vaccination, which correlated with vaccine-specific plasma cell numbers. These expansions caused an increase in mutation, and a decrease in diversity and complementarity-determining region 3 sequence length in the repertoire. We also saw an increase in sequence convergence between participants 14 and 21 days after vaccination, coinciding with an increase of vaccine-specific memory cells. These features allowed development of a model for in silico enrichment of vaccine-specific sequences from the total repertoire. Identifying antigen-specific sequences from total repertoire data could aid our understanding B cell driven immunity, and be used for disease diagnostics and vaccine evaluation.

Identification of a bitter-taste receptor gene repertoire in different Lagomorphs species

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Ana M. Ferreira

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The repertoires of bitter taste receptor (T2R gene have been described for several animal species, but these data are still scarce for Lagomorphs. The aim of the present work is to identify potential repertoires of T2R in several Lagomorph species, covering a wide geographical distribution. We studied these genes in Lepus timidus, Lepus europaeus, Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus, Romerolagus diazi and Sylvilagus floridanus, using Oryctolagus cuniculus cuniculus as control species for PCR and DNA sequencing. We studied the identities of the DNA sequences and built the corresponding phylogenetic tree. Sequencing was successful for both subspecies of Oryctolagus cuniculus for all T2R genes studied, for five genes in Lepus, and for three genes in Romerolagus diazi and Sylvilagus floridanus. We describe for the first time the partial repertoires of T2R genes for Lagomorphs species, other than the common rabbit. Our phylogenetic analyses indicate that sequence proximity levels follow the established taxonomic classification.

A Comparison of the Basic Song Repertoire of Vocal/Choral and Instrumental Music Education Majors.

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Prickett, Carol A.; Bridges, Madeline S.

2000-01-01

Explores whether the basic song repertoire of vocal/choral music education majors is significantly better than instrumental music education majors. Participants attempted to identify 25 standard songs. Reveals no significant difference between the two groups, indicating that neither had developed a strong repertoire of songs. (CMK)

Behavior control in the sensorimotor loop with short-term synaptic dynamics induced by self-regulating neurons

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Hazem eToutounji

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The behavior and skills of living systems depend on the distributed control provided by specialized and highly recurrent neural networks. Learning and memory in these systems is mediated by a set of adaptation mechanisms, known collectively as neuronal plasticity. Translating principles of recurrent neural control and plasticity to artificial agents has seen major strides, but is usually hampered by the complex interactions between the agent's body and its environment. One of the important standing issues is for the agent to support multiple stable states of behavior, so that its behavioral repertoire matches the requirements imposed by these interactions. The agent also must have the capacity to switch between these states in time scales that are comparable to those by which sensory stimulation varies. Achieving this requires a mechanism of short-term memory that allows the neurocontroller to keep track of the recent history of its input, which finds its biological counterpart in short-term synaptic plasticity. This issue is approached here by deriving synaptic dynamics in recurrent neural networks. Neurons are introduced as self-regulating units with a rich repertoire of dynamics. They exhibit homeostatic properties for certain parameter domains, which result in a set of stable states and the required short-term memory. They can also operate as oscillators, which allow them to surpass the level of activity imposed by their homeostatic operation conditions. Neural systems endowed with the derived synaptic dynamics can be utilized for the neural behavior control of autonomous mobile agents. The resulting behavior depends also on the underlying network structure, which is either engineered, or developed by evolutionary techniques. The effectiveness of these self-regulating units is demonstrated by controlling locomotion of a hexapod with eighteen degrees of freedom, and obstacle-avoidance of a wheel-driven robot.

From everyday communicative figurations to rigorous audience news repertoires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kobbernagel, Christian; Schrøder, Kim Christian

2016-01-01

In the last couple of decades there has been an unprecedented explosion of news media platforms and formats, as a succession of digital and social media have joined the ranks of legacy media. We live in a ‘hybrid media system’ (Chadwick, 2013), in which people build their cross-media news...... repertoires from the ensemble of old and new media available. This article presents an innovative mixed-method approach with considerable explanatory power to the exploration of patterns of news media consumption. This approach tailors Q-methodology in the direction of a qualitative study of news consumption......, in which a card sorting exercise serves to translate the participants’ news media preferences into a form that enables the researcher to undertake a rigorous factor-analytical construction of their news consumption repertoires. This interpretive, factor-analytical procedure, which results in the building...

High-throughput Sequencing Based Immune Repertoire Study during Infectious Disease

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Dongni Hou

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The selectivity of the adaptive immune response is based on the enormous diversity of T and B cell antigen-specific receptors. The immune repertoire, the collection of T and B cells with functional diversity in the circulatory system at any given time, is dynamic and reflects the essence of immune selectivity. In this article, we review the recent advances in immune repertoire study of infectious diseases that achieved by traditional techniques and high-throughput sequencing techniques. High-throughput sequencing techniques enable the determination of complementary regions of lymphocyte receptors with unprecedented efficiency and scale. This progress in methodology enhances the understanding of immunologic changes during pathogen challenge, and also provides a basis for further development of novel diagnostic markers, immunotherapies and vaccines.

Maximum-Entropy Models of Sequenced Immune Repertoires Predict Antigen-Antibody Affinity.

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Lorenzo Asti

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The immune system has developed a number of distinct complex mechanisms to shape and control the antibody repertoire. One of these mechanisms, the affinity maturation process, works in an evolutionary-like fashion: after binding to a foreign molecule, the antibody-producing B-cells exhibit a high-frequency mutation rate in the genome region that codes for the antibody active site. Eventually, cells that produce antibodies with higher affinity for their cognate antigen are selected and clonally expanded. Here, we propose a new statistical approach based on maximum entropy modeling in which a scoring function related to the binding affinity of antibodies against a specific antigen is inferred from a sample of sequences of the immune repertoire of an individual. We use our inference strategy to infer a statistical model on a data set obtained by sequencing a fairly large portion of the immune repertoire of an HIV-1 infected patient. The Pearson correlation coefficient between our scoring function and the IC50 neutralization titer measured on 30 different antibodies of known sequence is as high as 0.77 (p-value 10-6, outperforming other sequence- and structure-based models.

Analysis of B Cell Repertoire Dynamics Following Hepatitis B Vaccination in Humans, and Enrichment of Vaccine-specific Antibody Sequences

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Jacob D. Galson

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Generating a diverse B cell immunoglobulin repertoire is essential for protection against infection. The repertoire in humans can now be comprehensively measured by high-throughput sequencing. Using hepatitis B vaccination as a model, we determined how the total immunoglobulin sequence repertoire changes following antigen exposure in humans, and compared this to sequences from vaccine-specific sorted cells. Clonal sequence expansions were seen 7 days after vaccination, which correlated with vaccine-specific plasma cell numbers. These expansions caused an increase in mutation, and a decrease in diversity and complementarity-determining region 3 sequence length in the repertoire. We also saw an increase in sequence convergence between participants 14 and 21 days after vaccination, coinciding with an increase of vaccine-specific memory cells. These features allowed development of a model for in silico enrichment of vaccine-specific sequences from the total repertoire. Identifying antigen-specific sequences from total repertoire data could aid our understanding B cell driven immunity, and be used for disease diagnostics and vaccine evaluation.

Diversification of the Primary Antibody Repertoire by AID-Mediated Gene Conversion.

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Lanning, Dennis K; Knight, Katherine L

2015-01-01

Gene conversion, mediated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), has been found to contribute to generation of the primary antibody repertoire in several vertebrate species. Generation of the primary antibody repertoire by gene conversion of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes occurs primarily in gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT) and is best described in chicken and rabbit. Here, we discuss current knowledge of the mechanism of gene conversion as well as the contribution of the microbiota in promoting gene conversion of Ig genes. Finally, we propose that the antibody diversification strategy used in GALT species, such as chicken and rabbit, is conserved in a subset of human and mouse B cells.

B cell repertoires in HLA-sensitized kidney transplant candidates undergoing desensitization therapy.

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Beausang, John F; Fan, H Christina; Sit, Rene; Hutchins, Maria U; Jirage, Kshama; Curtis, Rachael; Hutchins, Edward; Quake, Stephen R; Yabu, Julie M

2017-01-13

Kidney transplantation is the most effective treatment for end-stage renal disease. Sensitization refers to pre-existing antibodies against human leukocyte antigen (HLA) protein and remains a major barrier to successful transplantation. Despite implementation of desensitization strategies, many candidates fail to respond. Our objective was to determine whether measuring B cell repertoires could differentiate candidates that respond to desensitization therapy. We developed an assay based on high-throughput DNA sequencing of the variable domain of the heavy chain of immunoglobulin genes to measure changes in B cell repertoires in 19 highly HLA-sensitized kidney transplant candidates undergoing desensitization and 7 controls with low to moderate HLA sensitization levels. Responders to desensitization had a decrease of 5% points or greater in cumulated calculated panel reactive antibody (cPRA) levels, and non-responders had no decrease in cPRA. Dominant B cell clones were not observed in highly sensitized candidates, suggesting that the B cells responsible for sensitization are either not present in peripheral blood or present at comparable levels to other circulating B cells. Candidates that responded to desensitization therapy had pre-treatment repertoires composed of a larger fraction of class-switched (IgG and IgA) isotypes compared to non-responding candidates. After B cell depleting therapy, the proportion of switched isotypes increased and the mutation frequencies of the remaining non-switched isotypes (IgM and IgD) increased in both responders and non-responders, perhaps representing a shift in the repertoire towards memory B cells or plasmablasts. Conversely, after transplantation, non-switched isotypes with fewer mutations increased, suggesting a shift in the repertoire towards naïve B cells. Relative abundance of different B cell isotypes is strongly perturbed by desensitization therapy and transplantation, potentially reflecting changes in the relative

Thermal behavior of potato starch and water-vaporization behavior of its paste controlled with amino acid and peptide-rich food materials.

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Sakauchi, Satoshi; Hattori, Makoto; Yoshida, Tadashi; Yagishita, Takahiro; Ito, Koichi; Akemitsu, Shin-Ichi; Takahashi, Koji

2010-03-01

The particular effect of 4 kinds of amino acid and peptide-rich food material (APRM) containing different charged amino acid contents on the gelatinization and retrogradation behavior of potato starch granules and on the water-vaporization behavior was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, rapid viscoanalysis, x-ray diffractometry, thermal gravimetry-differential thermal analysis, and pulsed NMR. APRM with a high-charged amino acid content produced unique gelatinization and retrogradation behavior in terms of an elevated gelatinization temperature, reduced viscosity, higher setback, and lower retrograded starch melting enthalpy. The recovered x-ray diffraction intensity decreased with increasing charged amino acid content. APRM with high-charged amino acid content could provide an improved paste having easy vaporization of external water in the swollen starch granules due to the reduced swelling.

Frictional behavior of carbonate-rich sediments in subduction zones

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Rabinowitz, H. S.; Savage, H. M.; Carpenter, B. M.; Collettini, C.

2016-12-01

Deformation in rocks and sediments is controlled by multiple mechanisms, each governed by its own pressure- (P), temperature- (T), and slip velocity- (v) dependent kinetics. Frictional behavior depends on which of these mechanisms are dominant, and, thus, varies with P, T, and v. Carbonates are a useful material with which to interrogate the PTv controls on friction due to the fact that a wide range of mechanisms can be easily accessed in the lab at geologically relevant conditions. In addition, carbonate-rich layers make up a significant component of subducting sediments around the world and may impact the frictional behavior of shallow subduction zones. In order to investigate the effect of carbonate subduction and the evolution of friction at subduction zone conditions, we conducted deformation experiments on input sediments for two subduction zones, the Hikurangi trench, New Zealand (ODP Site 1124) and the Peru trench (DSDP Site 321), which have carbonate/clay contents of 40/60 wt% and 80/20 wt%, respectively. Samples were saturated with distilled water mixed with 35g/l sea salt and deformed at room temperature. Experiments were conducted at σeff = 1-100 MPa and T = 20-100 °C with sliding velocities of 1-300 μm/s and hold times of 1-1000 s. We test the changes in velocity dependence and healing over these PT conditions to elucidate the frictional behavior of carbonates in subduction zone settings. The mechanical results are complemented by microstructural analysis. In lower stress experiments, there is no obvious shear localization; however, by 25 MPa, pervasive boundary-parallel shears become dominant, particularly in the Peru samples. Optical observations of these shear zones under cross-polarized light show evidence of plastic deformation (CPO development) while SEM-EDS observations indicate phase segregation in the boundary shears. Degree of microstructural localization appears to correspond with the trends observed in velocity-dependence. Our

IgM repertoire biodiversity is reduced in HIV-1 infection and systemic lupus erythematosus

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Li eYin

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Background: HIV-1 infection or systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE] disrupt B cell homeostasis, reduce memory B cells, and impair function of IgG and IgM antibodies. Objective: To determine how disturbances in B cell populations producing polyclonal antibodies relate to the IgM repertoire, the IgM transcriptome in health and disease was explored at the complementarity determining region 3 [CDRH3] sequence population level. Methods: 454-deep pyrosequencing in combination with a novel analysis pipeline was applied to define populations of IGHM CDRH3 sequences based on absence or presence of somatic hypermutations [SHM] in peripheral blood B cells. Results: HIV or SLE subjects have reduced biodiversity within their IGHM transcriptome compared to healthy subjects, mainly due to a significant decrease in the number of unique combinations of alleles, although recombination machinery was intact. While major differences between sequences without or with SHM occurred among all groups, IGHD and IGHJ allele use, CDRH3 length distribution, or generation of SHM were similar among study cohorts. Antiretroviral therapy failed to normalize IGHM biodiversity in HIV-infected individuals. All subjects had a low frequency of allelic combinations within the IGHM repertoire similar to known broadly-neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies. Conclusions: Polyclonal expansion would decrease overall IgM biodiversity independent of other mechanisms for development of the B cell repertoire. Applying deep sequencing as a strategy to follow development of the IgM repertoire in health and disease provides a novel molecular assessment of multiple points along the B cell differentiation pathway that is highly sensitive for detecting perturbations within the repertoire at the population level.

Difficulties when assessing birdsong learning programmes under field conditions: a re-evaluation of song repertoire flexibility in the great tit.

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Rivera-Gutierrez, Hector F; Pinxten, Rianne; Eens, Marcel

2011-01-17

There is a remarkable diversity of song-learning strategies in songbirds. Establishing whether a species is closed- or open-ended is important to be able to interpret functional and evolutionary consequences of variation in repertoire size. Most of our knowledge regarding the timing of vocal learning is based on laboratory studies, despite the fact that these may not always replicate the complex ecological and social interactions experienced by birds in the wild. Given that field studies cannot provide the experimental control of laboratory studies, it may not be surprising that species such as the great tit that were initially assumed to be closed-ended learners have later been suggested to be open-ended learners. By using an established colour-ringed population, by following a standardized recording protocol, and by taking into account the species' song ecology (using only recordings obtained during peak of singing at dawn), we replicated two previous studies to assess song repertoire learning and flexibility in adult wild great tits elicited by social interactions. First, we performed a playback experiment to test repertoire plasticity elicited by novel versus own songs. Additionally, in a longitudinal study, we followed 30 males in two consecutive years and analysed whether new neighbours influenced any change in the repertoire. Contrary to the previous studies, song repertoire size and composition were found to be highly repeatable both between years and after confrontation with a novel song. Our results suggest that great tits are closed-ended learners and that their song repertoire probably does not change during adulthood. Methodological differences that may have led to an underestimation of the repertoires or population differences may explain the discrepancy in results with previous studies. We argue that a rigorous and standardized assessment of the repertoire is essential when studying age- or playback-induced changes in repertoire size and composition

Repertoire of free-living protozoa in contact lens solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchoucha, Ibtissem; Aziz, Aurore; Hoffart, Louis; Drancourt, Michel

2016-10-29

The repertoire of free-living protozoa in contact lens solutions is poorly known despite the fact that such protozoa may act as direct pathogens and may harbor intra-cellular pathogens. Between 2009 and 2014, the contact lens solutions collected from patients presenting at our Ophthalmology Department for clinically suspected keratitis, were cultured on non-nutrient agar examined by microscope for the presence of free-living protozoa. All protozoa were identified by 18S rRNA gene sequencing. A total of 20 of 233 (8.6 %) contact lens solution specimens collected from 16 patients were cultured. Acanthamoeba amoeba in 16 solutions (80 %) collected from 12 patients and Colpoda steini, Cercozoa sp., Protostelium sp. and a eukaryotic more closely related to Vermamoeba sp., were each isolated in one solution. Cercozoa sp., Colpoda sp., Protostelium sp. and Vermamoeba sp. are reported for the first time as contaminating contact lens solutions. The repertoire of protozoa in contact lens solutions is larger than previously known.

Mining Naïve Rabbit Antibody Repertoires by Phage Display for Monoclonal Antibodies of Therapeutic Utility.

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Peng, Haiyong; Nerreter, Thomas; Chang, Jing; Qi, Junpeng; Li, Xiuling; Karunadharma, Pabalu; Martinez, Gustavo J; Fallahi, Mohammad; Soden, Jo; Freeth, Jim; Beerli, Roger R; Grawunder, Ulf; Hudecek, Michael; Rader, Christoph

2017-09-15

Owing to their high affinities and specificities, rabbit monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have demonstrated value and potential primarily as basic research and diagnostic reagents, but, in some cases, also as therapeutics. To accelerate access to rabbit mAbs bypassing immunization, we generated a large naïve rabbit antibody repertoire represented by a phage display library encompassing >10 billion independent antibodies in chimeric rabbit/human Fab format and validated it by next-generation sequencing. Panels of rabbit mAbs selected from this library against two emerging cancer targets, ROR1 and ROR2, revealed high diversity, affinity, and specificity. Moreover, ROR1- and ROR2-targeting rabbit mAbs demonstrated therapeutic utility as components of chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T cells, further corroborating the value of the naïve rabbit antibody library as a rich and virtually unlimited source of rabbit mAbs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Next-Generation Sequencing of Antibody Display Repertoires

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Romain Rouet

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In vitro selection technology has transformed the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Using methods such as phage, ribosome, and yeast display, high affinity binders can be selected from diverse repertoires. Here, we review strategies for the next-generation sequencing (NGS of phage- and other antibody-display libraries, as well as NGS platforms and analysis tools. Moreover, we discuss recent examples relating to the use of NGS to assess library diversity, clonal enrichment, and affinity maturation.

Hydrogen-rich saline attenuates anxiety-like behaviors in morphine-withdrawn mice.

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Wen, Di; Zhao, Peng; Hui, Rongji; Wang, Jian; Shen, Qianchao; Gong, Miao; Guo, Hongyan; Cong, Bin; Ma, Chunling

2017-05-15

Hydrogen therapy is a new medical approach for a wide range of diseases. The effects of hydrogen on central nervous system-related diseases have recently become increasingly appreciated, but little is known about whether hydrogen affects the morphine withdrawal process. This study aims to investigate the potential effects of hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) administration on naloxone-precipitated withdrawal symptoms and morphine withdrawal-induced anxiety-like behaviors. Mice received gradually increasing doses (25-100 mg/kg, i.p.) of morphine over 3 days. In the naloxone-precipitated withdrawal procedure, the mice were treated with three HRS (20 μg/kg, i.p.) injections, and naloxone (1 mg/kg, i.p.) was given 30 min after HRS administration. Body weight, jumping behavior and wet-dog shakes were immediately assessed. In the spontaneous withdrawal procedure, the mice were treated with HRS (20 μg/kg, i.p.) every 8-h. Mice underwent naloxone-precipitated or spontaneous withdrawal were tested for anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and light/dark box (L/D box) paradigm, respectively. In addition, the levels of plasma corticosterone were measured. We found that HRS administration significantly reduced body weight loss, jumping behavior and wet-dog shakes in mice underwent naloxone-precipitated withdrawal, and attenuated anxiety-like behaviors in the EPM and L/D box tests after naloxone-precipitated withdrawal or a 2-day spontaneous withdrawal period. Hypo-activity or motor impairment after HRS administration was not observed in the locomotion tests. Furthermore, HRS administration significantly decreased the levels of corticosterone in morphine-withdrawn mice. These are the first findings to indicate that hydrogen might ameliorate withdrawal symptoms and exert an anxiolytic-like effect in morphine-withdrawal mice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identity, small stories and interpretative repertoires in research interviews. An account of market researchers’ discursive positioning strategies

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Cosmin Toth

2014-12-01

Full Text Available My main purpose in this paper is to illustrate how participants in a research interview occasioned conversation make use of two important discursive devices, namely: small stories and interpretative repertoires for positioning during interaction in order to foster certain situated identity claims. The premises I work with in this paper are that identity is a practiced situated accomplishment, that small stories are devices employed frequently for identity work that are no less important than extended autobiographical expositions, and that interpretative repertoires are practiced ways of speaking that allow participants to manage their positions in certain ways. Moreover, I will try to show that positioning by means of small stories and interpretative repertoires should be understood in direct relation with the identities and other membership categories made relevant by the interviewer. When participants’ positions are conflicting or miss-aligned, a more pronounced identity work is employed on the part of the interviewee, sustained by certain repertoires’ management strategies: alternation, nuancing, or rejecting certain repertoires.

Leisure repertoire among persons with a spinal cord injury: Interests, performance, and well-being

Science.gov (United States)

Lundström, Ulrica; Lilja, Margareta; Petersson, Ingela; Lexell, Jan; Isaksson, Gunilla

2014-01-01

Objective To explore and describe the leisure repertoire of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and how the repertoire is related to interest, performance, and well-being. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting A total of 97 persons with traumatic SCI were recruited from the non-profit national organization, RG Active Rehabilitation in Sweden. Outcome measure Data were collected through a two-part postal survey. The first comprised of questions investigating socio-demographic variables and injury characteristics; the second part included an interest checklist with 20 areas of leisure activities. Results The participants were mostly interested in, performed, and experienced well-being from social and culture activities and TV/DVD/movies. The areas of leisure activities in which they had most likely experienced changes after the SCI were outdoor activities, exercise, and gardening. Sex, age, and to some extent, time since injury were related to interest, performance, well-being, and changed performance. Conclusions The results provided an explanation and limited description of a changed leisure repertoire among persons after a traumatic SCI. The study showed that sex, age, and time since injury were more closely related to the choice of leisure activities to include in the leisure repertoire than the level of injury. This knowledge can be of importance when professionals in the field of rehabilitation are planning and implementing interventions concerning leisure activities for persons with SCI. PMID:24090284

Effects of spaceflight on the immunoglobulin repertoire of unimmunized C57BL/6 mice

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Ward, Claire; Rettig, Trisha A.; Hlavacek, Savannah; Bye, Bailey A.; Pecaut, Michael J.; Chapes, Stephen K.

2018-02-01

Spaceflight has been shown to suppress the adaptive immune response, altering the distribution and function of lymphocyte populations. B lymphocytes express highly specific and highly diversified receptors, known as immunoglobulins (Ig), that directly bind and neutralize pathogens. Ig diversity is achieved through the enzymatic splicing of gene segments within the genomic DNA of each B cell in a host. The collection of Ig specificities within a host, or Ig repertoire, has been increasingly characterized in both basic research and clinical settings using high-throughput sequencing technology (HTS). We utilized HTS to test the hypothesis that spaceflight affects the B-cell repertoire. To test this hypothesis, we characterized the impact of spaceflight on the unimmunized Ig repertoire of C57BL/6 mice that were flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS) during the Rodent Research One validation flight in comparison to ground controls. Individual gene segment usage was similar between ground control and flight animals, however, gene segment combinations and the junctions in which gene segments combine was varied among animals within and between treatment groups. We also found that spontaneous somatic mutations in the IgH and Igκ gene loci were not increased. These data suggest that space flight did not affect the B cell repertoire of mice flown and housed on the ISS over a short period of time.

Sustained multiplicity in everyday cholesterol reduction: repertoires and practices in talk about 'healthy living'.

Science.gov (United States)

Will, Catherine M; Weiner, Kate

2014-02-01

This article is concerned with talk about and the practices of healthy living in relation to cholesterol reduction. It draws on qualitative interviews with 89 people who are current or former users of either cholesterol-lowering functional foods or statins for cardiovascular risk reduction. Focusing on data about everyday activities including food preparation, shopping and exercise, we illustrate four repertoires that feature in talk about cholesterol reduction (health, pleasure, sociality and pragmatism). Using Gilbert and Mulkay's notion of a 'reconciliation device', we suggest ways in which apparently contradictory repertoires are combined (for example, through talk about moderation) or kept apart. We suggest that, in contrast to the interactiveness of the repertoires of health and pleasure, a pragmatic repertoire concerning food provisioning, storage and cooking as well as the realities of exercise, appears distinct from talk about health and is relatively inert. Finally we consider the implications of these discursive patterns for daily practices. Our data suggest there is little emphasis on coherence in people's practices and illustrate the significance of temporal, spatial and social distribution in allowing people to pursue different priorities in their everyday lives. Rather than the calculated trade-offs of earlier medical sociology we draw on Mol to foreground the possibility of sustained multiplicity in daily practices. © 2014 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2014 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Leisure repertoire among persons with a spinal cord injury: interests, performance, and well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundström, Ulrica; Lilja, Margareta; Petersson, Ingela; Lexell, Jan; Isaksson, Gunilla

2014-03-01

To explore and describe the leisure repertoire of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and how the repertoire is related to interest, performance, and well-being. Cross-sectional study. A total of 97 persons with traumatic SCI were recruited from the non-profit national organization, RG Active Rehabilitation in Sweden. Data were collected through a two-part postal survey. The first comprised of questions investigating socio-demographic variables and injury characteristics; the second part included an interest checklist with 20 areas of leisure activities. The participants were mostly interested in, performed, and experienced well-being from social and culture activities and TV/DVD/movies. The areas of leisure activities in which they had most likely experienced changes after the SCI were outdoor activities, exercise, and gardening. Sex, age, and to some extent, time since injury were related to interest, performance, well-being, and changed performance. The results provided an explanation and limited description of a changed leisure repertoire among persons after a traumatic SCI. The study showed that sex, age, and time since injury were more closely related to the choice of leisure activities to include in the leisure repertoire than the level of injury. This knowledge can be of importance when professionals in the field of rehabilitation are planning and implementing interventions concerning leisure activities for persons with SCI.

Frequency and genetic characterization of V(DD)J recombinants in the human peripheral blood antibody repertoire.

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Briney, Bryan S; Willis, Jordan R; Hicar, Mark D; Thomas, James W; Crowe, James E

2012-09-01

Antibody heavy-chain recombination that results in the incorporation of multiple diversity (D) genes, although uncommon, contributes substantially to the diversity of the human antibody repertoire. Such recombination allows the generation of heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 (HCDR3) regions of extreme length and enables junctional regions that, because of the nucleotide bias of N-addition regions, are difficult to produce through normal V(D)J recombination. Although this non-classical recombination process has been observed infrequently, comprehensive analysis of the frequency and genetic characteristics of such events in the human peripheral blood antibody repertoire has not been possible because of the rarity of such recombinants and the limitations of traditional sequencing technologies. Here, through the use of high-throughput sequencing of the normal human peripheral blood antibody repertoire, we analysed the frequency and genetic characteristics of V(DD)J recombinants. We found that these recombinations were present in approximately 1 in 800 circulating B cells, and that the frequency was severely reduced in memory cell subsets. We also found that V(DD)J recombination can occur across the spectrum of diversity genes, indicating that virtually all recombination signal sequences that flank diversity genes are amenable to V(DD)J recombination. Finally, we observed a repertoire bias in the diversity gene repertoire at the upstream (5') position, and discovered that this bias was primarily attributable to the order of diversity genes in the genomic locus. © 2012 The Authors. Immunology © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Rapid evolution of the sequences and gene repertoires of secreted proteins in bacteria.

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Teresa Nogueira

Full Text Available Proteins secreted to the extracellular environment or to the periphery of the cell envelope, the secretome, play essential roles in foraging, antagonistic and mutualistic interactions. We hypothesize that arms races, genetic conflicts and varying selective pressures should lead to the rapid change of sequences and gene repertoires of the secretome. The analysis of 42 bacterial pan-genomes shows that secreted, and especially extracellular proteins, are predominantly encoded in the accessory genome, i.e. among genes not ubiquitous within the clade. Genes encoding outer membrane proteins might engage more frequently in intra-chromosomal gene conversion because they are more often in multi-genic families. The gene sequences encoding the secretome evolve faster than the rest of the genome and in particular at non-synonymous positions. Cell wall proteins in Firmicutes evolve particularly fast when compared with outer membrane proteins of Proteobacteria. Virulence factors are over-represented in the secretome, notably in outer membrane proteins, but cell localization explains more of the variance in substitution rates and gene repertoires than sequence homology to known virulence factors. Accordingly, the repertoires and sequences of the genes encoding the secretome change fast in the clades of obligatory and facultative pathogens and also in the clades of mutualists and free-living bacteria. Our study shows that cell localization shapes genome evolution. In agreement with our hypothesis, the repertoires and the sequences of genes encoding secreted proteins evolve fast. The particularly rapid change of extracellular proteins suggests that these public goods are key players in bacterial adaptation.

Mother-Newborn Pairs in Malawi Have Similar Antibody Repertoires to Diverse Malaria Antigens.

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Boudová, Sarah; Walldorf, Jenny A; Bailey, Jason A; Divala, Titus; Mungwira, Randy; Mawindo, Patricia; Pablo, Jozelyn; Jasinskas, Algis; Nakajima, Rie; Ouattara, Amed; Adams, Matthew; Felgner, Philip L; Plowe, Christopher V; Travassos, Mark A; Laufer, Miriam K

2017-10-01

Maternal antibodies may play a role in protecting newborns against malaria disease. Plasmodium falciparum parasite surface antigens are diverse, and protection from infection requires allele-specific immunity. Although malaria-specific antibodies have been shown to cross the placenta, the extent to which antibodies that respond to the full repertoire of diverse antigens are transferred from the mother to the infant has not been explored. Understanding the breadth of maternal antibody responses and to what extent these antibodies are transferred to the child can inform vaccine design and evaluation. We probed plasma from cord blood and serum from mothers at delivery using a customized protein microarray that included variants of malaria vaccine target antigens to assess the intensity and breadth of seroreactivity to three malaria vaccine candidate antigens in mother-newborn pairs in Malawi. Among the 33 paired specimens that were assessed, mothers and newborns had similar intensity and repertoire of seroreactivity. Maternal antibody levels against vaccine candidate antigens were the strongest predictors of infant antibody levels. Placental malaria did not significantly impair transplacental antibody transfer. However, mothers with placental malaria had significantly higher antibody levels against these blood-stage antigens than mothers without placental malaria. The repertoire and levels of infant antibodies against a wide range of malaria vaccine candidate antigen variants closely mirror maternal levels in breadth and magnitude regardless of evidence of placental malaria. Vaccinating mothers with an effective malaria vaccine during pregnancy may induce high and potentially protective antibody repertoires in newborns. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Precarious Voices? Types of “Political Citizens” and Repertoires of Action among European Youth

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Lara Monticelli

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article’s goal is to explore the existence of ‘political citizens’ profiles across three European cities (Turin, Cologne and Lyon and to ascertain the role of an unstable occupational status on the repertoires of action deployed. For this purpose, a technique called latent class cluster analysis (LCCA is applied to a large sample, including young precarious and regular workers (deployed as a reference group. This technique allowed us to derive five descriptive probabilistic profiles of ‘political citizens’ and their repertoires of action in each city. The empirical findings underline the emergence of hybrid repertoires of action together with ‘single-issue’ or ‘cause-oriented’ forms of political participation. This study represents an attempt to encourage the dialogue between two strands of research in social sciences, namely sociology of work and political participation and to foster the formation of an innovative research agenda crossing these two fields.

Flexible knowledge repertoires: communication by leaders in trauma teams

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Jacobsson Maritha

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In emergency situations, it is important for the trauma team to efficiently communicate their observations and assessments. One common communication strategy is “closed-loop communication”, which can be described as a transmission model in which feedback is of great importance. The role of the leader is to create a shared goal in order to achieve consensus in the work for the safety of the patient. The purpose of this study was to analyze how formal leaders communicate knowledge, create consensus, and position themselves in relation to others in the team. Methods Sixteen trauma teams were audio- and video-recorded during high fidelity training in an emergency department. Each team consisted of six members: one surgeon or emergency physician (the designated team leader, one anaesthesiologist, one nurse anaesthetist, one enrolled nurse from the theatre ward, one registered nurse and one enrolled nurse from the emergency department (ED. The communication was transcribed and analyzed, inspired by discourse psychology and Strauss’ concept of “negotiated order”. The data were organized and coded in NVivo 9. Results The findings suggest that leaders use coercive, educational, discussing and negotiating strategies to work things through. The leaders in this study used different repertoires to convey their knowledge to the team, in order to create a common goal of the priorities of the work. Changes in repertoires were dependent on the urgency of the situation and the interaction between team members. When using these repertoires, the leaders positioned themselves in different ways, either on an authoritarian or a more egalitarian level. Conclusion This study indicates that communication in trauma teams is complex and consists of more than just transferring messages quickly. It also concerns what the leaders express, and even more importantly, how they speak to and involve other team members.

Flexible knowledge repertoires: communication by leaders in trauma teams

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background In emergency situations, it is important for the trauma team to efficiently communicate their observations and assessments. One common communication strategy is “closed-loop communication”, which can be described as a transmission model in which feedback is of great importance. The role of the leader is to create a shared goal in order to achieve consensus in the work for the safety of the patient. The purpose of this study was to analyze how formal leaders communicate knowledge, create consensus, and position themselves in relation to others in the team. Methods Sixteen trauma teams were audio- and video-recorded during high fidelity training in an emergency department. Each team consisted of six members: one surgeon or emergency physician (the designated team leader), one anaesthesiologist, one nurse anaesthetist, one enrolled nurse from the theatre ward, one registered nurse and one enrolled nurse from the emergency department (ED). The communication was transcribed and analyzed, inspired by discourse psychology and Strauss’ concept of “negotiated order”. The data were organized and coded in NVivo 9. Results The findings suggest that leaders use coercive, educational, discussing and negotiating strategies to work things through. The leaders in this study used different repertoires to convey their knowledge to the team, in order to create a common goal of the priorities of the work. Changes in repertoires were dependent on the urgency of the situation and the interaction between team members. When using these repertoires, the leaders positioned themselves in different ways, either on an authoritarian or a more egalitarian level. Conclusion This study indicates that communication in trauma teams is complex and consists of more than just transferring messages quickly. It also concerns what the leaders express, and even more importantly, how they speak to and involve other team members. PMID:22747848

Flexible knowledge repertoires: communication by leaders in trauma teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobsson, Maritha; Hargestam, Maria; Hultin, Magnus; Brulin, Christine

2012-07-02

In emergency situations, it is important for the trauma team to efficiently communicate their observations and assessments. One common communication strategy is "closed-loop communication", which can be described as a transmission model in which feedback is of great importance. The role of the leader is to create a shared goal in order to achieve consensus in the work for the safety of the patient. The purpose of this study was to analyze how formal leaders communicate knowledge, create consensus, and position themselves in relation to others in the team. Sixteen trauma teams were audio- and video-recorded during high fidelity training in an emergency department. Each team consisted of six members: one surgeon or emergency physician (the designated team leader), one anaesthesiologist, one nurse anaesthetist, one enrolled nurse from the theatre ward, one registered nurse and one enrolled nurse from the emergency department (ED). The communication was transcribed and analyzed, inspired by discourse psychology and Strauss' concept of "negotiated order". The data were organized and coded in NVivo 9. The findings suggest that leaders use coercive, educational, discussing and negotiating strategies to work things through. The leaders in this study used different repertoires to convey their knowledge to the team, in order to create a common goal of the priorities of the work. Changes in repertoires were dependent on the urgency of the situation and the interaction between team members. When using these repertoires, the leaders positioned themselves in different ways, either on an authoritarian or a more egalitarian level. This study indicates that communication in trauma teams is complex and consists of more than just transferring messages quickly. It also concerns what the leaders express, and even more importantly, how they speak to and involve other team members.

The mimetic repertoire of the spotted bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus maculatus

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Kelley, Laura A.; Healy, Susan D.

2011-06-01

Although vocal mimicry in songbirds is well documented, little is known about the function of such mimicry. One possibility is that the mimic produces the vocalisations of predatory or aggressive species to deter potential predators or competitors. Alternatively, these sounds may be learned in error as a result of their acoustic properties such as structural simplicity. We determined the mimetic repertoires of a population of male spotted bowerbirds Ptilonorhynchus maculatus, a species that mimics predatory and aggressive species. Although male mimetic repertoires contained an overabundance of vocalisations produced by species that were generally aggressive, there was also a marked prevalence of mimicry of sounds that are associated with alarm such as predator calls, alarm calls and mobbing calls, irrespective of whether the species being mimicked was aggressive or not. We propose that it may be the alarming context in which these sounds are first heard that may lead both to their acquisition and to their later reproduction. We suggest that enhanced learning capability during acute stress may explain vocal mimicry in many species that mimic sounds associated with alarm.

Dance choreography is coordinated with song repertoire in a complex avian display.

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Dalziell, Anastasia H; Peters, Richard A; Cockburn, Andrew; Dorland, Alexandra D; Maisey, Alex C; Magrath, Robert D

2013-06-17

All human cultures have music and dance, and the two activities are so closely integrated that many languages use just one word to describe both. Recent research points to a deep cognitive connection between music and dance-like movements in humans, fueling speculation that music and dance have coevolved and prompting the need for studies of audiovisual displays in other animals. However, little is known about how nonhuman animals integrate acoustic and movement display components. One striking property of human displays is that performers coordinate dance with music by matching types of dance movements with types of music, as when dancers waltz to waltz music. Here, we show that a bird also temporally coordinates a repertoire of song types with a repertoire of dance-like movements. During displays, male superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae) sing four different song types, matching each with a unique set of movements and delivering song and dance types in a predictable sequence. Crucially, display movements are both unnecessary for the production of sound and voluntary, because males sometimes sing without dancing. Thus, the coordination of independently produced repertoires of acoustic and movement signals is not a uniquely human trait. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strategies for B-cell receptor repertoire analysis in primary immunodeficiencies: From severe combined immunodeficiency to common variable immunodeficiency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H. IJspeert (Hanna); M. Wentink (Marjolein); D. van Zessen (David); G.J.A. Driessen (Gertjan); V.A.S.H. Dalm (Virgil); M.P. van Hagen (Martin); I. Pico-Knijnenburg (Ingrid); E.J. Simons (Erik J.); J.J.M. van Dongen (Jacques); A. Stubbs (Andrew); M. van der Burg (Mirjam)

2015-01-01

textabstractThe antigen receptor repertoires of B- and T-cells form the basis of the adaptive immune response. The repertoires should be sufficiently diverse to recognize all possible pathogens. However, careful selection is needed to prevent responses to self or harmless antigens. Limited antigen

Rich analysis and rational models: Inferring individual behavior from infant looking data

Science.gov (United States)

Piantadosi, Steven T.; Kidd, Celeste; Aslin, Richard

2013-01-01

Studies of infant looking times over the past 50 years have provided profound insights about cognitive development, but their dependent measures and analytic techniques are quite limited. In the context of infants' attention to discrete sequential events, we show how a Bayesian data analysis approach can be combined with a rational cognitive model to create a rich data analysis framework for infant looking times. We formalize (i) a statistical learning model (ii) a parametric linking between the learning model's beliefs and infants' looking behavior, and (iii) a data analysis model that infers parameters of the cognitive model and linking function for groups and individuals. Using this approach, we show that recent findings from Kidd, Piantadosi, and Aslin (2012) of a U-shaped relationship between look-away probability and stimulus complexity even holds within infants and is not due to averaging subjects with different types of behavior. Our results indicate that individual infants prefer stimuli of intermediate complexity, reserving attention for events that are moderately predictable given their probabilistic expectations about the world. PMID:24750256

Evidence of strain structure in Plasmodium falciparum var gene repertoires in children from Gabon, West Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Karen P; Artzy-Randrup, Yael; Tiedje, Kathryn E; Rougeron, Virginie; Chen, Donald S; Rask, Thomas S; Rorick, Mary M; Migot-Nabias, Florence; Deloron, Philippe; Luty, Adrian J F; Pascual, Mercedes

2017-05-16

Existing theory on competition for hosts between pathogen strains has proposed that immune selection can lead to the maintenance of strain structure consisting of discrete, weakly overlapping antigenic repertoires. This prediction of strain theory has conceptual overlap with fundamental ideas in ecology on niche partitioning and limiting similarity between coexisting species in an ecosystem, which oppose the hypothesis of neutral coexistence. For Plasmodium falciparum , strain theory has been specifically proposed in relation to the major surface antigen of the blood stage, known as Pf EMP1 and encoded by the multicopy multigene family known as the var genes. Deep sampling of the DBLα domain of var genes in the local population of Bakoumba, West Africa, was completed to define whether patterns of repertoire overlap support a role of immune selection under the opposing force of high outcrossing, a characteristic of areas of intense malaria transmission. Using a 454 high-throughput sequencing protocol, we report extremely high diversity of the DBLα domain and a large parasite population with DBLα repertoires structured into nonrandom patterns of overlap. Such population structure, significant for the high diversity of var genes that compose it at a local level, supports the existence of "strains" characterized by distinct var gene repertoires. Nonneutral, frequency-dependent competition would be at play and could underlie these patterns. With a computational experiment that simulates an intervention similar to mass drug administration, we argue that the observed repertoire structure matters for the antigenic var diversity of the parasite population remaining after intervention.

Dietary experience modifies horses' feeding behavior and selection patterns of three macronutrient rich diets.

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Redgate, S E; Cooper, J J; Hall, S; Eady, P; Harris, P A

2014-04-01

Choice feeding is often used to investigate an animal's nutritional requirements and dietary preferences. A problem with this approach is that animals with long gut transit times, such as the horse, may find it difficult to associate a chosen food with its nutritional consequence when alternative foods are presented simultaneously. One solution is to present foods singly for a period of time before a simultaneous choice session to allow the development of learned associations. This method was used to determine if horse's voluntary intake and feeding behavior was influenced by the macronutrient composition of the diet. Seven stabled horses, maintained on a low intensity exercise regimen, were allowed, on an ad libitum basis, haylage and 3 isocaloric forage based diets that were rich in 1 of 3 macronutrients (protein, lipid, and hydrolyzable carbohydrate). Initially, diets were presented as a 3-way choice for 5 d (self-selection a [SSa]), then singly (monadic phase) with exposure to each diet for 2 separate periods of 3 d each, and finally again as a choice for 5 d (self-selection b [SSb]). The total amount of trial diet offered differed with trial phase, with 2 to 2.5% of BW during SSa and the monadic phase, increasing to ad libitum access during SSb. To control differences in the total amount of trial diet offered, 2 measurements of voluntary intake were taken at 4 and 22 h postpresentation. Daily macronutrient and energy intakes were estimated from proximate analysis of the trial diets and batches of haylage fed. Feeding behavior was observed over a single 4-h period during both self-selection phases. Horses showed no initial preference after 4 h for any 1 diet during SSa. Following the monadic phase, horses demonstrated a preference for the protein and hydrolyzable carbohydrate rich diets over the lipid rich diet (P < 0.001). Dietary experience modified foraging behavior as the total number of visits to the diets decreased during SSb (P < 0.005). Analysis of 24

Ash behavior in the combustion of phosphorus rich biofuels - literature survey and experimental studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Hao; Castro, Maria; Jensen, Peter Arendt

Utilization of biofuels such as grain, bran and rapeseed meal in energy production is considered to have ecological and economical benefits. These seed-originated biofuels usually contain significantly higher phosphorus contents than other biofuels, which may induce some ash related operation...... problems. In this report, the behaviors of inorganic species during the combustion of phosphorus rich biofuels are studied through literature review and experiments. It is found that the majority of P, Mg and K in these biofuels would be present as phytic acid/phytate or other inositol phosphate. During...

Expressed var gene repertoire and variant surface antigen diversity in a shrinking Plasmodium falciparum population.

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Carlos, Bianca C; Fotoran, Wesley L; Menezes, Maria J; Cabral, Fernanda J; Bastos, Marcele F; Costa, Fabio T M; Sousa-Neto, Jayme A; Ribolla, Paulo E M; Wunderlich, Gerhard; Ferreira, Marcelo U

2016-11-01

The var gene-encoded erythrocyte membrane protein-1 of Plasmodium falciparum (PfEMP-1) is the main variant surface antigen (VSA) expressed on infected erythrocytes. The rate at which antibody responses to VSA expressed by circulating parasites are acquired depends on the size of the local VSA repertoire and the frequency of exposure to new VSA. Because parasites from areas with declining malaria endemicity, such as the Amazon, typically express a restricted PfEMP-1 repertoire, we hypothesized that Amazonians would rapidly acquire antibodies to most locally circulating VSA. Consistent with our expectations, the analysis of 5878 sequence tags expressed by 10 local P. falciparum samples revealed little PfEMP-1 DBL1α domain diversity. Among the most commonly expressed DBL1α types, 45% were shared by two or more independent parasite lines. Nevertheless, Amazonians displayed major gaps in their repertoire of anti-VSA antibodies, although the breadth of anti-VSA antibody responses correlated positively with their cumulative exposure to malaria. We found little antibody cross-reactivity even when testing VSA from related parasites expressing the same dominant DBL1α types. We conclude that variant-specific immunity to P. falciparum VSAs develops slowly despite the relatively restricted PfEMP-1 repertoire found in low-endemicity settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

'They don't understand…you cut yourself in order to live.' Interpretative repertoires jointly constructing interactions between adult women who self-harm and professional caregivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindgren, Britt-Marie; Oster, Inger; Aström, Sture; Hällgren Graneheim, Ulla

2011-01-01

The aim of the study was to illuminate interpretative repertoires that jointly construct the interaction between adult women who self-harm and professional caregivers in psychiatric inpatient care. Participant observations and informal interviews were conducted among six women who self-harm and their professional caregivers in two psychiatric inpatient wards, and analysed using the concept of interpretative repertoires from the discipline of discursive psychology. The analysis revealed four interpretative repertoires that jointly constructed the interaction. The professional caregivers used a "fostering repertoire" and a "supportive repertoire" and the women who self-harmed used a "victim repertoire" and an "expert repertoire." The women and the caregivers were positioned and positioned themselves and people around them within and among these interpretative repertoires to make sense of their experiences of the interaction. It was necessary to consider each woman's own life chances and knowledge about herself and her needs. The participants made it clear that it was essential for them to be met with respect as individuals. Professional caregivers need to work in partnership with individuals who self-harm-experts by profession collaborating with experts by experience. Caregivers need to look beyond behavioural symptoms and recognise each individual's possibilities for agency.

Rules of song development and their use in vocal interactions by birds with large repertoires

OpenAIRE

Geberzahn Nicole; Hultsch Henrike

2004-01-01

Songbirds are well known for settling their disputes by vocal signals, and their singing plays a dominant role. Most studies on this issue have concentrated on bird species that develop and use small vocal repertoires. In this article we will go farther and focus on examples of how species with large song repertoires make use of their vocal competence. In particular, we will outline the study of interaction rules which have been elucidated by examining time- and pattern-specific relationships...

Degeneracy-driven self-structuring dynamics in selective repertoires.

Science.gov (United States)

Atamas, Sergei P; Bell, Jonathan

2009-08-01

Numerous biological interactions, such as interactions between T cell receptors or antibodies with antigens, interactions between enzymes and substrates, or interactions between predators and prey are often not strictly specific. In such less specific, or "sloppy," systems, referred to here as degenerate systems, a given unit of a diverse resource (antigens, enzymatic substrates, prey) is at risk of being recognized and consumed by multiple consumers (lymphocytes, enzymes, predators). In this study, we model generalized degenerate consumer-resource systems of Lotka-Volterra and Verhulst types. In the degenerate systems of Lotka-Volterra, there is a continuum of types of consumer and resource based on variation of a single trait (characteristic, or preference). The consumers experience competition for a continuum of resource types. This non-local interaction system is modeled with partial differential-integral equations and shows spontaneous self-structuring of the consumer population that depends on the degree of interaction degeneracy between resource and consumer, but does not mirror the distribution of resource. We also show that the classical Verhulst (i.e. logistic) single population model can be generalized to a degenerate model, which shows qualitative behavior similar to that in the degenerate Lotka-Volterra model. These results provide better insight into the dynamics of selective systems in biology, suggesting that adaptation of degenerate repertoires is not a simple "mirroring" of the environment by the "fittest" elements of population.

Beyond Languages, beyond Modalities: Transforming the Study of Semiotic Repertoires

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Kusters, Annelies; Spotti, Massimiliano; Swanwick, Ruth; Tapio, Elina

2017-01-01

This paper presents a critical examination of key concepts in the study of (signed and spoken) language and multimodality. It shows how shifts in conceptual understandings of language use, moving from bilingualism to multilingualism and (trans)languaging, have resulted in the revitalisation of the concept of language repertoires. We discuss key…

Repertoires, Characters and Scenes: Sociolinguistic Difference in Turkish-German Comedy

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Androutsopoulos, Jannis

2012-01-01

This paper examines representations of sociolinguistic difference in a German "ethnic comedy" as a means to contribute to a framework for the sociolinguistic study of film. Three levels of analysis of sociolinguistic difference in film are distinguished: repertoire analysis reconstructs the entirety of codes used in a film and their…

Rules of song development and their use in vocal interactions by birds with large repertoires.

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Geberzahn, Nicole; Hultsch, Henrike

2004-06-01

Songbirds are well known for settling their disputes by vocal signals, and their singing plays a dominant role. Most studies on this issue have concentrated on bird species that develop and use small vocal repertoires. In this article we will go farther and focus on examples of how species with large song repertoires make use of their vocal competence. In particular, we will outline the study of interaction rules which have been elucidated by examining time- and pattern-specific relationships between signals exchanged by territorial neighbors. First we present an inquiry into the rules of song learning and development. In birds with large song repertoires, the ontogeny of such rules proceeds along a number of trajectories which help in understanding the often remarkable accomplishments of adult birds. In both approaches, our model species will be the Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos that has been investigated intensively in the field and in the laboratory.

Practical compassions: repertoires of practice and compassion talk in acute mental healthcare.

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Brown, Brian; Crawford, Paul; Gilbert, Paul; Gilbert, Jean; Gale, Corinne

2014-03-01

This article reports an exploratory study of the concept of compassion in the work of 20 mental health practitioners in a UK Midlands facility. Using notions of practice derived from phenomenology and Bourdieusian sociology and notions of emotional labour we identify two contrasting interpretive repertoires in discussions of compassion. The first, the practical compassion repertoire, evokes the practical, physical and bodily aspects of compassion. It involves organising being with patients, playing games, anticipating disruption and taking them outside for cigarettes. Practitioners described being aware that these practical, bodily activities could lead to patients 'opening up', disclosing their interior concerns and enabling practical, compassionate mental health work to take place. In contrast, the second, organisational repertoire, concerns organisational constraints on compassionate practice. The shortage of staff, the record-keeping and internal processes of quality control were seen as time-greedy and apt to detract from contact with patients. The findings are discussed in relation to Bourdieu and Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological accounts of practice and habit and set in context in the growing interest in placing compassion centrally in healthcare. We also explore how the exercise of compassion in the way our participants describe it can afford the more effective exercise of medical power. © 2013 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2013 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The self-nonself discrimination and the nature and acquisition of the antibody repertoire.

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Coutinho, A

1980-01-01

Network ideas are confronted with current hypotheses for the origin of antibody diversity and self-nonself discrimination. The difficulties of reconciling the promethean evolution of the antibody system with "germ line" theories are discussed, as well as the problems of "somatic" hypotheses to explain the completeness of the antibody repertoire. The formal incompatibility of the network theory with ideas basing self-nonself discrimination on the elimination of self-reactive cells is demonstrated, as well as the difficulties of these and other environment-dependent hypotheses for lymphocyte activation, to encompass the internal activity in the immune system. It is argued, on the other hand, that the limitations of the network theory in providing a functional basis for the idiotypic network and in accounting for self-nonself discrimination, can be solved by finding in a complete repertoire of antibody-combining sites the complementary structures to growth receptors on B lymphocytes, and by using these as internal mitogens in the expansion of the precursor cell pools and in the maintenance of the mature steady states. Letting self-nonself discrimination be accounted for by such growth receptors, both the integrity of the antibody repertoire and the internal activity in the system can also be ensured. Moreover, by postulating a germ line origin for the antireceptor antibodies and by accepting idiotypic cross-reactivity between growth receptors and other germ line antibodies, the possibilities are set for a phylogenetically and ontogenically autonomous immune system embodied with the capabilities for self-expansion, diversification and selection of available repertoires. Its promethean characteristics are explained by its completeness, and this is achieved by idiotypic interactions between growth receptors and a limited number of complementary or cross-reactive germ line antibodies, naturally selected on the basis of their structural relationships with growth receptors.

Sexual repertoires of heterosexuals: implications for HIV/sexually transmitted disease risk and prevention. The ACSF Group, Analyse des Comportements Sexuels en France.

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Messiah, A; Blin, P; Fiche, V

1995-12-01

To provide a quantitative and population-based analysis of sexual repertoires among heterosexuals. The French National Survey of Sexual Behaviour (ACSF), conducted between September 1991 and February 1992 on a representative sample of the population aged 18-69 years. Sexual practices of the last heterosexual encounter were investigated among 4261 individuals; we measured the combinations of different practices and their correlations with age, and calculated frequencies for the main repertoires and their correlations with the interpartner relationship. Vaginal penetration and caressing were almost systematic, self-masturbation and anal penetration were rare, while mutual masturbation and orogenital practices had intermediate levels of occurrence. Examination of the correlations revealed (1) a very high correlation between practices which are reciprocal or symmetrical, (2) a strong association between genito-manual and genito-oral practices, (3) an association between anal penetration and fellatio, and (4) no clear correlation between any set of practices and vaginal sex or condom use. A small number of repertoires accounted for the vast majority of encounters. Younger people tended to have a more diversified repertoire. Repertoire types and diversity were strongly correlated to the pattern of interpartner relationship, independently of age. Reciprocity seems a standard feature of the heterosexual repertoire. The absence of a negative correlation between vaginal or anal penetration and other practices argues against promotion of the latter as substitute for the former. By contrast, the independence between condom use and any specific repertoire argues for its promotion as a universal means of protection.

Characterization of the sortase repertoire in Bacillus anthracis.

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Willy Aucher

Full Text Available LPXTG proteins, present in most if not all Gram-positive bacteria, are known to be anchored by sortases to the bacterial peptidoglycan. More than one sortase gene is often encoded in a bacterial species, and each sortase is supposed to specifically anchor given LPXTG proteins, depending of the sequence of the C-terminal cell wall sorting signal (cwss, bearing an LPXTG motif or another recognition sequence. B. anthracis possesses three sortase genes. B. anthracis sortase deleted mutant strains are not affected in their virulence. To determine the sortase repertoires, we developed a genetic screen using the property of the gamma phage to lyse bacteria only when its receptor, GamR, an LPXTG protein, is exposed at the surface. We identified 10 proteins that contain a cell wall sorting signal and are covalently anchored to the peptidoglycan. Some chimeric proteins yielded phage lysis in all sortase mutant strains, suggesting that cwss proteins remained surface accessible in absence of their anchoring sortase, probably as a consequence of membrane localization of yet uncleaved precursor proteins. For definite assignment of the sortase repertoires, we consequently relied on a complementary test, using a biochemical approach, namely immunoblot experiments. The sortase anchoring nine of these proteins has thus been determined. The absence of virulence defect of the sortase mutants could be a consequence of the membrane localization of the cwss proteins.

Fundamental characteristics of the expressed immunoglobulin VH and VL repertoire in different canine breeds in comparison with those of humans and mice.

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Steiniger, Sebastian C J; Dunkle, William E; Bammert, Gary F; Wilson, Thomas L; Krishnan, Abhiram; Dunham, Steven A; Ippolito, Gregory C; Bainbridge, Graeme

2014-05-01

Complementarity determining regions (CDR) are responsible for binding antigen and provide substantial diversity to the antibody repertoire, with VH CDR3 of the immunoglobulin variable heavy (VH) domain playing a dominant role. In this study, we examined 1200 unique canine VH and 500 unique variable light (VL) sequences of large and small canine breeds derived from peripheral B cells. Unlike the human and murine repertoire, the canine repertoire is heavily dominated by the Canis lupus familiaris IGHV1 subgroup, evolutionarily closest to the human IGHV3 subgroup. Our studies clearly show that the productive canine repertoire of all analyzed breeds shows similarities to both human and mouse; however, there are distinct differences in terms of VH CDR3 length and amino acid paratope composition. In comparison with the human and murine antibody repertoire, canine VH CDR3 regions are shorter in length than the human counterparts, but longer than the murine VH CDR3. Similar to corresponding human and mouse VH CDR3, the amino acids at the base of the VH CDR3 loop are strictly conserved. For identical CDR positions, there were significant changes in chemical paratope composition. Similar to human and mouse repertoires, the neutral amino acids tyrosine, glycine and serine dominate the canine VH CDR3 interval (comprising 35%) although the interval is nonetheless relatively depleted of tyrosine when compared to human and mouse. Furthermore, canine VH CDR3 displays an overrepresentation of the neutral amino acid threonine and the negatively charged aspartic acid while proline content is similar to that in the human repertoire. In general, the canine repertoire shows a bias towards small, negatively charged amino acids. Overall, this analysis suggests that functional canine therapeutic antibodies can be obtained from human and mouse sequences by methods of speciation and affinity maturation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expanding the Repertoire of Optogenetically Targeted Cells with an Enhanced Gene Expression System

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Kenji F. Tanaka

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Optogenetics has been enthusiastically pursued in recent neuroscience research, and the causal relationship between neural activity and behavior is becoming ever more accessible. Here, we established knockin-mediated enhanced gene expression by improved tetracycline-controlled gene induction (KENGE-tet and succeeded in generating transgenic mice expressing a highly light-sensitive channelrhodopsin-2 mutant at levels sufficient to drive the activities of multiple cell types. This method requires two lines of mice: one that controls the pattern of expression and another that determines the protein to be produced. The generation of new lines of either type readily expands the repertoire to choose from. In addition to neurons, we were able to manipulate the activity of nonexcitable glial cells in vivo. This shows that our system is applicable not only to neuroscience but also to any biomedical study that requires understanding of how the activity of a selected population of cells propagates through the intricate organic systems.

Automated tracking of animal posture and movement during exploration and sensory orientation behaviors.

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Alex Gomez-Marin

Full Text Available The nervous functions of an organism are primarily reflected in the behavior it is capable of. Measuring behavior quantitatively, at high-resolution and in an automated fashion provides valuable information about the underlying neural circuit computation. Accordingly, computer-vision applications for animal tracking are becoming a key complementary toolkit to genetic, molecular and electrophysiological characterization in systems neuroscience.We present Sensory Orientation Software (SOS to measure behavior and infer sensory experience correlates. SOS is a simple and versatile system to track body posture and motion of single animals in two-dimensional environments. In the presence of a sensory landscape, tracking the trajectory of the animal's sensors and its postural evolution provides a quantitative framework to study sensorimotor integration. To illustrate the utility of SOS, we examine the orientation behavior of fruit fly larvae in response to odor, temperature and light gradients. We show that SOS is suitable to carry out high-resolution behavioral tracking for a wide range of organisms including flatworms, fishes and mice.Our work contributes to the growing repertoire of behavioral analysis tools for collecting rich and fine-grained data to draw and test hypothesis about the functioning of the nervous system. By providing open-access to our code and documenting the software design, we aim to encourage the adaptation of SOS by a wide community of non-specialists to their particular model organism and questions of interest.

Immune Antibody Libraries: Manipulating The Diverse Immune Repertoire for Antibody Discovery.

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Lim, Theam Soon; Chan, Soo Khim

2016-01-01

Antibody phage display is highly dependent on the availability of antibody libraries. There are several forms of libraries depending mainly on the origin of the source materials. There are three major classes of libraries, mainly the naïve, immune and synthetic libraries. Immune antibody libraries are designed to isolate specific and high affinity antibodies against disease antigens. The pre-exposure of the host to an infection results in the production of a skewed population of antibodies against the particular infection. This characteristic takes advantage of the in vivo editing machinery to generate bias and specific immune repertoire. The skewed but diverse repertoire of immune libraries has been adapted successfully in the generation of antibodies against a wide range of diseases. We envisage immune antibody libraries to play a greater role in the discovery of antibodies for diseases in the near future. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Uncovering the Legionella genus effector repertoire - strength in diversity and numbers

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Burstein, David; Amaro, Francisco; Zusman, Tal; Lifshitz, Ziv; Cohen, Ofir; Gilbert, Jack A; Pupko, Tal; Shuman, Howard A; Segal, Gil

2016-01-01

Infection by the human pathogen Legionella pneumophila relies on the translocation of ~300 virulence proteins, termed effectors, which manipulate host-cell processes. However, almost no information exists regarding effectors in other Legionella pathogens. Here we sequenced, assembled and characterized the genomes of 38 Legionella species, and predicted their effector repertoire using a previously validated machine-learning approach. This analysis revealed a treasure trove of 5,885 predicted effectors. The effector repertoire of different Legionella species was found to be largely non-overlapping, and only seven core-effectors were shared among all species studied. Species-specific effectors had atypically low GC content, suggesting exogenous acquisition, possibly from their natural protozoan hosts. Furthermore, we detected numerous novel conserved effector domains, and discovered new domain combinations, which allowed inferring yet undescribed effector functions. The effector collection and network of domain architectures described here can serve as a roadmap for future studies of effector function and evolution. PMID:26752266

Immunoglobulin gene repertoire diversification and selection in the stomach – from gastritis to gastric lymphomas

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Miri eMichaeli

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Chronic gastritis is characterized by gastric mucosal inflammation due to autoimmune responses or infection, frequently with Helicobacter pylori. Gastritis with H. pylori background can cause gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALT-L, which sometimes further transforms into diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL. However, gastric DLBCL can also be initiated de novo. The mechanisms underlying transformation into DLBCL are not completely understood. We analyzed immunoglobulin repertoires and clonal trees to investigate whether and how immunoglobulin gene repertoires, clonal diversification and selection in gastritis, gastric MALT-L and DLBCL differ from each other and from normal responses. The two gastritis types (positive or negative for H. pylori had similarly diverse repertoires. MALT-L dominant clones presented higher diversification and longer mutational histories compared with all other conditions. DLBCL dominant clones displayed lower clonal diversification, suggesting the transforming events are triggered by similar responses in different patients. These results are surprising, as we expected to find similarities between the dominant clones of gastritis and MALT-L and between those of MALT-L and DLBCL.

Au-rich filamentary behavior and associated subband gap optical absorption in hyperdoped Si

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Yang, W.; Akey, A. J.; Smillie, L. A.; Mailoa, J. P.; Johnson, B. C.; McCallum, J. C.; Macdonald, D.; Buonassisi, T.; Aziz, M. J.; Williams, J. S.

2017-12-01

Au-hyperdoped Si, synthesized by ion implantation and pulsed laser melting, is known to exhibit a strong sub-band gap photoresponse that scales monotonically with the Au concentration. However, there is thought to be a limit to this behavior since ultrahigh Au concentrations (>1 ×1020c m-3 ) are expected to induce cellular breakdown during the rapid resolidification of Si, a process that is associated with significant lateral impurity precipitation. This work shows that the cellular morphology observed in Au-hyperdoped Si differs from that in conventional, steady-state cellular breakdown. In particular, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry combined with channeling and transmission electron microscopy revealed an inhomogeneous Au distribution and a subsurface network of Au-rich filaments, within which the Au impurities largely reside on substitutional positions in the crystalline Si lattice, at concentrations as high as ˜3 at. %. The measured substitutional Au dose, regardless of the presence of Au-rich filaments, correlates strongly with the sub-band gap optical absorptance. Upon subsequent thermal treatment, the supersaturated Au forms precipitates, while the Au substitutionality and the sub-band gap optical absorption both decrease. These results offer insight into a metastable filamentary regime in Au-hyperdoped Si that has important implications for Si-based infrared optoelectronics.

A REPERTOIRE OF INSTRUMENTS EMPLOYED IN PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING

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Dorina Maria PASCA

2014-10-01

Full Text Available According to Carl Rogers and Albert Ellis [1] [2], a new approach to psychological counseling is needed. Consequently, new and practical means to solve problems that ensue as part of the counseling process are required. From this point of view, this article aims at offering a range of alternatives to approach and involve the client (student in order to achieve the envisaged results of counseling. As such, it offers a concise repertoire of instruments that can be employed in psychological counseling.

Next generation sequencing reveals skewing of the T and B cell receptor repertoires in patients with Wiskott Aldrich syndrome

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Amy E O'Connell

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The Wiskott Aldrich syndrome (WAS is due to mutations of the WAS gene encoding for the cytoskeletal WAS protein (WASp, leading to abnormal downstream signaling from the T cell and B cell antigen receptors (TCR, BCR. We hypothesized that the impaired signaling through the TCR and BCR in WAS would subsequently lead to aberrations in the immune repertoire of WAS patients. Using next generation sequencing, the T cell receptor beta (TRB and B cell immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH repertoires of 8 patients with WAS and 6 controls were sequenced. Clonal expansions were identified within memory CD4+ cells, as well as in total, naïve and memory CD8+ cells from WAS patients. In the B cell compartment, WAS patient IGH repertoires were also clonally expanded and showed skewed usage of IGHV and IGHJ genes, and increased usage of IGHG constant genes, compared with controls. To our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates significant abnormalities of the immune repertoire in WAS patients using next generation sequencing.

ClonoCalc and ClonoPlot: immune repertoire analysis from raw files to publication figures with graphical user interface.

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Fähnrich, Anke; Krebbel, Moritz; Decker, Normann; Leucker, Martin; Lange, Felix D; Kalies, Kathrin; Möller, Steffen

2017-03-11

Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies enable studies and analyses of the diversity of both T and B cell receptors (TCR and BCR) in human and animal systems to elucidate immune functions in health and disease. Over the last few years, several algorithms and tools have been developed to support respective analyses of raw sequencing data of the immune repertoire. These tools focus on distinct aspects of the data processing and require a strong bioinformatics background. To facilitate the analysis of T and B cell repertoires by less experienced users, software is needed that combines the most common tools for repertoire analysis. We introduce a graphical user interface (GUI) providing a complete analysis pipeline for processing raw NGS data for human and animal TCR and BCR clonotype determination and advanced differential repertoire studies. It provides two applications. ClonoCalc prepares the raw data for downstream analyses. It combines a demultiplexer for barcode splitting and employs MiXCR for paired-end read merging and the extraction of human and animal TCR/BCR sequences. ClonoPlot wraps the R package tcR and further contributes self-developed plots for the descriptive comparative investigation of immune repertoires. This workflow reduces the amount of programming required to perform the respective analyses and supports both communication and training between scientists and technicians, and across scientific disciplines. The Open Source development in Java and R is modular and invites advanced users to extend its functionality. Software and documentation are freely available at https://bitbucket.org/ClonoSuite/clonocalc-plot .

Ibrutinib Therapy Increases T Cell Repertoire Diversity in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

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Yin, Qingsong; Sivina, Mariela; Robins, Harlan; Yusko, Erik; Vignali, Marissa; O'Brien, Susan; Keating, Michael J; Ferrajoli, Alessandra; Estrov, Zeev; Jain, Nitin; Wierda, William G; Burger, Jan A

2017-02-15

The Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib is a highly effective, new targeted therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) that thwarts leukemia cell survival, growth, and tissue homing. The effects of ibrutinib treatment on the T cell compartment, which is clonally expanded and thought to support the growth of malignant B cells in CLL, are not fully characterized. Using next-generation sequencing technology, we characterized the diversity of TCRβ-chains in peripheral blood T cells from 15 CLL patients before and after 1 y of ibrutinib therapy. We noted elevated CD4 + and CD8 + T cell numbers and a restricted TCRβ repertoire in all pretreatment samples. After 1 y of ibrutinib therapy, elevated peripheral blood T cell numbers and T cell-related cytokine levels had normalized, and T cell repertoire diversity increased significantly. Dominant TCRβ clones in pretreatment samples declined or became undetectable, and the number of productive unique clones increased significantly during ibrutinib therapy, with the emergence of large numbers of low-frequency TCRβ clones. Importantly, broader TCR repertoire diversity was associated with clinical efficacy and lower rates of infections during ibrutinib therapy. These data demonstrate that ibrutinib therapy increases diversification of the T cell compartment in CLL patients, which contributes to cellular immune reconstitution. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

T Cell Phenotype and T Cell Receptor Repertoire in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

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Kostas Patas

2018-02-01

Full Text Available While a link between inflammation and the development of neuropsychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD is supported by a growing body of evidence, little is known about the contribution of aberrant adaptive immunity in this context. Here, we conducted in-depth characterization of T cell phenotype and T cell receptor (TCR repertoire in MDD. For this cross-sectional case–control study, we recruited antidepressant-free patients with MDD without any somatic or psychiatric comorbidities (n = 20, who were individually matched for sex, age, body mass index, and smoking status to a non-depressed control subject (n = 20. T cell phenotype and repertoire were interrogated using a combination of flow cytometry, gene expression analysis, and next generation sequencing. T cells from MDD patients showed significantly lower surface expression of the chemokine receptors CXCR3 and CCR6, which are known to be central to T cell differentiation and trafficking. In addition, we observed a shift within the CD4+ T cell compartment characterized by a higher frequency of CD4+CD25highCD127low/− cells and higher FOXP3 mRNA expression in purified CD4+ T cells obtained from patients with MDD. Finally, flow cytometry-based TCR Vβ repertoire analysis indicated a less diverse CD4+ T cell repertoire in MDD, which was corroborated by next generation sequencing of the TCR β chain CDR3 region. Overall, these results suggest that T cell phenotype and TCR utilization are skewed on several levels in patients with MDD. Our study identifies putative cellular and molecular signatures of dysregulated adaptive immunity and reinforces the notion that T cells are a pathophysiologically relevant cell population in this disorder.

Comprehensive assessment of peripheral blood TCRβ repertoire in infectious mononucleosis and chronic active EBV infection patients.

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Liu, Shenglin; Zhang, Qian; Huang, Dongli; Zhang, Wenli; Zhong, Fengluan; Feng, Jia; Chen, Xueru; Meng, Qingxiang; Chen, Xiaofan; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Hongyu

2017-04-01

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) primary infection is usually asymptomatic, but it sometimes progresses to infectious mononucleosis (IM). Occasionally, some people develop chronic active EBV infection (CAEBV) with underlying immunodeficiency, which belongs to a continuous spectrum of EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disorders (EBV + LPD) with heterogeneous clinical presentations and high mortality. It has been well established that T cell-mediated immune response plays a critical role in the disease evolution of EBV infection. Recently, high-throughput sequencing of the hypervariable complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) segments of the T cell receptor (T cell receptor β (TCRβ)) has emerged as a sensitive approach to assess the T cell repertoire. In this study, we fully characterized the diversity of peripheral blood TCRβ repertoire in IM (n = 6) and CAEBV patients (n = 5) and EBV-seropositive controls (n = 5). Compared with the healthy EBV-seropositive controls, both IM and CAEBV patients demonstrate a significant decrease in peripheral blood TCRβ repertoire diversity, basically, including narrowed repertoire breadth, highly expanded clones, and skewed CDR3 length distribution. However, there is no significant difference between IM and CAEBV patients. Furthermore, we observed some disease-related preferences in TRBV/TRBJ usage and combinations, as well as lots of T cell clones shared by different groups (unique or overlapped) involved in public T cell responses, which provide more detailed insights into the divergent disease evolution.

Finding meaning in first episode psychosis: experience, agency, and the cultural repertoire.

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Larsen, John Aggergaard

2004-12-01

The article examines individuals' attempts to generate meaning following their experiences with psychosis. The inquiry is based on a person-centered ethnographic study of a Danish mental health community program for early intervention in schizophrenia and involves longitudinal interviews with 15 of its participants. The article takes an existential anthropological perspective emphasizing agency and cultural phenomenology to investigate how individuals draw on resources from the cultural repertoire to make sense of personally disturbing experiences during their psychosis. It is suggested that the concept of "system of explanation" has advantages over, for example, "illness narrative" and "explanatory model" when demonstrating how some individuals engage in the creative analytic and theory-building work of bricolage, selecting, adding, and combining various systems of explanation. Delusions are equally derived from the cultural repertoire but are constructed as dogmatic explanations that are idiosyncratic to the individual who holds them.

Pervasive and stochastic changes in the TCR repertoire of regulatory T-cell-deficient mice.

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Zheng, Lingjie; Sharma, Rahul; Kung, John T; Deshmukh, Umesh S; Jarjour, Wael N; Fu, Shu Man; Ju, Shyr-Te

2008-04-01

We hypothesize that regulatory T-cell (Treg)-deficient strains have an altered TCR repertoire in part due to the expansion of autoimmune repertoire by self-antigen. We compared the Vbeta family expression profile between B6 and Treg-lacking B6.Cg-Foxp3(sf)(/Y) (B6.sf) mice using fluorescent anti-Vbeta mAbs and observed no changes. However, while the spectratypes of 20 Vbeta families among B6 mice were highly similar, the Vbeta family spectratypes of B6.sf mice were remarkably different from B6 mice and from each other. Significant spectratype changes in many Vbeta families were also observed in Treg-deficient IL-2 knockout (KO) and IL-2Ralpha KO mice. Such changes were not observed with anti-CD3 mAb-treated B6 mice or B6 CD4+CD25- T cells. TCR transgenic (OT-II.sf) mice displayed dramatic reduction of clonotypic TCR with concomitant increase in T cells bearing non-transgenic Vbeta and Valpha families, including T cells with dual receptors expressing reduced levels of transgenic Valpha and endogenous Valpha. Collectively, the data demonstrate that Treg deficiency allows polyclonal expansion of T cells in a stochastic manner, resulting in widespread changes in the TCR repertoire.

Understanding the Broad Substrate Repertoire of Nitroreductase Based on Its Kinetic Mechanism*

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Pitsawong, Warintra; Hoben, John P.; Miller, Anne-Frances

2014-01-01

The oxygen-insensitive nitroreductase from Enterobacter cloacae (NR) catalyzes two-electron reduction of nitroaromatics to the corresponding nitroso compounds and, subsequently, to hydroxylamine products. NR has an unusually broad substrate repertoire, which may be related to protein dynamics (flexibility) and/or a simple non-selective kinetic mechanism. To investigate the possible role of mechanism in the broad substrate repertoire of NR, the kinetics of oxidation of NR by para-nitrobenzoic acid (p-NBA) were investigated using stopped-flow techniques at 4 °C. The results revealed a hyperbolic dependence on the p-NBA concentration with a limiting rate of 1.90 ± 0.09 s−1, indicating one-step binding before the flavin oxidation step. There is no evidence for a distinct binding step in which specificity might be enforced. The reduction of p-NBA is rate-limiting in steady-state turnover (1.7 ± 0.3 s−1). The pre-steady-state reduction kinetics of NR by NADH indicate that NADH reduces the enzyme with a rate constant of 700 ± 20 s−1 and a dissociation constant of 0.51 ± 0.04 mm. Thus, we demonstrate simple transient kinetics in both the reductive and oxidative half-reactions that help to explain the broad substrate repertoire of NR. Finally, we tested the ability of NR to reduce para-hydroxylaminobenzoic acid, demonstrating that the corresponding amine does not accumulate to significant levels even under anaerobic conditions. Thus E. cloacae NR is not a good candidate for enzymatic production of aromatic amines. PMID:24706760

Simple Syllabic Calls Accompany Discrete Behavior Patterns in Captive Pteronotus parnellii: An Illustration of the Motivation-Structure Hypothesis

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Matthew J. Clement

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Mustached bats, Pteronotus parnellii, are highly social and vocal. Individuals of this species roost in tight clusters, and emit an acoustically rich repertoire of calls whose behavioral significance is largely unknown. We recorded their social and vocal behaviors within a colony housed under semi-natural conditions. We also quantified the spatial spread of each bat’s roosting location and discovered that this was relatively fixed and roughly confined to an individual’s body width. The spatial precision in roosting was accompanied by an equally remarkable match between specific vocalizations and well-timed, discrete, identifiable postures/behaviors, as revealed by logistic regression analysis. The bodily behaviors included crouching, marking, yawning, nipping, flicking, fighting, kissing, inspecting, and fly-bys. Two echolocation-like calls were used to maintain spacing in the colony, two noisy broadband calls were emitted during fights, two tonal calls conveyed fear, and another tonal call signaled appeasement. Overall, the results establish that mustached bats exhibit complex social interactions common to other social mammals. The correspondence of relatively low frequency and noisy, broadband calls with aggression, and of tonal, high frequency calls with fear supports Morton’s Motivation-Structure hypothesis, and establishes a link between motivation and the acoustic structure of social calls emitted by mustached bats.

Profiling the repertoire of phenotypes influenced by environmental cues that occur during asexual reproduction.

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Dombrovsky, Aviv; Arthaud, Laury; Ledger, Terence N; Tares, Sophie; Robichon, Alain

2009-11-01

The aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum population is composed of different morphs, such as winged and wingless parthenogens, males, and sexual females. The combined effect of reduced photoperiodicity and cold in fall triggers the apparition of sexual morphs. In contrast they reproduce asexually in spring and summer. In our current study, we provide evidence that clonal individuals display phenotypic variability within asexual morph categories. We describe that clones sharing the same morphological features, which arose from the same founder mother, constitute a repertoire of variants with distinct behavioral and physiological traits. Our results suggest that the prevailing environmental conditions influence the recruitment of adaptive phenotypes from a cohort of clonal individuals exhibiting considerable molecular diversity. However, we observed that the variability might be reduced or enhanced by external factors, but is never abolished in accordance with a model of stochastically produced phenotypes. This overall mechanism allows the renewal of colonies from a few adapted individuals that survive drastic episodic changes in a fluctuating environment.

Severity of Acute Infectious Mononucleosis Correlates with Cross-Reactive Influenza CD8 T-Cell Receptor Repertoires.

Science.gov (United States)

Aslan, Nuray; Watkin, Levi B; Gil, Anna; Mishra, Rabinarayan; Clark, Fransenio G; Welsh, Raymond M; Ghersi, Dario; Luzuriaga, Katherine; Selin, Liisa K

2017-12-05

Fifty years after the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), it remains unclear how primary infection with this virus leads to massive CD8 T-cell expansion and acute infectious mononucleosis (AIM) in young adults. AIM can vary greatly in severity, from a mild transient influenza-like illness to a prolonged severe syndrome. We questioned whether expansion of a unique HLA-A2.01-restricted, cross-reactive CD8 T-cell response between influenza virus A-M1 58 (IAV-M1) and EBV BMLF1 280 (EBV-BM) could modulate the immune response to EBV and play a role in determining the severity of AIM in 32 college students. Only ex vivo total IAV-M1 and IAV-M1+EBV-BM cross-reactive tetramer + frequencies directly correlated with AIM severity and were predictive of severe disease. Expansion of specific cross-reactive memory IAV-M1 T-cell receptor (TCR) Vβ repertoires correlated with levels of disease severity. There were unique profiles of qualitatively different functional responses in the cross-reactive and EBV-specific CD8 T-cell responses in each of the three groups studied, severe-AIM patients, mild-AIM patients, and seropositive persistently EBV-infected healthy donors, that may result from differences in TCR repertoire use. IAV-M1 tetramer + cells were functionally cross-reactive in short-term cultures, were associated with the highest disease severity in AIM, and displayed enhanced production of gamma interferon, a cytokine that greatly amplifies immune responses, thus frequently contributing to induction of immunopathology. Altogether, these data link heterologous immunity via CD8 T-cell cross-reactivity to CD8 T-cell repertoire selection, function, and resultant disease severity in a common and important human infection. In particular, it highlights for the first time a direct link between the TCR repertoire with pathogenesis and the diversity of outcomes upon pathogen encounter. IMPORTANCE The pathogenic impact of immune responses that by chance cross-react to unrelated

Repertoires of emotion regulation: A person-centered approach to assessing emotion regulation strategies and links to psychopathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon-Gordon, Katherine L; Aldao, Amelia; De Los Reyes, Andres

2015-01-01

Despite growing research on emotion regulation (ER) strategies and psychopathology, research has primarily focused on identifying one-to-one associations between ER strategies and symptoms. Thus, little is known about how patterns in the repertoires of ER strategies are associated with different mental disorders. We utilised latent class analysis to identify distinct repertoires of ER strategies, and their links with various psychopathology domains (i.e., anxiety, depression, disordered eating, borderline personality). Participants (N = 531) reported on their use of seven ER strategies in six recalled stressful contexts, as well as on their symptoms of psychopathology. We identified five classes of ER strategies: Low Regulators (n = 168), High Regulators (n = 140), Adaptive Regulators (n = 99), Worriers/Ruminators (n = 96) and Avoiders (n = 28). Generally, High Regulators and Worriers/Ruminators endorsed greater levels of psychopathology, relative to Low and Adaptive Regulators. Our findings underscore the importance of characterising the dynamics of ER repertoires when seeking to understand links between ER strategies and psychopathology.

Personal receptor repertoires: olfaction as a model

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Olender Tsviya

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Information on nucleotide diversity along completely sequenced human genomes has increased tremendously over the last few years. This makes it possible to reassess the diversity status of distinct receptor proteins in different human individuals. To this end, we focused on the complete inventory of human olfactory receptor coding regions as a model for personal receptor repertoires. Results By performing data-mining from public and private sources we scored genetic variations in 413 intact OR loci, for which one or more individuals had an intact open reading frame. Using 1000 Genomes Project haplotypes, we identified a total of 4069 full-length polypeptide variants encoded by these OR loci, average of ~10 per locus, constituting a lower limit for the effective human OR repertoire. Each individual is found to harbor as many as 600 OR allelic variants, ~50% higher than the locus count. Because OR neuronal expression is allelically excluded, this has direct effect on smell perception diversity of the species. We further identified 244 OR segregating pseudogenes (SPGs, loci showing both intact and pseudogene forms in the population, twenty-six of which are annotatively “resurrected” from a pseudogene status in the reference genome. Using a custom SNP microarray we validated 150 SPGs in a cohort of 468 individuals, with every individual genome averaging 36 disrupted sequence variations, 15 in homozygote form. Finally, we generated a multi-source compendium of 63 OR loci harboring deletion Copy Number Variations (CNVs. Our combined data suggest that 271 of the 413 intact OR loci (66% are affected by nonfunctional SNPs/indels and/or CNVs. Conclusions These results portray a case of unusually high genetic diversity, and suggest that individual humans have a highly personalized inventory of functional olfactory receptors, a conclusion that might apply to other receptor multigene families.

Behavioral Differentiation and Ovarian Development of Unmated Gynes, Queens, and Workers of Ectatomma vizottoi Almeida 1987 (Formicidae, Ectatomminae

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Alexsandro Santana Vieira

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Behavioral differentiation and ovarian development of unmated gynes, queens, and workers of Ectatomma vizottoi were investigated in laboratory conditions. Forty-one behavioral acts were identified and quantified for workers, 19 for queens and 24 for unmated gynes, for an overall species repertoire of 42 different behavioral acts. Ovipositing reproductive eggs was an exclusive task of the queen, whereas workers showed 15 caste-specific behaviors. The most important (frequent behaviors for the queens were brood care, immobility, and reproduction, and for workers were immobility, grooming/interaction, brood care, and foraging. Unmated gynes (not winged primarily showed immobility, brood care, grooming/interaction, and foraging. Analysis of ovarian development showed that unmated gynes had little-developed ovarioles, in contrast to queens. Queens and unmated gynes showed a clear behavioral differentiation, in which queens played the role of reproducers and unmated gynes performed activities belonging to the worker repertoire. Despite the presence of several breeding queens in the colony, functional monogyny was the rule.

First insights into the vocal repertoire of infant and juvenile Southern white rhinoceros.

Science.gov (United States)

Linn, Sabrina N; Boeer, Michael; Scheumann, Marina

2018-01-01

Describing vocal repertoires represents an essential step towards gaining an overview about the complexity of acoustic communication in a given species. The analysis of infant vocalisations is essential for understanding the development and usage of species-specific vocalisations, but is often underrepresented, especially in species with long inter-birth intervals such as the white rhinoceros. Thus, this study aimed for the first time to characterise the infant and juvenile vocal repertoire of the Southern white rhinoceros and to relate these findings to the adult vocal repertoire. The behaviour of seven mother-reared white rhinoceros calves (two males, five females) and one hand-reared calf (male), ranging from one month to four years, was simultaneously audio and video-taped at three zoos. Normally reared infants and juveniles uttered four discriminable call types (Whine, Snort, Threat, and Pant) that were produced in different behavioural contexts. All call types were also uttered by the hand-reared calf. Call rates of Whines, but not of the other call types, decreased with age. These findings provide the first evidence that infant and juvenile rhinoceros utter specific call types in distinct contexts, even if they grow up with limited social interaction with conspecifics. By comparing our findings with the current literature on vocalisations of adult white rhinoceros and other solitary rhinoceros species, we discuss to which extent differences in the social lifestyle across species affect acoustic communication in mammals.

First insights into the vocal repertoire of infant and juvenile Southern white rhinoceros

Science.gov (United States)

Boeer, Michael; Scheumann, Marina

2018-01-01

Describing vocal repertoires represents an essential step towards gaining an overview about the complexity of acoustic communication in a given species. The analysis of infant vocalisations is essential for understanding the development and usage of species-specific vocalisations, but is often underrepresented, especially in species with long inter-birth intervals such as the white rhinoceros. Thus, this study aimed for the first time to characterise the infant and juvenile vocal repertoire of the Southern white rhinoceros and to relate these findings to the adult vocal repertoire. The behaviour of seven mother-reared white rhinoceros calves (two males, five females) and one hand-reared calf (male), ranging from one month to four years, was simultaneously audio and video-taped at three zoos. Normally reared infants and juveniles uttered four discriminable call types (Whine, Snort, Threat, and Pant) that were produced in different behavioural contexts. All call types were also uttered by the hand-reared calf. Call rates of Whines, but not of the other call types, decreased with age. These findings provide the first evidence that infant and juvenile rhinoceros utter specific call types in distinct contexts, even if they grow up with limited social interaction with conspecifics. By comparing our findings with the current literature on vocalisations of adult white rhinoceros and other solitary rhinoceros species, we discuss to which extent differences in the social lifestyle across species affect acoustic communication in mammals. PMID:29513670

When are nursing students on clinical placements ready to expand their learning repertoire?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holmberg, Marlene; Stisen, Bente Kjærgaard; Grau, Sarah M.

2018-01-01

Learning styles indicate an individual’s preferred way of learning. Research suggests that it is important for students on clinical placements to begin the learning process with the preferred learning style and subsequently develop their ability to use other styles and become more balanced learners....... What is unknown is when baccalaureate nursing students are ready to develop the other learning styles, and what facilitates such an expansion in their learning style repertoire? This is important, because students need to develop the abilities to learn both by acting and by deepen their knowledge...... of theory to meet the requirements of the nursing profession. An American study found that operating room students felt confident to adopt new learning styles by the third week of clinical placements. No studies to date have retrieved a similar pattern of readiness to expand learning style repertoire among...

Effective leader behaviors in regularly held staff meetings: Surveyed vs. Videotaped and Video-Coded Observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogeboom, Marcella; Hoogeboom, Marcella; Wilderom, Celeste P.M.; Allen, Joseph A.; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Rogelberg, Steven G.

2015-01-01

In this chapter, we report on two studies that took an exploratory behavioral approach to leaders in regular staff meetings. The goal of both studies, which used a still rarely deployed observation method, was to identify effective behavioral repertoires of leaders in staff meetings; we specifically

Unexpected Regularity in Swimming Behavior of Clausocalanus furcatus Revealed by a Telecentric 3D Computer Vision System.

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Giuseppe Bianco

Full Text Available Planktonic copepods display a large repertoire of motion behaviors in a three-dimensional environment. Two-dimensional video observations demonstrated that the small copepod Clausocalanus furcatus, one the most widely distributed calanoids at low to medium latitudes, presented a unique swimming behavior that was continuous and fast and followed notably convoluted trajectories. Furthermore, previous observations indicated that the motion of C. furcatus resembled a random process. We characterized the swimming behavior of this species in three-dimensional space using a video system equipped with telecentric lenses, which allow tracking of zooplankton without the distortion errors inherent in common lenses. Our observations revealed unexpected regularities in the behavior of C. furcatus that appear primarily in the horizontal plane and could not have been identified in previous observations based on lateral views. Our results indicate that the swimming behavior of C. furcatus is based on a limited repertoire of basic kinematic modules but exhibits greater plasticity than previously thought.

Multivariate analysis using high definition flow cytometry reveals distinct T cell repertoires between the foetal-maternal interface and the peripheral blood

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Michelle eNeller

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The human T-cell compartment is a complex system and while some information is known on repertoire composition and dynamics in the peripheral blood, little is known on repertoire composition at different anatomical sites. Here, we determine the T-cell receptor β-variable (TRBV repertoire at the decidua and compare it with the peripheral blood during normal pregnancy and preclampsia. We found total T-cell subset disparity of up to 58% between sites, including large signature TRBV expansions unique to the foetal-maternal interface. Defining the functional nature and specificity of compartment-specific T-cells will be necessary if we are to understand localised immunity, tolerance and pathogenesis.

The peripheral NK cell repertoire after kidney transplantation is modulated by different immunosuppressive drugs

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Christine eNeudoerfl

2013-02-01

Full Text Available In the context of kidney transplantation, little is known about the involvement of NK cells in the immune reaction leading to either rejection or immunological tolerance under immunosuppression. Therefore, the peripheral NK cell repertoire of patients after kidney transplantation was investigated in order to identify NK cell subsets that may be associated with the individual immune status at the time of their protocol biopsies for histopathological evaluation of the graft. Alterations in the peripheral NK cell repertoire could be correlated to the type of immunosuppression, i.e. calcineurin-inhibitors like CyclosporinA vs. Tacrolimus with or without addition of mTOR inhibitors. Here, we could demonstrate that the NK cell repertoire in peripheral blood of kidney transplant patients differs significantly from healthy individuals. The presence of donor-specific antibodies was associated with reduced numbers of CD56dim NK cells. Moreover, in patients, down-modulation of CD16 and CD6 on CD56dim NK cells was observed with significant differences between CyclosporinA- and Tac-treated patients. Tac-treatment was associated with decreased CD69, HLA-DR and increased CD94/NKG2A expression in CD56dim NK cells indicating that the quality of the immunosuppressive treatment impinges on the peripheral NK cell repertoire. In vitro studies with PBMC of healthy donors showed that this modulation of CD16, CD6, CD69, and HLA-DR could also be induced experimentally. The presence of calcineurin or mTOR inhibitors had also functional consequences regarding degranulation and IFN--production against K562 target cells, respectively. In summary, we postulate that the NK cell composition in peripheral blood of kidney transplanted patients represents an important hallmark of the efficacy of immunosuppression and may be even informative for the immune status after transplantation in terms of rejection vs. drug-induced allograft tolerance. Thus,NK cells can serve as sensors

Threshold disorder as a source of diverse and complex behavior in random nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McGuire, P.C.; Bohr, Henrik; Clark, J.W.

2002-01-01

We study the diversity of complex spatio-temporal patterns in the behavior of random synchronous asymmetric neural networks (RSANNs). Special attention is given to the impact of disordered threshold values on limit-cycle diversity and limit-cycle complexity in RSANNs which have 'normal' thresholds...... systems. In order to reach beyond this seemingly disabling 'stable and small' aspect of the limit-cycle repertoire of RSANNs, we have found that if an RSANN has threshold disorder above a critical level, then there is a rapid increase of the size of the repertoire of patterns. The repertoire size...... initially follows a power-law function of the magnitude of the threshold disorder. As the disorder increases further, the limit-cycle patterns themselves become simpler until at a second critical level most of the limit cycles become simple fixed points. Nonetheless, for moderate changes in the threshold...

Broad T-cell receptor repertoire in T-lymphocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

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Chia-Wei Chang

Full Text Available Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs have enormous potential for the treatment of inherited and acquired disorders. Recently, antigen-specific T lymphocytes derived from hiPSCs have been reported. However, T lymphocyte populations with broad T cell receptor (TCR diversity have not been generated. We report that hiPSCs derived from skin biopsy are capable of producing T lymphocyte populations with a broad TCR repertoire. In vitro T cell differentiation follows a similar developmental program as observed in vivo, indicated by sequential expression of CD7, intracellular CD3 and surface CD3. The γδ TCR locus is rearranged first and is followed by rearrangement of the αβ locus. Both γδ and αβ T cells display a diverse TCR repertoire. Upon activation, the cells express CD25, CD69, cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-2 and cytolytic proteins (Perforin and Granzyme-B. These results suggest that most, if not all, mechanisms required to generate functional T cells with a broad TCR repertoire are intact in our in vitro differentiation protocol. These data provide a foundation for production of patient-specific T cells for the treatment of acquired or inherited immune disorders and for cancer immunotherapy.

Kleptoparasitic behavior and species richness at Mt. Graham red squirrel middens

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Andrew J. Edelman; John L. Koprowski; Jennifer L. Edelman

2005-01-01

We used remote photography to assess the frequency of inter- and intra-specific kleptoparasitism and species richness at Mt. Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) middens. Remote cameras and conifer cones were placed at occupied and unoccupied middens, and random sites. Species richness of small mammals was higher at red squirrel...

Use of a Self-Monitoring Application to Reduce Stereotypic Behavior in Adolescents with Autism: A Preliminary Investigation of I-Connect

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Crutchfield, Stephen A.; Mason, Rose A.; Chambers, Angela; Wills, Howard P.; Mason, Benjamin A.

2015-01-01

Many students with autism engage in a variety of complex stereotypic behaviors, impacting task completion and interfering with social opportunities. Self-monitoring is an intervention with empirical support for individuals with ASD to increase behavioral repertoires and decrease behaviors that are incompatible with successful outcomes. However,…

Kaarel Irdi repertuaaripoliitilised vaated Vanemuise teatri juhina. Kaarel Ird’s Repertoire Policy as Manager of the Vanemuine Theatre

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Jaak Viller

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on the meaning of ’repertoire policy’, which in a broader sense usually means the conformity of someone’s creative activities with their main target groups and the interests and expectations of these target groups. Usually, factors inside the theatre also influence repertoire policy (such as contemporary and classical texts, the relationship between local and foreign material, as well as the consideration of the artistic interests and abilities of the directors and actors involved. When analysing the Vanemuine Theatre and its long-standing manager Kaarel Ird (at Vanemuine during the years 1940–1986, a certain aspect stemming from the ideological doctrine of the totalitarian state should be taken into account: the mandatory quota of Soviet drama works (of the Russian and other Soviet nations written after the revolution of 1917, which had to be no less than two-thirds of the plays staged. One of Ird’s more distinguishable accomplishments in the formation of repertoire policy is the rehabilitation of classical Estonian drama and its legacy, which had been ostracised from the stage during the years following the war (1944–1955. Ird justified this with numerous performances and articles as well as in the choice of repertoire at the Vanemuine Theatre, which was very well received by the growing audience. Ird’s own best directed works were based on the legacy of classic Estonian drama (Lydia Koidula, Oskar Luts and others. The other tendency in Ird’s repertoire policy is the attention paid to the Estonian contemporary drama. His role in enthusing writers to create contributions for the drama genre was remarkable, as well as the care taken in order to make their plays reach the stage at Vanemuine Theatre. Something that should be pointed out in Ird’s favour is his explanation – which at the time was not at all self-evident – of the repertoire to the supervisory organs: that contemporary Estonian dramas ought

Conserved repertoire of orthologous vomeronasal type 1 receptor genes in ruminant species

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Okamura Hiroaki

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In mammals, pheromones play an important role in social and innate reproductive behavior within species. In rodents, vomeronasal receptor type 1 (V1R, which is specifically expressed in the vomeronasal organ, is thought to detect pheromones. The V1R gene repertoire differs dramatically between mammalian species, and the presence of species-specific V1R subfamilies in mouse and rat suggests that V1R plays a profound role in species-specific recognition of pheromones. In ruminants, however, the molecular mechanism(s for pheromone perception is not well understood. Interestingly, goat male pheromone, which can induce out-of-season ovulation in anestrous females, causes the same pheromone response in sheep, and vice versa, suggesting that there may be mechanisms for detecting "inter-species" pheromones among ruminant species. Results We isolated 23 goat and 21 sheep intact V1R genes based on sequence similarity with 32 cow V1R genes in the cow genome database. We found that all of the goat and sheep V1R genes have orthologs in their cross-species counterparts among these three ruminant species and that the sequence identity of V1R orthologous pairs among these ruminants is much higher than that of mouse-rat V1R orthologous pairs. Furthermore, all goat V1Rs examined thus far are expressed not only in the vomeronasal organ but also in the main olfactory epithelium. Conclusion Our results suggest that, compared with rodents, the repertoire of orthologous V1R genes is remarkably conserved among the ruminants cow, sheep and goat. We predict that these orthologous V1Rs can detect the same or closely related chemical compound(s within each orthologous set/pair. Furthermore, all identified goat V1Rs are expressed in the vomeronasal organ and the main olfactory epithelium, suggesting that V1R-mediated ligand information can be detected and processed by both the main and accessory olfactory systems. The fact that ruminant and rodent V1Rs

On the interaction between drugs of abuse and adolescent social behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trezza, V.; Baarendse, P.J.J.; Vanderschuren, L.J.M.J.

2014-01-01

Rationale Social factors influence drug abuse. Conversely, drugs of abuse alter social behavior. This is especially pertinent during post-weaning development, when there are profound changes in the social repertoire, and the sensitivity to the positive and negative effects of drugs of abuse is

Primer sets for cloning the human repertoire of T cell Receptor Variable regions.

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Boria, Ilenia; Cotella, Diego; Dianzani, Irma; Santoro, Claudio; Sblattero, Daniele

2008-08-29

Amplification and cloning of naïve T cell Receptor (TR) repertoires or antigen-specific TR is crucial to shape immune response and to develop immuno-based therapies. TR variable (V) regions are encoded by several genes that recombine during T cell development. The cloning of expressed genes as large diverse libraries from natural sources relies upon the availability of primers able to amplify as many V genes as possible. Here, we present a list of primers computationally designed on all functional TR V and J genes listed in the IMGT, the ImMunoGeneTics information system. The list consists of unambiguous or degenerate primers suitable to theoretically amplify and clone the entire TR repertoire. We show that it is possible to selectively amplify and clone expressed TR V genes in one single RT-PCR step and from as little as 1000 cells. This new primer set will facilitate the creation of more diverse TR libraries than has been possible using currently available primer sets.

Mechanisms of visual memory formation in bees: About immediate early genes and synaptic plasticity

OpenAIRE

Sommerlandt, Frank M. J.

2016-01-01

Animals form perceptual associations through processes of learning, and retain that information through mechanisms of memory. Honeybees and bumblebees are classic models for insect perception and learning, and despite their small brains with about one million neurons, they are organized in highly social colonies and possess an astonishing rich behavioral repertoire including navigation, communication and cognition. Honeybees are able to harvest hundreds of morphologically divergent flower typ...

Platelet concentration in platelet-rich plasma affects tenocyte behavior in vitro.

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Giusti, Ilaria; D'Ascenzo, Sandra; Mancò, Annalisa; Di Stefano, Gabriella; Di Francesco, Marianna; Rughetti, Anna; Dal Mas, Antonella; Properzi, Gianfranco; Calvisi, Vittorio; Dolo, Vincenza

2014-01-01

Since tendon injuries and tendinopathy are a growing problem, sometimes requiring surgery, new strategies that improve conservative therapies are needed. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) seems to be a good candidate by virtue of its high content of growth factors, most of which are involved in tendon healing. This study aimed to evaluate if different concentrations of platelets in PRP have different effects on the biological features of normal human tenocytes that are usually required during tendon healing. The different platelet concentrations tested (up to 5 × 10(6) plt/µL) stimulated differently tenocytes behavior; intermediate concentrations (0.5 × 10(6), 1 × 10(6) plt/µL) strongly induced all tested processes (proliferation, migration, collagen, and MMPs production) if compared to untreated cells; on the contrary, the highest concentration had inhibitory effects on proliferation and strongly reduced migration abilities and overall collagen production but, at the same time, induced increasing MMP production, which could be counterproductive because excessive proteolysis could impair tendon mechanical stability. Thus, these in vitro data strongly suggest the need for a compromise between extremely high and low platelet concentrations to obtain an optimal global effect when inducing in vivo tendon healing.

The scavenger receptor repertoire in six cnidarian species and its putative role in cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis

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Emilie F. Neubauer

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Many cnidarians engage in a mutualism with endosymbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagellates that forms the basis of the coral reef ecosystem. Interpartner interaction and regulation includes involvement of the host innate immune system. Basal metazoans, including cnidarians have diverse and complex innate immune repertoires that are just beginning to be described. Scavenger receptors (SR are a diverse superfamily of innate immunity genes that recognize a broad array of microbial ligands and participate in phagocytosis of invading microbes. The superfamily includes subclades named SR-A through SR-I that are categorized based on the arrangement of sequence domains including the scavenger receptor cysteine rich (SRCR, the C-type lectin (CTLD and the CD36 domains. Previous functional and gene expression studies on cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis have implicated SR-like proteins in interpartner communication and regulation. In this study, we characterized the SR repertoire from a combination of genomic and transcriptomic resources from six cnidarian species in the Class Anthozoa. We combined these bioinformatic analyses with functional experiments using the SR inhibitor fucoidan to explore a role for SRs in cnidarian symbiosis and immunity. Bioinformatic searches revealed a large diversity of SR-like genes that resembled SR-As, SR-Bs, SR-Es and SR-Is. SRCRs, CTLDs and CD36 domains were identified in multiple sequences in combinations that were highly homologous to vertebrate SRs as well as in proteins with novel domain combinations. Phylogenetic analyses of CD36 domains of the SR-B-like sequences from a diversity of metazoans grouped cnidarian with bilaterian sequences separate from other basal metazoans. All cnidarian sequences grouped together with moderate support in a subclade separately from bilaterian sequences. Functional experiments were carried out on the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida that engages in a symbiosis with Symbiodinium minutum

An Observational Study of Intermediate Band Students' Self-Regulated Practice Behaviors

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Miksza, Peter; Prichard, Stephanie; Sorbo, Diana

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate intermediate musicians' self-regulated practice behaviors. Thirty sixth- through eighth-grade students were observed practicing band repertoire individually for 20 min. Practice sessions were coded according to practice frame frequency and duration, length of musical passage selected, most prominent…

From everyday communicative figurations to rigorous audience news repertoires: A mixed method approach to cross-media news consumption

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Christian Kobbernagel

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the last couple of decades there has been an unprecedented explosion of news media platforms and formats, as a succession of digital and social media have joined the ranks of legacy media. We live in a ‘hybrid media system’ (Chadwick, 2013, in which people build their cross-media news repertoires from the ensemble of old and new media available. This article presents an innovative mixed-method approach with considerable explanatory power to the exploration of patterns of news media consumption. This approach tailors Q-methodology in the direction of a qualitative study of news consumption, in which a card sorting exercise serves to translate the participants’ news media preferences into a form that enables the researcher to undertake a rigorous factor-analytical construction of their news consumption repertoires. This interpretive, factor-analytical procedure, which results in the building of six audience news repertoires in Denmark, also preserves the qualitative thickness of the participants’ verbal accounts of the communicative figurations of their day-in-the-life with the news media.

Connectome-harmonic decomposition of human brain activity reveals dynamical repertoire re-organization under LSD.

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Atasoy, Selen; Roseman, Leor; Kaelen, Mendel; Kringelbach, Morten L; Deco, Gustavo; Carhart-Harris, Robin L

2017-12-15

Recent studies have started to elucidate the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on the human brain but the underlying dynamics are not yet fully understood. Here we used 'connectome-harmonic decomposition', a novel method to investigate the dynamical changes in brain states. We found that LSD alters the energy and the power of individual harmonic brain states in a frequency-selective manner. Remarkably, this leads to an expansion of the repertoire of active brain states, suggestive of a general re-organization of brain dynamics given the non-random increase in co-activation across frequencies. Interestingly, the frequency distribution of the active repertoire of brain states under LSD closely follows power-laws indicating a re-organization of the dynamics at the edge of criticality. Beyond the present findings, these methods open up for a better understanding of the complex brain dynamics in health and disease.

Discrete Emotion Regulation Strategy Repertoires and Parasympathetic Physiology Characterize Psychopathology Symptoms in Childhood

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Quiñones-Camacho, Laura E.; Davis, Elizabeth L.

2018-01-01

Certain psychopathologies are often linked to dysregulation of specific emotions (e.g., anxiety is associated with dysregulation of fear), but few studies have examined how regulatory repertoires for specific emotions (e.g., the strategies a person uses to regulate fear) relate to psychopathology, and fewer still have examined this in childhood. A…

Behavioral Dimensions in One-Year-Olds and Dimensional Stability in Infancy.

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Hagekull, Berit; And Others

1980-01-01

The dimensional structure of infants' behavioral repertoire was shown to be highly stable over 3 to 15 months of age. Factor analysis of parent questionnaire data produced seven factors named Intensity/Activity, Regularity, Approach-Withdrawal, Sensory Sensitivity, Attentiveness, Manageability and Sensitivity to New Food. An eighth factor,…

B cell and antibody repertoire development in rabbits: the requirement of gut-associated lymphoid tissues.

Science.gov (United States)

Mage, Rose G; Lanning, Dennis; Knight, Katherine L

2006-01-01

The antibody repertoire of rabbits has interested immunologists for decades, in part because of the ease with which large quantities of high affinity antibodies can be obtained in serum, and in part because of the presence of genetic variants, allotypes, within V(H), C(H) and C(L) regions. Studies of these allotypes led to the initial descriptions of allelic exclusion, and neonatal suppression of serum Ig production (allotype suppression), and were instrumental in demonstrating that V and C regions are encoded by separate genes and are usually expressed in cis. The immune system of rabbit continues to be of interest primarily because of the use of both gene conversion and somatic hypermutation to diversify rearranged heavy and light chain genes and the role that gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT) and intestinal flora play in developing the primary (preimmune) antibody repertoire.

Primer sets for cloning the human repertoire of T cell Receptor Variable regions

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Santoro Claudio

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Amplification and cloning of naïve T cell Receptor (TR repertoires or antigen-specific TR is crucial to shape immune response and to develop immuno-based therapies. TR variable (V regions are encoded by several genes that recombine during T cell development. The cloning of expressed genes as large diverse libraries from natural sources relies upon the availability of primers able to amplify as many V genes as possible. Results Here, we present a list of primers computationally designed on all functional TR V and J genes listed in the IMGT®, the ImMunoGeneTics information system®. The list consists of unambiguous or degenerate primers suitable to theoretically amplify and clone the entire TR repertoire. We show that it is possible to selectively amplify and clone expressed TR V genes in one single RT-PCR step and from as little as 1000 cells. Conclusion This new primer set will facilitate the creation of more diverse TR libraries than has been possible using currently available primer sets.

Distribution and development of the postnatal murine V delta 1 T-cell receptor repertoire

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Holtmeier, W.; Gille, J.; Zeuzem, S.; Šinkora, Marek

2010-01-01

Roč. 131, č. 2 (2010), s. 192-201 ISSN 0019-2805 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA524/07/0087 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Keywords : gene rearrangement * repertoire development * rodent Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 3.302, year: 2010

The natural antibody repertoire of sharks and humans recognizes the potential universe of antigens.

Science.gov (United States)

Adelman, Miranda K; Schluter, Samuel F; Marchalonis, John J

2004-02-01

In ancestral sharks, a rapid emergence in the evolution of the immune system occurred, giving jawed-vertebrates the necessary components for the combinatorial immune response (CIR). To compare the natural antibody (NAb) repertoires of the most divergent vertebrates with the capacity to produce antibodies, we isolated NAbs to the same set of antigens by affinity chromatography from two species of Carcharhine sharks and from human polyclonal IgG and IgM antibody preparations. The activities of the affinity-purified anti-T-cell receptor (anti-TCR) NAbs were compared with those of monoclonal anti-TCR NAbs that were generated from a systemic lupus erythematosus patient. We report that sharks and humans, representing the evolutionary extremes of vertebrate species sharing the CIR, have NAbs to human TCRs, Igs, the human senescent cell antigen, and to numerous retroviral antigens, indicating that essential features of the combinatorial repertoire and the capacity to recognize the potential universe of antigens is shared among all jawed-vertebrates.

The octopus genome and the evolution of cephalopod neural and morphological novelties

OpenAIRE

Albertin, Caroline B.; Simakov, Oleg; Mitros, Therese; Wang, Z. Yan; Pungor, Judit R.; Edsinger-Gonzalez, Eric; Brenner, Sydney; Ragsdale, Clifton W.; Rokhsar, Daniel S.

2015-01-01

Coleoid cephalopods (octopus, squid, and cuttlefish) are active, resourceful predators with a rich behavioral repertoire 1 . They have the largest nervous systems among the invertebrates 2 and present other striking morphological innovations including camera-like eyes, prehensile arms, a highly derived early embryogenesis, and the most sophisticated adaptive coloration system among all animals 1,3 . To investigate the molecular bases of cephalopod brain and body innovations we sequenced the g...

Nanocrystalline Si pathway induced unipolar resistive switching behavior from annealed Si-rich SiNx/SiNy multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Xiaofan; Ma, Zhongyuan; Yang, Huafeng; Yu, Jie; Wang, Wen; Zhang, Wenping; Li, Wei; Xu, Jun; Xu, Ling; Chen, Kunji; Huang, Xinfan; Feng, Duan

2014-01-01

Adding a resistive switching functionality to a silicon microelectronic chip is a new challenge in materials research. Here, we demonstrate that unipolar and electrode-independent resistive switching effects can be realized in the annealed Si-rich SiN x /SiN y multilayers with high on/off ratio of 10 9 . High resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that for the high resistance state broken pathways composed of discrete nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) exist in the Si nitride multilayers. While for the low resistance state the discrete nc-Si regions is connected, forming continuous nc-Si pathways. Based on the analysis of the temperature dependent I-V characteristics and HRTEM photos, we found that the break-and-bridge evolution of nc-Si pathway is the origin of resistive switching memory behavior. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of the resistive switching behavior in nc-Si films, opening a way for it to be utilized as a material in Si-based memories.

Nanocrystalline Si pathway induced unipolar resistive switching behavior from annealed Si-rich SiNx/SiNy multilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xiaofan; Ma, Zhongyuan; Yang, Huafeng; Yu, Jie; Wang, Wen; Zhang, Wenping; Li, Wei; Xu, Jun; Xu, Ling; Chen, Kunji; Huang, Xinfan; Feng, Duan

2014-09-01

Adding a resistive switching functionality to a silicon microelectronic chip is a new challenge in materials research. Here, we demonstrate that unipolar and electrode-independent resistive switching effects can be realized in the annealed Si-rich SiNx/SiNy multilayers with high on/off ratio of 109. High resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that for the high resistance state broken pathways composed of discrete nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) exist in the Si nitride multilayers. While for the low resistance state the discrete nc-Si regions is connected, forming continuous nc-Si pathways. Based on the analysis of the temperature dependent I-V characteristics and HRTEM photos, we found that the break-and-bridge evolution of nc-Si pathway is the origin of resistive switching memory behavior. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of the resistive switching behavior in nc-Si films, opening a way for it to be utilized as a material in Si-based memories.

Behavioural repertoire of free-range laying hens indoors and outdoors, and in relation to distance from the shed.

Science.gov (United States)

Thuy Diep, A; Larsen, H; Rault, J-L

2018-04-01

Access to an outdoor area is believed to allow free-range hens to express a greater behavioural repertoire. However, very little research has been done in this area. We hypothesised that the type and frequency of behaviours would differ between areas that vary in their characteristics and distance from the shed. This preliminary study investigated the behaviour of free-range laying hens in indoor and outdoor areas on one commercial free-range farm, through video recordings and scan sampling of focal hens, with the aim of determining their behavioural repertoire and time budget. While ranging, hens spent most of their time foraging. Indoors, hens preened and rested. Behaviour in the wintergarden showed similarities to both the indoor and outdoor areas, with preening, resting and foraging behaviours. Differences were not in the main behavioural repertoire, but rather in terms of time budget, with access to the range and wintergarden encouraging exploration. There was no difference in the types of behaviours that hens performed in the outdoor range compared with inside the shed, but access to a wintergarden and the outdoor range were favoured by the hens for foraging. © 2018 Australian Veterinary Association.

Effects of an injectable platelet-rich fibrin on osteoblast behavior and bone tissue formation in comparison to platelet-rich plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xuzhu; Zhang, Yufeng; Choukroun, Joseph; Ghanaati, Shahram; Miron, Richard J

2018-01-01

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been utilized for many years as a regenerative agent capable of inducing vascularization of various tissues using blood-derived growth factors. Despite this, drawbacks mostly related to the additional use of anti-coagulants found in PRP have been shown to inhibit the wound healing process. For these reasons, a novel platelet concentrate has recently been developed with no additives by utilizing lower centrifugation speeds. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate osteoblast behavior of this novel therapy (injectable-platelet-rich fibrin; i-PRF, 100% natural with no additives) when compared to traditional PRP. Human primary osteoblasts were cultured with either i-PRF or PRP and compared to control tissue culture plastic. A live/dead assay, migration assay as well as a cell adhesion/proliferation assay were investigated. Furthermore, osteoblast differentiation was assessed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alizarin red and osteocalcin staining, as well as real-time PCR for genes encoding Runx2, ALP, collagen1 and osteocalcin. The results showed that all cells had high survival rates throughout the entire study period irrespective of culture-conditions. While PRP induced a significant 2-fold increase in osteoblast migration, i-PRF demonstrated a 3-fold increase in migration when compared to control tissue-culture plastic and PRP. While no differences were observed for cell attachment, i-PRF induced a significantly higher proliferation rate at three and five days when compared to PRP. Furthermore, i-PRF induced significantly greater ALP staining at 7 days and alizarin red staining at 14 days. A significant increase in mRNA levels of ALP, Runx2 and osteocalcin, as well as immunofluorescent staining of osteocalcin was also observed in the i-PRF group when compared to PRP. In conclusion, the results from the present study favored the use of the naturally-formulated i-PRF when compared to traditional PRP with anti

Use of Individual Feedback during Human Gross Anatomy Course for Enhancing Professional Behaviors in Doctor of Physical Therapy Students

Science.gov (United States)

Youdas, James W.; Krause, David A.; Hellyer, Nathan J.; Rindflesch, Aaron B.; Hollman, John H.

2013-01-01

Medical professionals and public consumers expect that new physical therapy graduates possess cognitive, technical, and behavioral skills required to provide safe and high-quality care to patients. The purpose of this study was to determine if a repertoire of ten professional behaviors assessed at the beginning of doctorate of physical therapy…

Characterizing immunoglobulin repertoire from whole blood by a personal genome sequencer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Gao

Full Text Available In human immune system, V(DJ recombination produces an enormously large repertoire of immunoglobulins (Ig so that they can tackle different antigens from bacteria, viruses and tumor cells. Several studies have demonstrated the utility of next-generation sequencers such as Roche 454 and Illumina Genome Analyzer to characterize the repertoire of immunoglobulins. However, these techniques typically require separation of B cell population from whole blood and require a few weeks for running the sequencers, so it may not be practical to implement them in clinical settings. Recently, the Ion Torrent personal genome sequencer has emerged as a tabletop personal genome sequencer that can be operated in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner. In this study, we explored the technical feasibility to use multiplex PCR for amplifying V(DJ recombination for IgH, directly from whole blood, then sequence the amplicons by the Ion Torrent sequencer. The whole process including data generation and analysis can be completed in one day. We tested the method in a pilot study on patients with benign, atypical and malignant meningiomas. Despite the noisy data, we were able to compare the samples by their usage frequencies of the V segment, as well as their somatic hypermutation rates. In summary, our study suggested that it is technically feasible to perform clinical monitoring of V(DJ recombination within a day by personal genome sequencers.

Sequence-Based Discovery Demonstrates That Fixed Light Chain Human Transgenic Rats Produce a Diverse Repertoire of Antigen-Specific Antibodies

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Katherine E. Harris

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We created a novel transgenic rat that expresses human antibodies comprising a diverse repertoire of heavy chains with a single common rearranged kappa light chain (IgKV3-15-JK1. This fixed light chain animal, called OmniFlic, presents a unique system for human therapeutic antibody discovery and a model to study heavy chain repertoire diversity in the context of a constant light chain. The purpose of this study was to analyze heavy chain variable gene usage, clonotype diversity, and to describe the sequence characteristics of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs isolated from immunized OmniFlic animals. Using next-generation sequencing antibody repertoire analysis, we measured heavy chain variable gene usage and the diversity of clonotypes present in the lymph node germinal centers of 75 OmniFlic rats immunized with 9 different protein antigens. Furthermore, we expressed 2,560 unique heavy chain sequences sampled from a diverse set of clonotypes as fixed light chain antibody proteins and measured their binding to antigen by ELISA. Finally, we measured patterns and overall levels of somatic hypermutation in the full B-cell repertoire and in the 2,560 mAbs tested for binding. The results demonstrate that OmniFlic animals produce an abundance of antigen-specific antibodies with heavy chain clonotype diversity that is similar to what has been described with unrestricted light chain use in mammals. In addition, we show that sequence-based discovery is a highly effective and efficient way to identify a large number of diverse monoclonal antibodies to a protein target of interest.

Assessment of adsorption behavior of dibutyltin (DBT) to clay-rich sediments in comparison to the highly toxic tributyltin (TBT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoch, Marion; Alonso-Azcarate, Jacinto; Lischick, Martin

2003-01-01

Adsorption of dibutyltin to marine sediments is influenced by the type of predominating clay material. - The sorption behavior of dibutyltin (DBT) to four types of natural clay-rich sediments as a function of pH and salinity was studied. The strongest affinity of DBT was found to the montmorillonite-rich sediment, which is characterized by the highest specific surface area and cation exchange capacity of the four used sediments. K d values range between 12 and 40 (l/kg) on simulated marine conditions (pH 8, salinity 32%o). A maximum of DBT adsorption was found at a salinity of 0%o and pH 6. Desorption occurred over the entire studied pH range (4-8) when contaminated sediments interact with butyltin-free water. The maximum of desorption coincided with the minimum of adsorption, and vice versa. The results of DBT adsorption are compared with tributyltin (TBT), and the mechanism of the adsorption process is discussed

The Effects of Multiple Exemplar Instruction on the Relation between Listener and Intraverbal Categorization Repertoires

Science.gov (United States)

Lechago, Sarah A.; Carr, James E.; Kisamore, April N.; Grow, Laura L.

2015-01-01

We evaluated the effects of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) on the relation between listener and intraverbal categorization repertoires of six typically developing preschool-age children using a nonconcurrent multiple-probe design across participants. After failing to emit intraverbal categorization responses following listener categorization…

Monitoring pharmacologically induced immunosuppression by immune repertoire sequencing to detect acute allograft rejection in heart transplant patients: a proof-of-concept diagnostic accuracy study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Vollmers

2015-10-01

Full Text Available It remains difficult to predict and to measure the efficacy of pharmacological immunosuppression. We hypothesized that measuring the B-cell repertoire would enable assessment of the overall level of immunosuppression after heart transplantation.In this proof-of-concept study, we implemented a molecular-barcode-based immune repertoire sequencing assay that sensitively and accurately measures the isotype and clonal composition of the circulating B cell repertoire. We used this assay to measure the temporal response of the B cell repertoire to immunosuppression after heart transplantation. We selected a subset of 12 participants from a larger prospective cohort study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01985412 that is ongoing at Stanford Medical Center and for which enrollment started in March 2010. This subset of 12 participants was selected to represent post-heart-transplant events, with and without acute rejection (six participants with moderate-to-severe rejection and six without. We analyzed 130 samples from these patients, with an average follow-up period of 15 mo. Immune repertoire sequencing enables the measurement of a patient's net state of immunosuppression (correlation with tacrolimus level, r = -0.867, 95% CI -0.968 to -0.523, p = 0.0014, as well as the diagnosis of acute allograft rejection, which is preceded by increased immune activity with a sensitivity of 71.4% (95% CI 30.3% to 94.9% and a specificity of 82.0% (95% CI 72.1% to 89.1% (cell-free donor-derived DNA as noninvasive gold standard. To illustrate the potential of immune repertoire sequencing to monitor atypical post-transplant trajectories, we analyzed two more patients, one with chronic infections and one with amyloidosis. A larger, prospective study will be needed to validate the power of immune repertoire sequencing to predict rejection events, as this proof-of-concept study is limited to a small number of patients who were selected based on several criteria including the

Contribution of V(H replacement products in mouse antibody repertoire.

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Lin Huang

Full Text Available VH replacement occurs through RAG-mediated recombination between the cryptic recombination signal sequence (cRSS near the 3' end of a rearranged VH gene and the 23-bp RSS from an upstream unrearranged VH gene. Due to the location of the cRSS, VH replacement leaves a short stretch of nucleotides from the previously rearranged VH gene at the newly formed V-D junction, which can be used as a marker to identify VH replacement products. To determine the contribution of VH replacement products to mouse antibody repertoire, we developed a Java-based VH Replacement Footprint Analyzer (VHRFA program and analyzed 17,179 mouse IgH gene sequences from the NCBI database to identify VH replacement products. The overall frequency of VH replacement products in these IgH genes is 5.29% based on the identification of pentameric VH replacement footprints at their V-D junctions. The identified VH replacement products are distributed similarly in IgH genes using most families of VH genes, although different families of VH genes are used differentially. The frequencies of VH replacement products are significantly elevated in IgH genes derived from several strains of autoimmune prone mice and in IgH genes encoding autoantibodies. Moreover, the identified VH replacement footprints in IgH genes from autoimmune prone mice or IgH genes encoding autoantibodies preferentially encode positively charged amino acids. These results revealed a significant contribution of VH replacement products to the diversification of antibody repertoire and potentially, to the generation of autoantibodies in mice.

Fundamental characteristics of the immunoglobulin VH repertoire of chickens in comparison with those of humans, mice, and camelids.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Leeying; Oficjalska, Katarzyna; Lambert, Matthew; Fennell, Brian J; Darmanin-Sheehan, Alfredo; Ní Shúilleabháin, Deirdre; Autin, Bénédicte; Cummins, Emma; Tchistiakova, Lioudmila; Bloom, Laird; Paulsen, Janet; Gill, Davinder; Cunningham, Orla; Finlay, William J J

2012-01-01

Examination of 1269 unique naive chicken V(H) sequences showed that the majority of positions in the framework (FW) regions were maintained as germline, with high mutation rates observed in the CDRs. Many FW mutations could be clearly related to the modulation of CDR structure or the V(H)-V(L) interface. CDRs 1 and 2 of the V(H) exhibited frequent mutation in solvent-exposed positions, but conservation of common structural residues also found in human CDRs at the same positions. In comparison with humans and mice, the chicken CDR3 repertoire was skewed toward longer sequences, was dominated by small amino acids (G/S/A/C/T), and had higher cysteine (chicken, 9.4%; human, 1.6%; and mouse, 0.25%) but lower tyrosine content (chicken, 9.2%; human, 16.8%; and mouse 26.4%). A strong correlation (R(2) = 0.97) was observed between increasing CDR3 length and higher cysteine content. This suggests that noncanonical disulfides are strongly favored in chickens, potentially increasing CDR stability and complexity in the topology of the combining site. The probable formation of disulfide bonds between CDR3 and CDR1, FW2, or CDR2 was also observed, as described in camelids. All features of the naive repertoire were fully replicated in the target-selected, phage-displayed repertoire. The isolation of a chicken Fab with four noncanonical cysteines in the V(H) that exhibits 64 nM (K(D)) binding affinity for its target proved these constituents to be part of the humoral response, not artifacts. This study supports the hypothesis that disulfide bond-constrained CDR3s are a structural diversification strategy in the restricted germline v-gene repertoire of chickens.

The behavior-analytic approach to emotional self-control

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Jussara Rocha Batista

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Some psychological approaches distinguish behavioral self-control from emotional self-control, the latter being approached with the reference to inside events controlled by the individual himself. This paper offers some directions to a behavior-analytic approach of what has been referred to as emotional self-control. According to Behavior Analysis, no new process is found in emotional self-control, but components that are additional to those found in behavioral self-control, which require appropriate treatment. The paper highlights some determinants of behavioral repertoires taken as instances of emotional self-control: the social context in which self-control is produced and maintained; the conflicts between consequences for the individual and for the group; and the degree of participation of the motor apparatus in the emission of emotional responses. Keywords: emotional self-control; emotional responses; inner world; behavior analysis.

Human IgG repertoire of malaria antigen-immunized human immune system (HIS) mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Nogueira, Raquel Tayar; Sahi, Vincent; Huang, Jing; Tsuji, Moriya

2017-08-01

Humanized mouse models present an important tool for preclinical evaluation of new vaccines and therapeutics. Here we show the human variable repertoire of antibody sequences cloned from a previously described human immune system (HIS) mouse model that possesses functional human CD4+ T cells and B cells, namely HIS-CD4/B mice. We sequenced variable IgG genes from single memory B-cell and plasma-cell sorted from splenocytes or whole blood lymphocytes of HIS-CD4/B mice that were vaccinated with a human plasmodial antigen, a recombinant Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (rPfCSP). We demonstrate that rPfCSP immunization triggers a diverse B-cell IgG repertoire composed of various human VH family genes and distinct V(D)J recombinations that constitute diverse CDR3 sequences similar to humans, although low hypermutated sequences were generated. These results demonstrate the substantial genetic diversity of responding human B cells of HIS-CD4/B mice and their capacity to mount human IgG class-switched antibody response upon vaccination. Copyright © 2017 European Federation of Immunological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impaired recovery of syllable repertoires after unilateral lesions of the HVC of male domesticated canaries.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Halle, F; Gahr, M.; Kreutzer, M.

2003-01-01

Particular features of the song of adult male canaries such as a large syllable repertoire resulting in a great diversity of song phrases and special so-called 'complex' syllables enhance various features of female reproductive behaviour. These features are produced in a species or strain dependent

The repertoire of olfactory C family G protein-coupled receptors in zebrafish: candidate chemosensory receptors for amino acids

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Ngai John

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Vertebrate odorant receptors comprise at least three types of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs: the OR, V1R, and V2R/V2R-like receptors, the latter group belonging to the C family of GPCRs. These receptor families are thought to receive chemosensory information from a wide spectrum of odorant and pheromonal cues that influence critical animal behaviors such as feeding, reproduction and other social interactions. Results Using genome database mining and other informatics approaches, we identified and characterized the repertoire of 54 intact "V2R-like" olfactory C family GPCRs in the zebrafish. Phylogenetic analysis – which also included a set of 34 C family GPCRs from fugu – places the fish olfactory receptors in three major groups, which are related to but clearly distinct from other C family GPCRs, including the calcium sensing receptor, metabotropic glutamate receptors, GABA-B receptor, T1R taste receptors, and the major group of V2R vomeronasal receptor families. Interestingly, an analysis of sequence conservation and selective pressure in the zebrafish receptors revealed the retention of a conserved sequence motif previously shown to be required for ligand binding in other amino acid receptors. Conclusion Based on our findings, we propose that the repertoire of zebrafish olfactory C family GPCRs has evolved to allow the detection and discrimination of a spectrum of amino acid and/or amino acid-based compounds, which are potent olfactory cues in fish. Furthermore, as the major groups of fish receptors and mammalian V2R receptors appear to have diverged significantly from a common ancestral gene(s, these receptors likely mediate chemosensation of different classes of chemical structures by their respective organisms.

Structural repertoire of immunoglobulin λ light chains

KAUST Repository

Chailyan, Anna

2011-03-01

The immunoglobulin λ isotype is present in nearly all vertebrates and plays an important role in the human immune system. Despite its importance, few systematic studies have been performed to analyze the structural conformation of its variable regions, contrary to what is the case for κ and heavy chains. We show here that an analysis of the structures of λ chains allows the definition of a discrete set of recurring conformations (canonical structures) of their hypervariable loops and, most importantly, the identification of sequence constraints that can be used to predict their structure. We also show that the structural repertoire of λ chains is different and more varied than that of the κ chains, consistently with the current view of the involvement of the two major light-chain families in complementary strategies of the immune system to ensure a fine tuning between diversity and stability in antigen recognition. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Structural repertoire of immunoglobulin λ light chains

KAUST Repository

Chailyan, Anna; Marcatili, Paolo; Cirillo, Davide; Tramontano, Anna

2011-01-01

The immunoglobulin λ isotype is present in nearly all vertebrates and plays an important role in the human immune system. Despite its importance, few systematic studies have been performed to analyze the structural conformation of its variable regions, contrary to what is the case for κ and heavy chains. We show here that an analysis of the structures of λ chains allows the definition of a discrete set of recurring conformations (canonical structures) of their hypervariable loops and, most importantly, the identification of sequence constraints that can be used to predict their structure. We also show that the structural repertoire of λ chains is different and more varied than that of the κ chains, consistently with the current view of the involvement of the two major light-chain families in complementary strategies of the immune system to ensure a fine tuning between diversity and stability in antigen recognition. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Complex Genetics of Behavior: BXDs in the Automated Home-Cage.

Science.gov (United States)

Loos, Maarten; Verhage, Matthijs; Spijker, Sabine; Smit, August B

2017-01-01

This chapter describes a use case for the genetic dissection and automated analysis of complex behavioral traits using the genetically diverse panel of BXD mouse recombinant inbred strains. Strains of the BXD resource differ widely in terms of gene and protein expression in the brain, as well as in their behavioral repertoire. A large mouse resource opens the possibility for gene finding studies underlying distinct behavioral phenotypes, however, such a resource poses a challenge in behavioral phenotyping. To address the specifics of large-scale screening we describe how to investigate: (1) how to assess mouse behavior systematically in addressing a large genetic cohort, (2) how to dissect automation-derived longitudinal mouse behavior into quantitative parameters, and (3) how to map these quantitative traits to the genome, deriving loci underlying aspects of behavior.

Structural elucidation, molecular representation and solvent interactions of vitrinite-rich and inertinite-rich South African coals

Science.gov (United States)

van Niekerk, Daniel

The structural differences and similarities of two Permian-aged South African coals, vitrinite-rich Waterberg and inertinite-rich Highveld coals (similar rank, carbon content and Permian age), were evaluated. With South African coals the opportunity presented itself to study not only Permian-aged Gondwana vitrinite but also inertinite. It was expected that these coals would differ from Northern hemisphere Carboniferous coals. It was concluded from various structural data that both coals, although different in maceral composition and depositional basins, are similar in their base structural composition. The main differences were that the inertinite-rich Highveld coal was more ordered, more aromatic, and had less hydrogen than the vitrinite-rich Waterberg coal. Analytical data were used to construct large-scale advanced molecular representations for vitrinite-rich Waterberg and inertinite-rich Highveld coals. The three-dimensional models were structurally diverse with a molecular weight range of 78 to 1900 amu. The vitrinite-rich coal model consisted of 18,572 atoms and 191 individual molecules and the inertinite-rich coal model consisted of 14,242 atoms and 158 individual molecules. This largescale modeling effort was enabled by the development of various PERL scripts to automate various visualization and analytical aspects. Coal swelling studies were conducted using the traditional pack-bed swelling method and a new novel single-particle stop-motion videography swelling method with NMP and CS2/NMP solvents. The pack-bed swelling showed that vitrinite-rich coal had a greater swelling extent and that swelling extent for both coals was greater in CS2/NMP binary solvent than for NMP. Single-particle swelling experiments showed that both coals, for both solvents, exhibit overshoot-type and climbing-type swelling behaviors. Inertinite-coal had a faster swelling rate, in both solvents, than the vitrinite-rich coal. The single-particle swelling data was used to calculate

Maximum-Entropy Models of Sequenced Immune Repertoires Predict Antigen-Antibody Affinity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asti, Lorenzo; Uguzzoni, Guido; Marcatili, Paolo

2016-01-01

The immune system has developed a number of distinct complex mechanisms to shape and control the antibody repertoire. One of these mechanisms, the affinity maturation process, works in an evolutionary-like fashion: after binding to a foreign molecule, the antibody-producing B-cells exhibit a high...... of an HIV-1 infected patient. The Pearson correlation coefficient between our scoring function and the IC50 neutralization titer measured on 30 different antibodies of known sequence is as high as 0.77 (p-value 10-6), outperforming other sequence- and structure-based models....

Emotional Intelligence and the Conflict Resolution Repertoire of Couples in Tertiary Institutions in Imo State

Science.gov (United States)

Nnodum, B. I.; Ugwuegbulam, C. N.; Agbaenyi, I. G.

2016-01-01

This study is a descriptive survey that investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and conflict resolution repertoire of couples in tertiary institutions. A sample of 250 married people were drawn from the population of couples in tertiary institutions in Imo State. Two researcher made and validated instruments were used in…

Spectratyping analysis of the islet-reactive T cell repertoire in diabetic NOD Igμnull mice after polyclonal B cell reconstitution

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Sercarz Eli E

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Non Obese Diabetic mice lacking B cells (NOD.Igμnull mice do not develop diabetes despite their susceptible background. Upon reconstitution of B cells using a chimera approach, animals start developing diabetes at 20 weeks of age. Methods We have used the spectratyping technique to follow the T cell receptor (TCR V beta repertoire of NOD.Igμnull mice following B cell reconstitution. This technique provides an unbiased approach to understand the kinetics of TCR expansion. We have also analyzed the TCR repertoire of reconstituted animals receiving cyclophosphamide treatment and following tissue transplants to identify common aggressive clonotypes. Results We found that B cell reconstitution of NOD.Igμnull mice induces a polyclonal TCR repertoire in the pancreas 10 weeks later, gradually diversifying to encompass most BV families. Interestingly, these clonotypic BV expansions are mainly confined to the pancreas and are absent from pancreatic lymph nodes or spleens. Cyclophosphamide-induced diabetes at 10 weeks post-B cell reconstitution reorganized the predominant TCR repertoires by removing potential regulatory clonotypes (BV1, BV8 and BV11 and increasing the frequency of others (BV4, BV5S2, BV9, BV16-20. These same clonotypes are more frequently present in neonatal pancreatic transplants under the kidney capsule of B-cell reconstituted diabetic NOD.Igμnull mice, suggesting their higher invasiveness. Phenotypic analysis of the pancreas-infiltrating lymphocytes during diabetes onset in B cell reconstituted animals show a predominance of CD19+ B cells with a B:T lymphocyte ratio of 4:1. In contrast, in other lymphoid organs (pancreatic lymph nodes and spleens analyzed by FACS, the B:T ratio was 1:1. Lymphocytes infiltrating the pancreas secrete large amounts of IL-6 and are of Th1 phenotype after CD3-CD28 stimulation in vitro. Conclusions Diabetes in NOD.Igμnull mice appears to be caused by a polyclonal repertoire of T cell

Empirical Application of Skinner's Verbal Behavior to Interventions for Children with Autism: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

DeSouza, Andresa A.; Akers, Jessica S.; Fisher, Wayne W.

2017-01-01

Sundberg and Michael (2011) reviewed the contributions of Skinner's (1957) "Verbal Behavior" to the treatment of language delays in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and discussed several aspects of interventions, including mand training, intraverbal repertoire development, and the importance of using Skinner's taxonomy of…

Social Context Predicts Vocalization Use in the Courtship Behaviors of Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes weddellii: A Case Study

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Ludivine R. Russell

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Despite previous research, no study has convincingly demonstrated what role if any vocalizations might play in the reproductive behavior of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii. To better understand that role, we created an artificial territory for an adult, male Weddell seal under the shore-fast ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, and recorded its in situ vocalizations and non-vocal behaviors with an underwater video camera and hydrophone while alone, with another male, and with one or more females. Additionally, we simultaneously recorded the vocalizations and non-vocal behaviors from a female interacting with the male. Analysis of 86 hr of video and audio recordings showed: 1 the male vocalized more than the female, 2 the male’s vocal repertoire was larger than the females’ repertoire, 3 vocalizations changed quantitatively and qualitatively with social context, and 4 patterns of vocalizations and non-vocal behaviors were detected with Theme, pattern recognition software from Noldus Information Technology. These results provided strong evidence that vocalizations played an important role during courtship, and together with the significant behavioral sequences, vocal and non-vocal, they provided insight into the function of their vocalizations including chirps, growls, jaw claps, knocks, mews, trills, and trills + knocks.

WORKS FOR CLARINET AND ACCOMPANIMENT IN OLEG NEGRUŢA’S COMPOSITION REPERTOIRE

OpenAIRE

MUŞAT SERGHEI; CHICIUC NATALIA

2015-01-01

Oleg Negruţa’s composition repertoire for solo instruments with accompaniment, of which clarinet opuses are highlighted, is important for indigenous musical art. In a vast genre complex, it confirms the composer’s constant commitment to the idea of the Bessarabian professional school. In this sense, as relevant works can be considered the three pieces for clarinet and piano: Improvisation, Fantasy on a Theme by Paganini and Elegy. However, this article is meant to offer details in an analytic...

Older, sociable capuchins (Cebus capucinus) invent more social behaviors, but younger monkeys innovate more in other contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Susan E.; Godoy, Irene

2017-01-01

An important extension to our understanding of evolutionary processes has been the discovery of the roles that individual and social learning play in creating recurring phenotypes on which selection can act. Cultural change occurs chiefly through invention of new behavioral variants combined with social transmission of the novel behaviors to new practitioners. Therefore, understanding what makes some individuals more likely to innovate and/or transmit new behaviors is critical for creating realistic models of culture change. The difficulty in identifying what behaviors qualify as new in wild animal populations has inhibited researchers from understanding the characteristics of behavioral innovations and innovators. Here, we present the findings of a long-term, systematic study of innovation (10 y, 10 groups, and 234 individuals) in wild capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) in Lomas Barbudal, Costa Rica. Our methodology explicitly seeks novel behaviors, requiring their absence during the first 5 y of the study to qualify as novel in the second 5 y of the study. Only about 20% of 187 innovations identified were retained in innovators’ individual behavioral repertoires, and 22% were subsequently seen in other group members. Older, more social monkeys were more likely to invent new forms of social interaction, whereas younger monkeys were more likely to innovate in other behavioral domains (foraging, investigative, and self-directed behaviors). Sex and rank had little effect on innovative tendencies. Relative to apes, capuchins devote more of their innovations repertoire to investigative behaviors and social bonding behaviors and less to foraging and comfort behaviors. PMID:28739946

Kinematic decomposition and classification of octopus arm movements

OpenAIRE

Zelman, Ido; Titon, Myriam; Yekutieli, Yoram; Hanassy, Shlomi; Hochner, Binyamin; Flash, Tamar

2013-01-01

The octopus arm is a muscular hydrostat and due to its deformable and highly flexible structure it is capable of a rich repertoire of motor behaviors. Its motor control system uses planning principles and control strategies unique to muscular hydrostats. We previously reconstructed a data set of octopus arm movements from records of natural movements using a sequence of 3D curves describing the virtual backbone of arm configurations. Here we describe a novel representation of octopus arm move...

Phenotypic integration and the evolution of signal repertoires: A case study of treefrog acoustic communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichert, Michael S; Höbel, Gerlinde

2018-03-01

Animal signals are inherently complex phenotypes with many interacting parts combining to elicit responses from receivers. The pattern of interrelationships between signal components reflects the extent to which each component is expressed, and responds to selection, either in concert with or independently of others. Furthermore, many species have complex repertoires consisting of multiple signal types used in different contexts, and common morphological and physiological constraints may result in interrelationships extending across the multiple signals in species' repertoires. The evolutionary significance of interrelationships between signal traits can be explored within the framework of phenotypic integration, which offers a suite of quantitative techniques to characterize complex phenotypes. In particular, these techniques allow for the assessment of modularity and integration, which describe, respectively, the extent to which sets of traits covary either independently or jointly. Although signal and repertoire complexity are thought to be major drivers of diversification and social evolution, few studies have explicitly measured the phenotypic integration of signals to investigate the evolution of diverse communication systems. We applied methods from phenotypic integration studies to quantify integration in the two primary vocalization types (advertisement and aggressive calls) in the treefrogs Hyla versicolor , Hyla cinerea, and Dendropsophus ebraccatus . We recorded male calls and calculated standardized phenotypic variance-covariance ( P ) matrices for characteristics within and across call types. We found significant integration across call types, but the strength of integration varied by species and corresponded with the acoustic similarity of the call types within each species. H. versicolor had the most modular advertisement and aggressive calls and the least acoustically similar call types. Additionally, P was robust to changing social competition

A role for gut-associated lymphoid tissue in shaping the human B cell repertoire.

Science.gov (United States)

Vossenkämper, Anna; Blair, Paul A; Safinia, Niloufar; Fraser, Louise D; Das, Lisa; Sanders, Theodore J; Stagg, Andrew J; Sanderson, Jeremy D; Taylor, Kirstin; Chang, Fuju; Choong, Lee M; D'Cruz, David P; Macdonald, Thomas T; Lombardi, Giovanna; Spencer, Jo

2013-08-26

We have tracked the fate of immature human B cells at a critical stage in their development when the mature B cell repertoire is shaped. We show that a major subset of bone marrow emigrant immature human B cells, the transitional 2 (T2) B cells, homes to gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and that most T2 B cells isolated from human GALT are activated. Activation in GALT is a previously unknown potential fate for immature human B cells. The process of maturation from immature transitional B cell through to mature naive B cell includes the removal of autoreactive cells from the developing repertoire, a process which is known to fail in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We observe that immature B cells in SLE are poorly equipped to access the gut and that gut immune compartments are depleted in SLE. Thus, activation of immature B cells in GALT may function as a checkpoint that protects against autoimmunity. In healthy individuals, this pathway may be involved in generating the vast population of IgA plasma cells and also the enigmatic marginal zone B cell subset that is poorly understood in humans.

Antibody repertoires in humanized NOD-scid-IL2Rγ(null mice and human B cells reveals human-like diversification and tolerance checkpoints in the mouse.

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Gregory C Ippolito

Full Text Available Immunodeficient mice reconstituted with human hematopoietic stem cells enable the in vivo study of human hematopoiesis. In particular, NOD-scid-IL2Rγ(null engrafted mice have been shown to have reasonable levels of T and B cell repopulation and can mount T-cell dependent responses; however, antigen-specific B-cell responses in this model are generally poor. We explored whether developmental defects in the immunoglobulin gene repertoire might be partly responsible for the low level of antibody responses in this model. Roche 454 sequencing was used to obtain over 685,000 reads from cDNA encoding immunoglobulin heavy (IGH and light (IGK and IGL genes isolated from immature, naïve, or total splenic B cells in engrafted NOD-scid-IL2Rγ(null mice, and compared with over 940,000 reads from peripheral B cells of two healthy volunteers. We find that while naïve B-cell repertoires in humanized mice are chiefly indistinguishable from those in human blood B cells, and display highly correlated patterns of immunoglobulin gene segment use, the complementarity-determining region H3 (CDR-H3 repertoires are nevertheless extremely diverse and are specific for each individual. Despite this diversity, preferential D(H-J(H pairings repeatedly occur within the CDR-H3 interval that are strikingly similar across all repertoires examined, implying a genetic constraint imposed on repertoire generation. Moreover, CDR-H3 length, charged amino-acid content, and hydropathy are indistinguishable between humans and humanized mice, with no evidence of global autoimmune signatures. Importantly, however, a statistically greater usage of the inherently autoreactive IGHV4-34 and IGKV4-1 genes was observed in the newly formed immature B cells relative to naïve B or total splenic B cells in the humanized mice, a finding consistent with the deletion of autoreactive B cells in humans. Overall, our results provide evidence that key features of the primary repertoire are shaped by

Repertoire Development and the Control of Cytotoxic/Effector Function in Human γδ T Cells

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Elizabeth M. Urban

2010-01-01

Full Text Available T cells develop into two major populations distinguished by their T cell receptor (TCR chains. Cells with the αβ TCR generally express CD4 or CD8 lineage markers and mostly fall into helper or cytotoxic/effector subsets. Cells expressing the alternate γδ TCR in humans generally do not express lineage markers, do not require MHC for antigen presentation, and recognize nonpeptidic antigens. We are interested in the dominant Vγ2Vδ2+ T cell subset in human peripheral blood and the control of effector function in this population. We review the literature on γδ T cell generation and repertoire selection, along with recent work on CD56 expression and defining a cytotoxic/effector lineage within the phosphoantigen-reactive Vγ2Vδ2 cells. A unique mechanism for MHC-independent repertoire selection is linked to the control of effector function that is vital to the role for γδ T cells in tumor surveillance. Better understanding of these mechanisms will improve our ability to exploit this population for tumor immunotherapy.

Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding of Ni-rich NiTi plates: functional behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, J. P.; Barbosa, D.; Braz Fernandes, F. M.; Miranda, R. M.

2016-03-01

It is often reported that, to successfully join NiTi shape memory alloys, fusion-based processes with reduced thermal affected regions (as in laser welding) are required. This paper describes an experimental study performed on the tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding of 1.5 mm thick plates of Ni-rich NiTi. The functional behavior of the joints was assessed. The superelasticity was analyzed by cycling tests at maximum imposed strains of 4, 8 and 12% and for a total of 600 cycles, without rupture. The superelastic plateau was observed, in the stress-strain curves, 30 MPa below that of the base material. Shape-memory effect was evidenced by bending tests with full recovery of the initial shape of the welded joints. In parallel, uniaxial tensile tests of the joints showed a tensile strength of 700 MPa and an elongation to rupture of 20%. The elongation is the highest reported for fusion-welding of NiTi, including laser welding. These results can be of great interest for the wide-spread inclusion of NiTi in complex shaped components requiring welding, since TIG is not an expensive process and is simple to operate and implement in industrial environments.

High-Cycle, Push–Pull Fatigue Fracture Behavior of High-C, Si–Al-Rich Nanostructured Bainite Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jing; Ji, Honghong

2017-01-01

The high-cycle, push–pull fatigue fracture behavior of high-C, Si–Al-rich nanostructured bainitic steel was studied through the measurement of fatigue limits, a morphology examination and phase composition analysis of the fatigue fracture surface, as well as fractography of the fatigue crack propagation. The results demonstrated that the push–pull fatigue limits at 107 cycles were estimated as 710–889 MPa, for the samples isothermally transformed at the temperature range of 220–260 °C through data extrapolation, measured under the maximum cycle number of 105. Both the interior inclusion and the sample surface constituted the fatigue crack origins. During the fatigue crack propagation, a high amount of secondary cracks were formed in almost parallel arrangements. The apparent plastic deformation occurred in the fracture surface layer, which induced approximately all retained austenite to transform into martensite. PMID:29286325

Changes in the repertoire of natural antibodies caused by immunization with bacterial antigens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shilova, N V; Navakouski, M J; Huflejt, M

2011-01-01

The repertoire of natural anti-glycan antibodies in naïve chickens and in chickens immunized with bacteria Burkholderia mallei, Burkholderia pseudomallei, and Francisella tularensis as well as with peptides from an outer membrane protein of B. pseudomallei was studied. A relatively restricted pat...... pattern of natural antibodies (first of all IgY against bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan fragments, L-Rha, and core N-acetyllactosamine) shrank and, moreover, the level of detectable antibodies decreased as a result of immunization....

Anisotropic Negative Thermal Expansion Behavior of the As-Fabricated Ti-Rich and Equiatomic Ti-Ni Alloys Induced by Preferential Grain Orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Zhong-Xun; Ma, Xiao; Cao, Shan-Shan; Ke, Chang-Bo; Zhang, Xin-Ping

2018-03-01

The present study focuses on the anisotropic negative thermal expansion (NTE) behaviors of Ti-rich (Ti54Ni46) and equiatomic Ti-Ni (Ti50Ni50) alloys fabricated by vacuum arc melting and without subsequent plastic deformation. Both alloys exhibit NTE responses in vertical and horizontal directions, and the total strains and CTEs of the NTE stage along the two mutually perpendicular measuring directions are obviously different, indicating obvious anisotropic NTE behavior of the alloys. Besides, the numerical differences between the starting temperature of NTE and austenitic transformation and between the finishing temperature of NTE and austenitic transformation are very small, which indicates that an apparent relationship exists between the NTE behavior and the phase transformation. The microstructure in the vertical cross sections shows obviously preferential orientation characteristics: Ti2Ni phases of both alloys grow along the vertical direction, and B19' martensite of Ti50Ni50 alloy has distinct preferential orientation, which results from a large temperature gradient between the top and the bottom of the button ingots during solidification. The microstructure with preferential orientation induces the anisotropic NTE behavior of the samples.

Effect of the herbal formulation Jianpijiedu on the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in rats with hepatocellular carcinoma and subjected to food restriction combined with laxative.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Baoguo; Meng, Jun; Xiang, Ting; Zhang, Lei; Deng, Liuxiang; Chen, Yan; Luo, Haoxuan; Yang, Zhangbin; Chen, Zexiong; Zhang, Shijun

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Chinese herbal formulation Jianpijiedu (JPJD) in a rat model of orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma (OHC). The tumor-bearing rats underwent food restriction combined with laxative (FRL) treatment in order to model the nutritional and digestive symptoms of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, the study aimed to elucidate the effect of JPJD on the T cell receptor Vβ-chain complementarity-determining region 3 (TCRVβCDR3) repertoire and the underlying mechanism. The FRL rat model was established by alternate-day food restriction and the oral administration of Glauber's salt (sodium sulfate), based on which the OHC model was then established. Subsequently, the FRL-OHC induced animals received JPJD or thymopentin-5 (TP5) for 17 days. Differences in the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in the rat thymus, liver and hepatocellular carcinoma tissues were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. Compared with the FRL-OHC model animals without any treatment, those treated with JPJD exhibited significantly inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma growth (PSimpsons diversity index (Ds) values and the quasi-Gaussian distribution rate of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in the thymus, liver and hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. However, no anti-hepatoma effects were evident in the rats treated with TP5. In addition, TP5 increased the Ds values and the quasi-Gaussian distribution rate of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues compared with those in the JPJD-treated group. The anti-hepatoma effects of JPJD in FRL-OHC-induced animals may be due to the promotion of the Ds values of the TCRVβCDR3 repertoire.

Cloning of the immunological repertoire in Escherichia coli for generation of monoclonal catalytic antibodies: construction of a heavy chain variable region-specific cDNA library.

OpenAIRE

Sastry, L; Alting-Mees, M; Huse, W D; Short, J M; Sorge, J A; Hay, B N; Janda, K D; Benkovic, S J; Lerner, R A

1989-01-01

Efficient generation of catalytic antibodies is uniquely dependent on the exact nature of the binding interactions in the antigen-antibody complex. Current methods for generation of monoclonal antibodies do not efficiently survey the immunological repertoire and, therefore, they limit the number of catalysts that can be obtained. We are exploring methods to clone and express the immunological repertoire in Escherichia coli. As the essential first step, we present here a method for the establi...

The MicroRNA Repertoire of Symbiodinium, the Dinoflagellate Symbiont of Reef-Building Corals

KAUST Repository

Baumgarten, Sebastian

2013-07-01

Animal and plant genomes produce numerous small RNAs (smRNAs) that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally affecting metabolism, development, and epigenetic inheritance. In order to characterize the repertoire of endogenous microRNAs and potential gene targets, we conducted smRNA and mRNA expression profiling over nine experimental treatments of cultures from the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium sp. A1, a photosynthetic symbiont of scleractinian corals. We identified a total of 75 novel smRNAs in Symbiodinum sp. A1 that share stringent key features with functional microRNAs from other model organisms. A subset of 38 smRNAs was predicted independently over all nine treatments and their putative gene targets were identified. We found 3,187 animal-like target sites in the 3’UTRs of 12,858 mRNAs and 53 plantlike target sites in 51,917 genes. Furthermore, we identified the core RNAi protein machinery in Symbiodinium. Integration of smRNA and mRNA expression profiling identified a variety of processes that could be under microRNA control, e.g. regulation of translation, DNA modification, and chromatin silencing. Given that Symbiodinium seems to have a paucity of transcription factors and differentially expressed genes, identification and characterization of its smRNA repertoire establishes the possibility of a range of gene regulatory mechanisms in dinoflagellates acting post-transcriptionally.

REFLECTIONS ON THE ORNAMENTAL PHENOMENON WITHIN THE REPERTOIRE OF TRADITIONAL VIOLONISTS IN THE HISTORICAL MOLDOVAN FOLK SPACE

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GRIB VITALIE

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The eclectic style in the interpretative manner of the younger generation of traditional violinists, which oft en distorts the aesthetic essence of folklore creations, has determined the need for research, scientifi c reasoning and elaboration of some methods of learning the traditional ornamental instrumental style, which can be general or individual, yet specifi c to the historical Moldovan folk space. To achieve this, we consider important to identify the types of ornaments in traditional instrumental music; to delimit the interpretative particularities of ornaments in literate and folk music; to analyse the ornamentation styles of songs within the repertoire of diff erent traditional violinists, that belong to the folk space investigated in terms of the type of creation. As a model for analysing the particularities of interpreting these ornaments, we select violinists from older generations, whose repertoire and style of execution has not been aff ected by the media and technological progress.

The vocal repertoire of the African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus): structure and function of calls.

Science.gov (United States)

Favaro, Livio; Ozella, Laura; Pessani, Daniela

2014-01-01

The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is a highly social and vocal seabird. However, currently available descriptions of the vocal repertoire of African Penguin are mostly limited to basic descriptions of calls. Here we provide, for the first time, a detailed description of the vocal behaviour of this species by collecting audio and video recordings from a large captive colony. We combine visual examinations of spectrograms with spectral and temporal acoustic analyses to determine vocal categories. Moreover, we used a principal component analysis, followed by signal classification with a discriminant function analysis, for statistical validation of the vocalisation types. In addition, we identified the behavioural contexts in which calls were uttered. The results show that four basic vocalisations can be found in the vocal repertoire of adult African Penguin, namely a contact call emitted by isolated birds, an agonistic call used in aggressive interactions, an ecstatic display song uttered by single birds, and a mutual display song vocalised by pairs, at their nests. Moreover, we identified two distinct vocalisations interpreted as begging calls by nesting chicks (begging peep) and unweaned juveniles (begging moan). Finally, we discussed the importance of specific acoustic parameters in classifying calls and the possible use of the source-filter theory of vocal production to study penguin vocalisations.

Regulatory T cells expanded from HIV-1-infected individuals maintain phenotype, TCR repertoire and suppressive capacity.

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Mathieu Angin

Full Text Available While modulation of regulatory T cell (Treg function and adoptive Treg transfer are being explored as therapeutic modalities in the context of autoimmune diseases, transplantation and cancer, their role in HIV-1 pathogenesis remains less well defined. Controversy persists regarding their beneficial or detrimental effects in HIV-1 disease, which warrants further detailed exploration. Our objectives were to investigate if functional CD4(+ Tregs can be isolated and expanded from HIV-1-infected individuals for experimental or potential future therapeutic use and to determine phenotype and suppressive capacity of expanded Tregs from HIV-1 positive blood and tissue. Tregs and conventional T cell controls were isolated from blood and gut-associated lymphoid tissue of individuals with HIV-1 infection and healthy donors using flow-based cell-sorting. The phenotype of expanded Tregs was assessed by flow-cytometry and quantitative PCR. T-cell receptor ß-chain (TCR-β repertoire diversity was investigated by deep sequencing. Flow-based T-cell proliferation and chromium release cytotoxicity assays were used to determine Treg suppressive function. Tregs from HIV-1 positive individuals, including infants, were successfully expanded from PBMC and GALT. Expanded Tregs expressed high levels of FOXP3, CTLA4, CD39 and HELIOS and exhibited a highly demethylated TSDR (Treg-specific demethylated region, characteristic of Treg lineage. The TCRß repertoire was maintained following Treg expansion and expanded Tregs remained highly suppressive in vitro. Our data demonstrate that Tregs can be expanded from blood and tissue compartments of HIV-1+ donors with preservation of Treg phenotype, function and TCR repertoire. These results are highly relevant for the investigation of potential future therapeutic use, as currently investigated for other disease states and hold great promise for detailed studies on the role of Tregs in HIV-1 infection.

Behavioral ecology of captive species: using behavioral adaptations to assess and enhance welfare of nonhuman zoo animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Koene, Paul

2013-01-01

This project aimed to estimate a species' adaptations in nature and in captivity, assess welfare, suggest environmental changes, and find species characteristics that underlie welfare problems in nonhuman animals in the zoo. First, the current status of zoo animal welfare assessment was reviewed, and the behavioral ecology approach was outlined. In this approach, databases of species characteristics were developed using (a) literature of natural behavior and (b) captive behavior. Species characteristics were grouped in 8 functional behavioral ecological fitness-related categories: space, time, metabolic, safety, reproductive, comfort, social, and information adaptations. Assessments of the strength of behavioral adaptations in relation to environmental demands were made based on the results available from the literature. The databases with literature at the species level were coupled with databases of (c) behavioral observations and (d) welfare assessments under captive conditions. Observation and welfare assessment methods were adapted from the animal on the farm realm and applied to zoo species. It was expected that the comparison of the repertoire of behaviors in natural and captive environments would highlight welfare problems, provide solutions to welfare problems by environmental changes, and identify species characteristics underlying zoo animal welfare problems.

High-Cycle, Push–Pull Fatigue Fracture Behavior of High-C, Si–Al-Rich Nanostructured Bainite Steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Zhao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The high-cycle, push–pull fatigue fracture behavior of high-C, Si–Al-rich nanostructured bainitic steel was studied through the measurement of fatigue limits, a morphology examination and phase composition analysis of the fatigue fracture surface, as well as fractography of the fatigue crack propagation. The results demonstrated that the push–pull fatigue limits at 107 cycles were estimated as 710–889 MPa, for the samples isothermally transformed at the temperature range of 220–260 °C through data extrapolation, measured under the maximum cycle number of 105. Both the interior inclusion and the sample surface constituted the fatigue crack origins. During the fatigue crack propagation, a high amount of secondary cracks were formed in almost parallel arrangements. The apparent plastic deformation occurred in the fracture surface layer, which induced approximately all retained austenite to transform into martensite.

A Case Study Using SAFMEDS to Promote Fluency with Skinner's Verbal Behavior Terms

Science.gov (United States)

Stockwell, Fawna; Eshlelman, John

2010-01-01

Using a deck of 60 Say All Fast a Minute Every Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS) cards, a learner established a fluent verbal repertoire related to the key terms of Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior. This learner was required to see the phrase printed on the front of the card and to say the term printed on the back. Regular timings were recorded…

Precipitation-induced of partial annealing of Ni-rich NiTi shape memory alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Nashrudin, Muhammad Naqib; Mahmud, Abdus Samad; Mohamad, Hishamiakim

2018-05-01

NiTi shape memory alloy behavior is very sensitive to alloy composition and heat treatment processes. Thermomechanical behavior of near-equiatomic alloy is normally enhanced by partial anneal of a cold-worked specimen. The shape memory behavior of Ni-rich alloy can be enhanced by ageing precipitation. This work studied the effect of simultaneous partial annealing and ageing precipitation of a Ni-rich cold drawn Ti-50.9at%Ni wire towards martensite phase transformation behavior. Ageing treatment of a non-cold worked specimen was also done for comparison. It was found that the increase of heat treatment temperature caused the forward transformation stress to decrease for the cold worked and non-cold worked specimens. Strain recovery on the reverse transformation of the cold worked wire improved compared to the non-cold worked wire as the temperature increased.

Effect of body mass distribution on the ontogeny of positional behaviors in non-human primates: Longitudinal follow-up of infant captive olive baboons (Papio anubis).

Science.gov (United States)

Druelle, François; Aerts, Peter; Berillon, Gilles

2016-11-01

The diversity of primates' positional capabilities is unique among mammals. Indeed, they exhibit a daily repertoire composed of various locomotor and postural modes that may be linked to their particular morphological pattern. Because ontogeny undergoes parallel behavioral and morphological modifications, it may be useful to investigate the biomechanical consequences of the changing body shape. We, therefore, collected accurate quantitative and longitudinal data on positional behaviors, body mass distribution patterns, activities, and environment on a sample of six infant olive baboons, Papio anubis. These baboons are kept at the Primatology Station of the CNRS, France, where they live within the same social group. Individual behaviors were quantified using the focal sampling method. The body mass distribution was estimated according to a geometric model based on direct external measurements. Multivariate analysis enabled us to analyze the interactions between the data. Our results show that body mass distribution changes together with the ontogenetic changes in positional behaviors. At an early age, individuals have distally heavy segment masses in the limbs and an important fraction of the behavioral repertoire involves efficient grasping abilities. At the end of infancy, the same individuals have relatively more mass in proximal segments of the limbs and the proportion of quadrupedal walking is significantly higher while other climbing and suspensory behaviors decreased substantially. The present study experimentally confirms the association between body mass distribution and the positional repertoire of primates. These relationships, when interpreted in the context of basic biomechanical concepts, may improve our understanding of primate locomotion. We discuss further the implications of these functional relationships when modeling the evolutionary pathway of primates. Am. J. Primatol. 78:1201-1221, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley

Rules of song development and their use in vocal interactions by birds with large repertoires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Geberzahn

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Songbirds are well known for settling their disputes by vocal signals, and their singing plays a dominant role. Most studies on this issue have concentrated on bird species that develop and use small vocal repertoires. In this article we will go farther and focus on examples of how species with large song repertoires make use of their vocal competence. In particular, we will outline the study of interaction rules which have been elucidated by examining time- and pattern-specific relationships between signals exchanged by territorial neighbors. First we present an inquiry into the rules of song learning and development. In birds with large song repertoires, the ontogeny of such rules proceeds along a number of trajectories which help in understanding the often remarkable accomplishments of adult birds. In both approaches, our model species will be the Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos that has been investigated intensively in the field and in the laboratory.Pássaros canoros são bem conhecidos por resolver suas brigas através de sinais vocais e seu canto tem um papel dominante. A maioria dos estudos sobre este assunto focalizou espécies de aves que desenvolvem e usam repertórios vocais pequenos. Neste artigo iremos mais longe, examinando como espécies com grandes repertórios fazem uso de suas capacidades. Descreveremos particularmente o estudo das regras de interação que foram desvendadas pelo exame das relações temporais e estruturais entre os sinais trocados por vizinhos. Inicialmente, investigamos as regras de aprendizagem e desenvolvimento do canto. Nas aves com grande repertório vocal, a ontogênese dessas regras segue certas trajetórias que ajudam a entender o desempenho dos adultos, geralmente notável. Em ambas abordagens, nossa espécie-modelo será o Rouxinol-comum Luscinia megarhynchos, que foi pesquisado intensamente no campo e no laboratório.

A high density of tertiary lymphoid structure B cells in lung tumors is associated with increased CD4+ T cell receptor repertoire clonality.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Wei; Germain, Claire; Liu, Zheng; Sebastian, Yinong; Devi, Priyanka; Knockaert, Samantha; Brohawn, Philip; Lehmann, Kim; Damotte, Diane; Validire, Pierre; Yao, Yihong; Valge-Archer, Viia; Hammond, Scott A; Dieu-Nosjean, Marie-Caroline; Higgs, Brandon W

2015-12-01

T and B cell receptor (TCR and BCR, respectively) Vβ or immunoglobulin heavy chain complementarity-determining region 3 sequencing allows monitoring of repertoire changes through recognition, clonal expansion, affinity maturation, and T or B cell activation in response to antigen. TCR and BCR repertoire analysis can advance understanding of antitumor immune responses in the tumor microenvironment. TCR and BCR repertoires of sorted CD4 + , CD8 + or CD19 + cells in tumor, non-tumoral distant tissue (NT), and peripheral compartments (blood/draining lymph node [P]) from 47 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (age median = 68 y) were sequenced. The clonotype spectra were assessed among different tissues and correlated with clinical and immunological parameters. In all tissues, CD4 + and CD8 + TCR repertoires had greater clonality relative to CD19 + BCR. CD4 + T cells exhibited greater clonality in NT compared to tumor ( p = 0.002) and P ( p 68). Younger patients exhibited greater CD4 + T cell diversity in P compared to older patients ( p = 0.05), and greater CD4 + T cell clonality in tumor relative to P ( p cell clonality in tumor and P, respectively (both p = 0.05), correlated with high density of tumor-associated tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) B cells, a biomarker of higher overall survival in NSCLC. Results indicate distinct adaptive immune responses in NSCLC, where peripheral T cell diversity is modulated by age, and tumor T cell clonal expansion is favored by the presence of TLSs in the tumor microenvironment.

Drug hypersensitivity caused by alteration of the MHC-presented self-peptide repertoire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ostrov, David A; Grant, Barry J; Pompeu, Yuri A

2012-01-01

cells, thus causing the equivalent of an alloreactive T-cell response. Indeed, we identified specific self-peptides that are presented only in the presence of abacavir and that were recognized by T cells of hypersensitive patients. The assays that we have established can be applied to test additional...... unclear. Here we show that abacavir can bind within the F pocket of the peptide-binding groove of HLA-B*57:01, thereby altering its specificity. This provides an explanation for HLA-linked idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions, namely that drugs can alter the repertoire of self-peptides presented to T...

A real time tracking vision system and its application to robotics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Hirochika

1994-01-01

Among various sensing channels the vision is most important for making robot intelligent. If provided with a high speed visual tracking capability, the robot-environment interaction becomes dynamic instead of static, and thus the potential repertoire of robot behavior becomes very rich. For this purpose we developed a real-time tracking vision system. The fundamental operation on which our system based is the calculation of correlation between local images. Use of special chip for correlation and the multi-processor configuration enable the robot to track more than hundreds cues in full video rate. In addition to the fundamental visual performance, applications for robot behavior control are also introduced. (author)

Affective and behavioral responses to robot-initiated social touch : Towards understanding the opportunities and limitations of physical contact in human-robot interaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willemse, C.J.A.M.; Toet, A.; Erp, J.B.F. van

2017-01-01

Social touch forms an important aspect of the human non-verbal communication repertoire, but is often overlooked in human–robot interaction. In this study, we investigated whether robot-initiated touches can induce physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses similar to those reported for

Affective and Behavioral Responses to Robot-Initiated Social Touch : Toward Understanding the Opportunities and Limitations of Physical Contact in Human–Robot Interaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willemse, Christian J. A. M.; Toet, Alexander; van Erp, Jan B. F.

2017-01-01

Social touch forms an important aspect of the human non-verbal communication repertoire, but is often overlooked in human-robot interaction. In this study, we investigated whether robot-initiated touches can induce physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses similar to those reported for

Dopamine receptor repertoire of human granulosa cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kunz Lars

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background High levels of dopamine (DA were described in human ovary and recently evidence for DA receptors in granulosa and luteal cells has been provided, as well. However, neither the full repertoire of ovarian receptors for DA, nor their specific role, is established. Human granulosa cells (GCs derived from women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF are an adequate model for endocrine cells of the follicle and the corpus luteum and were therefore employed in an attempt to decipher their DA receptor repertoire and functionality. Methods Cells were obtained from patients undergoing IVF and examined using cDNA-array, RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunocytochemistry. In addition, calcium measurements (with FLUO-4 were employed. Expression of two DA receptors was also examined by in-situ hybridization in rat ovary. Effects of DA on cell viability and cell volume were studied by using an ATP assay and an electronic cell counter system. Results We found members of the two DA receptor families (D1- and D2 -like associated with different signaling pathways in human GCs, namely D1 (as expected and D5 (both are Gs coupled and linked to cAMP increase and D2, D4 (Gi/Gq coupled and linked to IP3/DAG. D3 was not found. The presence of the trophic hormone hCG (10 IU/ml in the culture medium for several days did not alter mRNA (semiquantitative RT-PCR or protein levels (immunocytochemistry/Western blotting of D1,2,4,5 DA receptors. Expression of prototype receptors for the two families, D1 and D2, was furthermore shown in rat granulosa and luteal cells by in situ hybridization. Among the DA receptors found in human GCs, D2 expression was marked both at mRNA and protein levels and it was therefore further studied. Results of additional RT-PCR and Western blots showed two splice variants (D2L, D2S. Irrespective of these variants, D2 proved to be functional, as DA raised intracellular calcium levels. This calcium mobilizing effect of DA was observed

Genome sequencing and comparative genomics reveal a repertoire of putative pathogenicity genes in chilli anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum truncatum.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Soumya; Nandineni, Madhusudan R

2017-01-01

Colletotrichum truncatum, a major fungal phytopathogen, causes the anthracnose disease on an economically important spice crop chilli (Capsicum annuum), resulting in huge economic losses in tropical and sub-tropical countries. It follows a subcuticular intramural infection strategy on chilli with a short, asymptomatic, endophytic phase, which contrasts with the intracellular hemibiotrophic lifestyle adopted by most of the Colletotrichum species. However, little is known about the molecular determinants and the mechanism of pathogenicity in this fungus. A high quality whole genome sequence and gene annotation based on transcriptome data of an Indian isolate of C. truncatum from chilli has been obtained. Analysis of the genome sequence revealed a rich repertoire of pathogenicity genes in C. truncatum encoding secreted proteins, effectors, plant cell wall degrading enzymes, secondary metabolism associated proteins, with potential roles in the host-specific infection strategy, placing it next only to the Fusarium species. The size of genome assembly, number of predicted genes and some of the functional categories were similar to other sequenced Colletotrichum species. The comparative genomic analyses with other species and related fungi identified some unique genes and certain highly expanded gene families of CAZymes, proteases and secondary metabolism associated genes in the genome of C. truncatum. The draft genome assembly and functional annotation of potential pathogenicity genes of C. truncatum provide an important genomic resource for understanding the biology and lifestyle of this important phytopathogen and will pave the way for designing efficient disease control regimens.

The limiting conditional probability distribution in a stochastic model of T cell repertoire maintenance.

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Stirk, Emily R; Lythe, Grant; van den Berg, Hugo A; Hurst, Gareth A D; Molina-París, Carmen

2010-04-01

The limiting conditional probability distribution (LCD) has been much studied in the field of mathematical biology, particularly in the context of epidemiology and the persistence of epidemics. However, it has not yet been applied to the immune system. One of the characteristic features of the T cell repertoire is its diversity. This diversity declines in old age, whence the concepts of extinction and persistence are also relevant to the immune system. In this paper we model T cell repertoire maintenance by means of a continuous-time birth and death process on the positive integers, where the origin is an absorbing state. We show that eventual extinction is guaranteed. The late-time behaviour of the process before extinction takes place is modelled by the LCD, which we prove always exists for the process studied here. In most cases, analytic expressions for the LCD cannot be computed but the probability distribution may be approximated by means of the stationary probability distributions of two related processes. We show how these approximations are related to the LCD of the original process and use them to study the LCD in two special cases. We also make use of the large N expansion to derive a further approximation to the LCD. The accuracy of the various approximations is then analysed. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding B-cell activation and autoantibody repertoire selection in systemic lupus erythematosus: A B-cell immunomics approach.

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Tipton, Christopher M; Hom, Jennifer R; Fucile, Christopher F; Rosenberg, Alexander F; Sanz, Inaki

2018-07-01

Understanding antibody repertoires and in particular, the properties and fates of B cells expressing potentially pathogenic antibodies is critical to define the mechanisms underlying multiple immunological diseases including autoimmune and allergic conditions as well as transplant rejection. Moreover, an integrated knowledge of the antibody repertoires expressed by B cells and plasma cells (PC) of different functional properties and longevity is essential to develop new therapeutic strategies, better biomarkers for disease segmentation, and new assays to measure restoration of B-cell tolerance or, at least, of normal B-cell homeostasis. Reaching these goals, however, will require a more precise phenotypic, functional and molecular definition of B-cell and PC populations, and a comprehensive analysis of the antigenic reactivity of the antibodies they express. While traditionally hampered by technical and ethical limitations in human experimentation, new technological advances currently enable investigators to address these questions in a comprehensive fashion. In this review, we shall discuss these concepts as they apply to the study of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Acquisition of repertoires of suppressor T cells under the influence of macrophages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soejima, T.; Nagayama, A.; Sado, T.; Taniguchi, M.

1988-01-01

Acquisition of repertoires and genetic restriction specificities of suppressor T cells (Ts) and their factors were studied by using full allogeneic radiation bone marrow chimera and H-2 congenic pairs, B10.A(3R) and B10.A(5R), which received conventional or cloned macrophages by cell transfer. Suppressor T-cell factor (TsF) from C3H----C57BL/6 or C57BL/6----C3H chimera suppressed only donor but not host-type responses of either C3H or C57BL/6, in an antigen-specific fashion. However, if chimera mice were given conventional or cloned macrophages of the host type, the chimera TsF in turn suppressed both the responses of C3H and C57BL/6 mice but not those of the third party, BALB/c, indicating that macrophages are responsible for the acquisition of host restriction specificity. Similarly, B10.A(5R) mice developed I-Jb restricted Ts or TsF when the B10.A(3R) macrophage cell line was injected at the time of antigen priming. The reverse was also true. B10.A(3R) mice did generate I-Jk restricted Ts when they received the B10.A(5R) macrophage cell line. Thus, the results clearly demonstrated that B10.A(3R) or B10.A(5R) mice potentially possessed their ability to express both I-Jk and I-Jb determinants and that repertoires and genetic restriction specificity of Ts and their TsF were acquired at a macrophage level at the time of antigen-priming

Nanocrystalline Si pathway induced unipolar resistive switching behavior from annealed Si-rich SiN{sub x}/SiN{sub y} multilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Xiaofan; Ma, Zhongyuan, E-mail: zyma@nju.edu.cn; Yang, Huafeng; Yu, Jie; Wang, Wen; Zhang, Wenping; Li, Wei; Xu, Jun; Xu, Ling; Chen, Kunji; Huang, Xinfan; Feng, Duan [National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Photonic Electronic Materials Sciences and Technology, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)

2014-09-28

Adding a resistive switching functionality to a silicon microelectronic chip is a new challenge in materials research. Here, we demonstrate that unipolar and electrode-independent resistive switching effects can be realized in the annealed Si-rich SiN{sub x}/SiN{sub y} multilayers with high on/off ratio of 10{sup 9}. High resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that for the high resistance state broken pathways composed of discrete nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) exist in the Si nitride multilayers. While for the low resistance state the discrete nc-Si regions is connected, forming continuous nc-Si pathways. Based on the analysis of the temperature dependent I-V characteristics and HRTEM photos, we found that the break-and-bridge evolution of nc-Si pathway is the origin of resistive switching memory behavior. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of the resistive switching behavior in nc-Si films, opening a way for it to be utilized as a material in Si-based memories.

Salty solutions: their effects on thermal set points in behavioral repertoires of albino rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitulli, W F; Aker, R; Howard, S W; Jones, W M; Kimball, M W; Quinn, J M

1994-08-01

Salt (sodium chloride) has been linked to increased blood pressure and a rise in core body temperature. The objective of this study was to investigate the role played by salt in altering behavioral thermoregulation in albino rats. Different doses of sodium chloride were administered (ip) prior to fixed-interval 2-min. schedules of microwave reinforcement in rats tested in a cold Skinner Box. Three Sprague-Dawley rats were conditioned to regulate their thermal environment with 5-sec. exposures of MW reinforcement in a repeated-measures reversal design. Friedman's non-parametric test showed significant differences among sodium chloride doses and physiologically normal saline. Post hoc sign tests showed that all doses of NaCl suppressed operant behavior for heat except 60 mg/kg. The hypothesis that sodium chloride lowers hypothalamic set point for heat was partially supported.

The Si elegans project at the interface of experimental and computational Caenorhabditis elegans neurobiology and behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Petrushin, Alexey; Ferrara, Lorenzo; Blau, Axel

2016-12-01

Objective. In light of recent progress in mapping neural function to behavior, we briefly and selectively review past and present endeavors to reveal and reconstruct nervous system function in Caenorhabditis elegans through simulation. Approach. Rather than presenting an all-encompassing review on the mathematical modeling of C. elegans, this contribution collects snapshots of pathfinding key works and emerging technologies that recent single- and multi-center simulation initiatives are building on. We thereby point out a few general limitations and problems that these undertakings are faced with and discuss how these may be addressed and overcome. Main results. Lessons learned from past and current computational approaches to deciphering and reconstructing information flow in the C. elegans nervous system corroborate the need of refining neural response models and linking them to intra- and extra-environmental interactions to better reflect and understand the actual biological, biochemical and biophysical events that lead to behavior. Together with single-center research efforts, the Si elegans and OpenWorm projects aim at providing the required, in some cases complementary tools for different hardware architectures to support advancement into this direction. Significance. Despite its seeming simplicity, the nervous system of the hermaphroditic nematode C. elegans with just 302 neurons gives rise to a rich behavioral repertoire. Besides controlling vital functions (feeding, defecation, reproduction), it encodes different stimuli-induced as well as autonomous locomotion modalities (crawling, swimming and jumping). For this dichotomy between system simplicity and behavioral complexity, C. elegans has challenged neurobiologists and computational scientists alike. Understanding the underlying mechanisms that lead to a context-modulated functionality of individual neurons would not only advance our knowledge on nervous system function and its failure in pathological

Precipitation behaviors of cubic and tetragonal Zr–rich phase in Al–(Si–)Zr alloys

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Gao, Tong [Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Key Laboratory of Liquid–Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Ceguerra, Anna; Breen, Andrew [Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Liu, Xiangfa; Wu, Yuying [Key Laboratory of Liquid–Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Ringer, Simon, E-mail: simon.ringer@sydney.edu.au [Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)

2016-07-25

The precipitation behaviors of Zr–rich phase in binary Al–0.5Zr and ternary Al–3Si–0.5Zr alloys were investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and atom probe. After the alloys were aged at 525 °C for 24 h, the precipitates in Al–0.5Zr alloy are identified as L1{sub 2}–ZrAl{sub 3}, performing a coherent relationship with the Al matrix. While in Al–3Si–0.5Zr alloy, the precipitates are Si–containing D0{sub 23}–Zr(Al,Si){sub 3}, which has an approximate 90° reversed cube–on–cube orientation relationship with Al. It is regarded that Si accelerates the precipitation of D0{sub 23}–Zr(Al,Si){sub 3}. - Highlights: • L1{sub 2}–ZrAl{sub 3} and D0{sub 23}–Zr(Al, Si){sub 3} particles precipitate in Al–Zr and Al–Si–Zr alloys. • D0{sub 23}–Zr(Al, Si){sub 3} performs an approximate 90° reversed cube–on–cube orientation relationship with Al. • Si accelerates the precipitation process of D0{sub 23}–Zr(Al,Si){sub 3}.

Local Chromatin Features Including PU.1 and IKAROS Binding and H3K4 Methylation Shape the Repertoire of Immunoglobulin Kappa Genes Chosen for V(D)J Recombination

OpenAIRE

Louise S. Matheson; Daniel J. Bolland; Peter Chovanec; Felix Krueger; Simon Andrews; Hashem Koohy; Anne E. Corcoran

2017-01-01

V(D)J recombination is essential for the generation of diverse antigen receptor (AgR) repertoires. In B cells, immunoglobulin kappa (Igκ) light chain recombination follows immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) recombination. We recently developed the DNA-based VDJ-seq assay for the unbiased quantitation of Igh VH and DH repertoires. Integration of VDJ-seq data with genome-wide datasets revealed that two chromatin states at the recombination signal sequence (RSS) of VH genes are highly predictive o...

VH repertoire in progeny of long term lymphoid-cultured cells used to reconstitute immunodeficient mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denis, K.A.; Timson, L.K.; Witte, O.N.

1989-01-01

VH gene utilization in the progeny of long term lymphoid-cultured cells used for reconstitution of severe combined immunodeficient mice under varying conditions was determined. Hybridomas made from the spleens of these animals were evaluated for clonality and donor origin and a panel of 146 independent hybridomas were subsequently examined for VH expression. Hybridomas derived from the spleens of SCID mice reconstituted with fresh cells, used as a control, utilized VH families in proportion to their numerical representation in the genome. However, hybridomas from the spleens of mice reconstituted with long term cultured cells utilized a predominance of the two VH gene families most proximal to JH, characteristic of cells early in B lymphocyte development. Coinjection of thymocytes with cultured fetal liver cells, to provide good levels of T lymphocytes, did not alter this pattern of VH utilization. Irradiation (3 Gy) of the mice before cultured cell injection, which leads to more complete reconstitution of the B cell compartment, was effective in removing this bias in the VH repertoire. Hybridomas derived from these mice expressed their VH genes more in proportion to family size, characteristic of cells later in B lymphocyte development. In this manner, long term lymphoid-cultured cells can be used to study the transitions that occur in VH repertoire expression which appear to be mediated by either B lymphocyte developmental microenvironment or population size

Social Information Processing, Experiences of Aggression in Social Contexts, and Aggressive Behavior in Adolescents

OpenAIRE

Lösel, Friedrich; Bliesener, Thomas; Bender, Doris

2013-01-01

This study examines social information processing and experiences of aggression in social contexts as predictors of different forms of aggressive behavior. A sample of 102 boys (aggressive, average, competent, and victimized students) was investigated with a prospective design in Grade 7/8 and again in Grade 9/10. Results show an aggressive-impulsive response repertoire strongly predicted self-reported and teacher-reported physical aggression, verbal aggression, violent offenses, general aggr...

WORKS FOR CLARINET AND ACCOMPANIMENT IN OLEG NEGRUŢA’S COMPOSITION REPERTOIRE

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MUŞAT SERGHEI

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Oleg Negruţa’s composition repertoire for solo instruments with accompaniment, of which clarinet opuses are highlighted, is important for indigenous musical art. In a vast genre complex, it confirms the composer’s constant commitment to the idea of the Bessarabian professional school. In this sense, as relevant works can be considered the three pieces for clarinet and piano: Improvisation, Fantasy on a Theme by Paganini and Elegy. However, this article is meant to offer details in an analytical way about Negruţa’s specific language and, moreover, to emphasize the author’s mastery of combining folklore elements with others characteristic ofjazz, both being treated according to the canons of academic music.

Next-Generation DNA Sequencing of VH/VL Repertoires: A Primer and Guide to Applications in Single-Domain Antibody Discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, Kevin A

2018-01-01

Immunogenetic analyses of expressed antibody repertoires are becoming increasingly common experimental investigations and are critical to furthering our understanding of autoimmunity, infectious disease, and cancer. Next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technologies have now made it possible to interrogate antibody repertoires to unprecedented depths, typically by sequencing of cDNAs encoding immunoglobulin variable domains. In this chapter, we describe simple, fast, and reliable methods for producing and sequencing multiplex PCR amplicons derived from the variable regions (V H , V H H or V L ) of rearranged immunoglobulin heavy and light chain genes using the Illumina MiSeq platform. We include complete protocols and primer sets for amplicon sequencing of V H /V H H/V L repertoires directly from human, mouse, and llama lymphocytes as well as from phage-displayed V H /V H H/V L libraries; these can be easily be adapted to other types of amplicons with little modification. The resulting amplicons are diverse and representative, even using as few as 10 3 input B cells, and their generation is relatively inexpensive, requiring no special equipment and only a limited set of primers. In the absence of heavy-light chain pairing, single-domain antibodies are uniquely amenable to NGS analyses. We present a number of applications of NGS technology useful in discovery of single-domain antibodies from phage display libraries, including: (i) assessment of library functionality; (ii) confirmation of desired library randomization; (iii) estimation of library diversity; and (iv) monitoring the progress of panning experiments. While the case studies presented here are of phage-displayed single-domain antibody libraries, the principles extend to other types of in vitro display libraries.

Impact of clonal competition for peptide-MHC complexes on the CD8[superscript +] T-cell repertoire selection in a persistent viral infection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wynn, Katherine K.; Fulton, Zara; Cooper, Leanne; Silins, Sharon L.; Gras, Stephanie; Archbold, Julia K.; Tynan, Fleur E.; Miles, John J.; McCluskey, James; Burrows, Scott R.; Rossjohn, Jamie; Khanna, Rajiv (Monash); (Queensland Inst. of Med. Rsrch.); (Melbourne)

2008-04-29

CD8{sup +} T-cell responses to persistent viral infections are characterized by the accumulation of an oligoclonal T-cell repertoire and a reduction in the naive T-cell pool. However, the precise mechanism for this phenomenon remains elusive. Here we show that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-specific CD8{sup +} T cells recognizing distinct epitopes from the pp65 protein and restricted through an identical HLA class I allele (HLA B*3508) exhibited either a highly conserved public T-cell repertoire or a private, diverse T-cell response, which was uniquely altered in each donor following in vitro antigen exposure. Selection of a public T-cell receptor (TCR) was coincident with an atypical major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-peptide structure, in that the epitope adopted a helical conformation that bulged from the peptide-binding groove, while a diverse TCR profile was observed in response to the epitope that formed a flatter, more 'featureless' landscape. Clonotypes with biased TCR usage demonstrated more efficient recognition of virus-infected cells, a greater CD8 dependency, and were more terminally differentiated in their phenotype when compared with the T cells expressing diverse TCR. These findings provide new insights into our understanding on how the biology of antigen presentation in addition to the structural features of the pMHC-I might shape the T-cell repertoire and its phenotype.

Hybridization-based antibody cDNA recovery for the production of recombinant antibodies identified by repertoire sequencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Valdés-Alemán, Javier; Téllez-Sosa, Juan; Ovilla-Muñoz, Marbella; Godoy-Lozano, Elizabeth; Velázquez-Ramírez, Daniel; Valdovinos-Torres, Humberto; Gómez-Barreto, Rosa E; Martinez-Barnetche, Jesús

2014-01-01

High-throughput sequencing of the antibody repertoire is enabling a thorough analysis of B cell diversity and clonal selection, which may improve the novel antibody discovery process. Theoretically, an adequate bioinformatic analysis could allow identification of candidate antigen-specific antibodies, requiring their recombinant production for experimental validation of their specificity. Gene synthesis is commonly used for the generation of recombinant antibodies identified in silico. Novel strategies that bypass gene synthesis could offer more accessible antibody identification and validation alternatives. We developed a hybridization-based recovery strategy that targets the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDRH3) for the enrichment of cDNA of candidate antigen-specific antibody sequences. Ten clonal groups of interest were identified through bioinformatic analysis of the heavy chain antibody repertoire of mice immunized with hen egg white lysozyme (HEL). cDNA from eight of the targeted clonal groups was recovered efficiently, leading to the generation of recombinant antibodies. One representative heavy chain sequence from each clonal group recovered was paired with previously reported anti-HEL light chains to generate full antibodies, later tested for HEL-binding capacity. The recovery process proposed represents a simple and scalable molecular strategy that could enhance antibody identification and specificity assessment, enabling a more cost-efficient generation of recombinant antibodies.

The effects of a partitioned var gene repertoire of Plasmodium falciparum on antigenic diversity and the acquisition of clinical immunity

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Arinaminpathy Nimalan

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum exploits antigenic diversity and within-host antigenic variation to evade the host's immune system. Of particular importance are the highly polymorphic var genes that encode the family of cell surface antigens PfEMP1 (Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein 1. It has recently been shown that in spite of their extreme diversity, however, these genes fall into distinct groups according to chromosomal location or sequence similarity, and that recombination may be confined within these groups. Methods This study presents a mathematical analysis of how recombination hierarchies affect diversity, and, by using simple stochastic simulations, investigates how intra- and inter-genic diversity influence the rate at which individuals acquire clinical immunity. Results The analysis demonstrates that the partitioning of the var gene repertoire has a limiting effect on the total diversity attainable through recombination and that the limiting effect is strongly influenced by the respective sizes of each of the partitions. Furthermore, by associating expression of one of the groups with severe malaria it is demonstrated how a small number of infections can be sufficient to protect against disease despite a seemingly limitless number of possible non-identical repertoires. Conclusion Recombination hierarchies within the var gene repertoire of P. falciparum have a severe effect on strain diversity and the process of acquiring immunity against clinical malaria. Future studies will show how the existence of these recombining groups can offer an evolutionary advantage in spite of their restriction on diversity.

Genomes of the most dangerous epidemic bacteria have a virulence repertoire characterized by fewer genes but more toxin-antitoxin modules.

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Kalliopi Georgiades

2011-03-01

Full Text Available We conducted a comparative genomic study based on a neutral approach to identify genome specificities associated with the virulence capacity of pathogenic bacteria. We also determined whether virulence is dictated by rules, or if it is the result of individual evolutionary histories. We systematically compared the genomes of the 12 most dangerous pandemic bacteria for humans ("bad bugs" to their closest non-epidemic related species ("controls".We found several significantly different features in the "bad bugs", one of which was a smaller genome that likely resulted from a degraded recombination and repair system. The 10 Cluster of Orthologous Group (COG functional categories revealed a significantly smaller number of genes in the "bad bugs", which lacked mostly transcription, signal transduction mechanisms, cell motility, energy production and conversion, and metabolic and regulatory functions. A few genes were identified as virulence factors, including secretion system proteins. Five "bad bugs" showed a greater number of poly (A tails compared to the controls, whereas an elevated number of poly (A tails was found to be strongly correlated to a low GC% content. The "bad bugs" had fewer tandem repeat sequences compared to controls. Moreover, the results obtained from a principal component analysis (PCA showed that the "bad bugs" had surprisingly more toxin-antitoxin modules than did the controls.We conclude that pathogenic capacity is not the result of "virulence factors" but is the outcome of a virulent gene repertoire resulting from reduced genome repertoires. Toxin-antitoxin systems could participate in the virulence repertoire, but they may have developed independently of selfish evolution.

Building the repertoire of measures of walking in Rett syndrome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stahlhut, Michelle; Downs, Jenny; Leonard, Helen

2017-01-01

performance as measured with the FMS-RS was more strongly consistent with other clinical measures supporting its concurrent validity. Test-retest reliability was good for both the FMS-RS and the 2MWT. Therefore, these measures have the potential to be used in clinical practice and research. Implications...... with Rett syndrome (median 18.4 years, range 2.4-60.9 years) were assessed for clinical severity, gross motor skills, and mobility. To measure walking capacity, 27 of this group completed a 2MWT twice on two different assessment days. To assess walking performance, the FMS-RS was administered to the total......BACKGROUND: The repertoire of measures of walking in Rett syndrome is limited. This study aimed to determine measurement properties of a modified two-minute walk test (2MWT) and a modified Rett syndrome-specific functional mobility scale (FMS-RS) in Rett syndrome. METHODS: Forty-two girls and women...

Children show limited movement repertoire when learning a novel motor skill.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Mei-Hua; Farshchiansadegh, Ali; Ranganathan, Rajiv

2017-09-27

Examining age differences in motor learning using real-world tasks is often problematic due to task novelty and biomechanical confounds. Here, we investigated how children and adults acquire a novel motor skill in a virtual environment. Participants of three different age groups (9-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and adults) learned to use their upper body movements to control a cursor on a computer screen. Results showed that 9-year-old and 12-year-old children showed poorer ability to control the cursor at the end of practice. Critically, when we investigated the movement coordination, we found that the lower task performance of children was associated with limited exploration of their movement repertoire. These results reveal the critical role of motor exploration in understanding developmental differences in motor learning. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using Existing Response Repertoires to Make Sense of Information System Implementation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Tina Blegind; Kjærgaard, Annemette Leonhardt

2010-01-01

The implementation of information systems (IS) in organizations often triggers new situations in which users experience a disruption of existing work patterns and routines. Sensemaking becomes central in making users’ meanings explicit, serving as a foundation for further actions and interactions...... with the new technology. The purpose of this paper is to study how users make sense of new technologies by building on existing response repertoires. Empirically, we present findings from a study of an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system implementation in two Danish hospital wards. Our findings illustrate...... to existing literature by providing a detailed account of how users’ early sensemaking of a technology influences their subsequent actions and reactions towards it. Our findings support managers in understanding users’ perceptions of a new technology, helping them in planning and executing the implementation...

Introduction: Repertoires and Performances of Academic Identity.

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H. Paul

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The idea that academic work requires certain personal qualities, character traits or dispositions is as old as the university. However, no matter how ubiquitous the phenomenon, it is only in recent years, in the wake of a ‘cultural turn’ in the history of science, that historians have begun exploring ideals and practices of scholarly selfhood. This theme issue seeks to make a modest contribution to this emerging field of scholarship with articles that offer conceptual reflection, as well as case studies drawn from the Low Countries. They do so under the banner of ‘scholarly personae’, not with the intention of excluding competing vocabularies, but by way of entry into a new and not yet clearly defined field of study. Introductie: repertoires voor de academische identiteit. Het idee dat academisch onderzoek bepaalde persoonlijke kwaliteiten, karaktertrekken en talenten vereist is zo oud als de universiteit zelf. Toch zijn historici pas recent, in het kielzog van de ‘cultural turn’ in de wetenschapsgeschiedenis, de idealen en praktijken van de academische identiteit gaan onderzoeken. Dit themanummer wil met conceptuele reflecties en casestudies over de Lage Landen een bescheiden bijdrage leveren aan dit opkomende veld van onderzoek. De artikelen gebruiken daarvoor het concept ‘schoarly personae’, niet met de bedoeling om andere benaderingen uit te sluiten, maar bij wijze van ingang in een nieuw en nog niet helder afgebakend onderzoeksgebied.

Introduction: Repertoires and Performances of Academic Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herman Paul

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The idea that academic work requires certain personal qualities, character traits or dispositions is as old as the university. However, no matter how ubiquitous the phenomenon, it is only in recent years, in the wake of a ‘cultural turn’ in the history of science, that historians have begun exploring ideals and practices of scholarly selfhood. This theme issue seeks to make a modest contribution to this emerging field of scholarship with articles that offer conceptual reflection, as well as case studies drawn from the Low Countries. They do so under the banner of ‘scholarly personae’, not with the intention of excluding competing vocabularies, but by way of entry into a new and not yet clearly defined field of study. Introductie: repertoires voor de academische identiteitHet idee dat academisch onderzoek bepaalde persoonlijke kwaliteiten, karaktertrekken en talenten vereist is zo oud als de universiteit zelf. Toch zijn historici pas recent, in het kielzog van de ‘cultural turn’ in de wetenschapsgeschiedenis, de idealen en praktijken van de academische identiteit gaan onderzoeken. Dit themanummer wil met conceptuele reflecties en casestudies over de Lage Landen een bescheiden bijdrage leveren aan dit opkomende veld van onderzoek. De artikelen gebruiken daarvoor het concept ‘schoarly personae’, niet met de bedoeling om andere benaderingen uit te sluiten, maar bij wijze van ingang in een nieuw en nog niet helder afgebakend onderzoeksgebied.

A survey of the gene repertoire of Gigaspora rosea unravels conserved features among Glomeromycota for obligate biotrophy

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Nianwu eTANG

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM fungi are a diverse group of soil fungi (Glomeromycota that form the most ancient mutualistic association termed arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis with a majority of land plants, improving their nutrition uptake and resistance to stresses. In contrast to their great ecological implications, the knowledge of the molecular biological mechanisms involved is still scant, partly due to the limited genomic resources available. Here, we describe the gene repertoire of a new AM fungus Gigaspora rosea (Diversisporales. Among the 86332 nonredundant virtual transcripts assembled, 15346 presented similarities with proteins in the Refseq database and 10175 were assigned with GO terms. KOG and Interpro domain annotations clearly showed an enrichment of genes involved in signal transduction in G. rosea. KEGG pathway analysis indicates that most primary metabolic processes are active in G. rosea. However, as for R. irregularis, several metabolic genes were not found, including the fatty acid synthase gene. This finding supports the hypothesis that AM fungi depend on the lipids produced by their hosts. Furthermore, the presence of a large number of transporters and hundreds of secreted proteins, together with the reduced number of plant cell wall degrading enzymes could be interpreted as an evolutionary adaptation to its mutualistic obligate biotrophy. The detection of meiosis-related genes suggests that G. rosea might use a cryptic sexual process. Lastly, a phylogeny of basal fungi clearly shows Glomeromycota as a sister clade to Mucoromycotina, not only to the Mucorales or Mortierellales. The characterization of the gene repertoire from an AM fungal species belonging to the order of Diversisporales and its comparison with the gene sets of R. irregularis (Glomerales and Gigaspora margarita (Diversisporales, reveal that AM fungi share several features linked to mutualistic obligate biotrophy. This work contributes to lay the foundation

Analysis of the HLA-DR peptidome from human dendritic cells reveals high affinity repertoires and nonconventional pathways of peptide generation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ciudad, M Teresa; Sorvillo, Nicoletta; van Alphen, Floris P.J.; Catalán, Diego; Meijer, Sander; Voorberg, Jan; Jaraquemada, Dolores

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the major professional APCs of the immune system; however, their MHC-II-associated peptide repertoires have been hard to analyze, mostly because of their scarce presence in blood and tissues. In vitro matured human monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) are widely used as

Gel-based and gel-free search for plasma membrane proteins in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) augments the comprehensive data sets of membrane protein repertoire.

Science.gov (United States)

Barua, Pragya; Subba, Pratigya; Lande, Nilesh Vikram; Mangalaparthi, Kiran K; Prasad, T S Keshava; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan

2016-06-30

Plasma membrane (PM) encompasses total cellular contents, serving as semi-porous barrier to cell exterior. This living barrier regulates all cellular exchanges in a spatio-temporal fashion. Most of the essential tasks of PMs including molecular transport, cell-cell interaction and signal transduction are carried out by their proteinaceous components, which make the PM protein repertoire to be diverse and dynamic. Here, we report the systematic analysis of PM proteome of a food legume, chickpea and develop a PM proteome reference map. Proteins were extracted from highly enriched PM fraction of four-week-old seedlings using aqueous two-phase partitioning. To address a population of PM proteins that is as comprehensive as possible, both gel-based and gel-free approaches were employed, which led to the identification of a set of 2732 non-redundant proteins. These included both integral proteins having bilayer spanning domains as well as peripheral proteins associated with PMs through posttranslational modifications or protein-protein interactions. Further, the proteins were subjected to various in-silico analyses and functionally classified based on their gene ontology. Finally an inventory of the complete set of PM proteins, identified in several monocot and dicot species, was created for comparative study with the generated PM protein dataset of chickpea. Chickpea, a rich source of dietary proteins, is the second most cultivated legume, which is grown over 10 million hectares of land worldwide. The annual global production of chickpea hovers around 8.5 million metric tons. Recent chickpea genome sequencing effort has provided a broad genetic basis for highlighting the important traits that may fortify other crop legumes. Improvement in chickpea varieties can further strengthen the world food security, which includes food availability, access and utilization. It is known that the phenotypic trait of a cultivar is the manifestation of the orchestrated functions of its

A Behavior-Based Circuit Model of How Outcome Expectations Organize Learned Behavior in Larval "Drosophila"

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Schleyer, Michael; Saumweber, Timo; Nahrendorf, Wiebke; Fischer, Benjamin; von Alpen, Desiree; Pauls, Dennis; Thum, Andreas; Gerber, Bertram

2011-01-01

Drosophila larvae combine a numerically simple brain, a correspondingly moderate behavioral complexity, and the availability of a rich toolbox for transgenic manipulation. This makes them attractive as a study case when trying to achieve a circuit-level understanding of behavior organization. From a series of behavioral experiments, we suggest a…

Unifying the field: developing an integrative paradigm for behavior therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Eifert, G H; Forsyth, J P; Schauss, S L

1993-06-01

The limitations of early conditioning models and treatments have led many behavior therapists to abandon conditioning principles and replace them with loosely defined cognitive theories and treatments. Systematic theory extensions to human behavior, using new concepts and processes derived from and built upon the basic principles, could have prevented the divisive debates over whether psychological dysfunctions are the results of conditioning or cognition and whether they should be treated with conditioning or cognitive techniques. Behavior therapy could also benefit from recent advances in experimental cognitive psychology that provide objective behavioral methods of studying dysfunctional processes. We suggest a unifying paradigm for explaining abnormal behavior that links and integrates different fields of study and processes that are frequently believed to be incompatible or antithetical such as biological vulnerability variables, learned behavioral repertoires, and that also links historical and current antecedents of the problem. An integrative paradigmatic behavioral approach may serve a unifying function in behavior therapy (a) by promoting an understanding of the dysfunctional processes involved in different disorders and (b) by helping clinicians conduct functional analyses that lead to theory-based, individualized, and effective treatments.

Comparative study on the song behavior and song control nuclei in male and female Mongolian larks (Melanocorypha mongolica).

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xuebo; Zeng, Shaoju; Zhang, Xinwen; Zuo, Mingxue

2011-09-12

Songbirds can produce a remarkable diversity of songs, which is well-characterized learned behavior that reflects the basic processes of language learning in humans. As song control nuclei governing song behavior has been identified, bird song provides an excellent model to address the relationship between brain areas and their controlling behavior. The Mongolian lark (Melanocorypha mongolica), a species of the Alaudidae family, is well known for its elaborate singing and ability to learn new songs, even in adulthood. Here, we studied the singing behavior and underlying neural structures of the Mongolian lark in both sexes. We found that the sizes of song bouts and song phrases (song repertoires) in male Mongolian larks are extremely large, and that each song repertoire or phrase has a complex structure, comprising several different syllables that seldom appear in other types of song bouts. In accordance with these complex songs, Mongolian lark song control nuclei are well developed and can be easily detected by Nissl staining. In contrast to male Mongolian larks, females were not observed to sing. However, they possess significant song control nuclei with abundant neural connectivity within them despite their small sizes compared with males. These data provide new evidence that help further clarify the mechanisms by which songbirds sing. Our results also have implications for the evolution of complex birdsongs and song control nuclei in oscine birds. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nice guys finish last: same-sex sexual behavior and pairing success in male budgerigars

OpenAIRE

Puya Abbassi; Nancy Tyler Burley

2012-01-01

In budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus), a social parrot in which females are socially dominant, males of all ages engage in a set of behaviors with other males that closely resembles the repertoire used in heterosexual courtship. One adaptive hypothesis for this tendency, the "courtship practice hypothesis," posits that males with greater experience in same-sex activities develop superior skills that increase their courtship success with females. To test this hypothesis, we measured individ...

Doping properties of cadmium-rich arsenic-doped CdTe single crystals: Evidence of metastable AX behavior

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Nagaoka, Akira; Kuciauskas, Darius; Scarpulla, Michael A.

2017-12-01

Cd-rich composition and group-V element doping are of interest for simultaneously maximizing the hole concentration and minority carrier lifetime in CdTe, but the critical details concerning point defects are not yet fully established. Herein, we report on the properties of arsenic doped CdTe single crystals grown from Cd solvent by the travelling heater method. The photoluminescence spectra and activation energy of 74 ± 2 meV derived from the temperature-dependent Hall effect are consistent with AsTe as the dominant acceptor. Doping in the 1016 to 1017/cm3 range is achieved for measured As concentrations between 1016 and 1020/cm3 with the highest doping efficiency of 40% occurring near 1017 As/cm3. We observe persistent photoconductivity, a hallmark of light-induced metastable configuration changes consistent with AX behavior. Additionally, quenching experiments reveal at least two mechanisms of increased p-type doping in the dark, one decaying over 2-3 weeks and the other persisting for at least 2 months. These results provide essential insights for the application of As-doped CdTe in thin film solar cells.

Urban renewal, migration and memories: The affordances of place-based pedagogies for developing immigrant students’ literate repertoires

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Barbara Comber

2013-02-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on the New literacy demands in the middle years of schooling project in which the affordances of placed-based pedagogy are being explored through teacher inquiries and classroom-based design experiments. The school is located within a large-scale urban renewal project in which houses are being demolished and families relocated. The original school buildings have recently been demolished and replaced by a large ‘Superschool’ which serves a bigger student population from a wider area. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, the teachers reported that the language literacy learning of students (including a majority of students learning English as a second language involved in the project exceeded their expectations. The project provided the motivation for them to develop their oral language repertoires, by involving them in processes such as conducting interviews with adults for their oral histories, through questioning the project manager in regular meetings, and through reporting to their peers and the wider community at school assemblies. At the same time students’ written and multimodal documentation of changes in the neighbourhood and the school grounds extended their literate and semiotic repertoires as they produced books, reports, films, Powerpoints, visual designs and models of structures.

Endometrial natural killer (NK) cells reveal a tissue-specific receptor repertoire.

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Feyaerts, D; Kuret, T; van Cranenbroek, B; van der Zeeuw-Hingrez, S; van der Heijden, O W H; van der Meer, A; Joosten, I; van der Molen, R G

2018-02-13

Is the natural killer (NK) cell receptor repertoire of endometrial NK (eNK) cells tissue-specific? The NK cell receptor (NKR) expression profile in pre-pregnancy endometrium appears to have a unique tissue-specific phenotype, different from that found in NK cells in peripheral blood, suggesting that these cells are finely tuned towards the reception of an allogeneic fetus. NK cells are important for successful pregnancy. After implantation, NK cells encounter extravillous trophoblast cells and regulate trophoblast invasion. NK cell activity is amongst others regulated by C-type lectin heterodimer (CD94/NKG2) and killer cell immunoglobulin-like (KIR) receptors. KIR expression on decidual NK cells is affected by the presence of maternal HLA-C and biased towards KIR2D expression. However, little is known about NKR expression on eNK cells prior to pregnancy. In this study, matched peripheral and menstrual blood (a source of endometrial cells) was obtained from 25 healthy females with regular menstrual cycles. Menstrual blood was collected during the first 36 h of menstruation using a menstrual cup, a non-invasive technique to obtain endometrial cells. KIR and NKG2 receptor expression on eNK cells was characterized by 10-color flow cytometry, and compared to matched pbNK cells of the same female. KIR and HLA-C genotypes were determined by PCR-SSOP techniques. Anti-CMV IgG antibodies in plasma were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay. KIR expression patterns of eNK cells collected from the same female do not differ over consecutive menstrual cycles. The percentage of NK cells expressing KIR2DL2/L3/S2, KIR2DL3, KIR2DL1, LILRB1 and/or NKG2A was significantly higher in eNK cells compared to pbNK cells, while no significant difference was observed for NKG2C, KIR2DL1/S1, and KIR3DL1. The NKR repertoire of eNK cells was clearly different from pbNK cells, with eNK cells co-expressing more than three NKR simultaneously. In addition, outlier analysis revealed 8 and 15 NKR

Florally rich habitats reduce insect pollination and the reproductive success of isolated plants.

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Evans, Tracie M; Cavers, Stephen; Ennos, Richard; Vanbergen, Adam J; Heard, Matthew S

2017-08-01

Landscape heterogeneity in floral communities has the potential to modify pollinator behavior. Pollinator foraging varies with the diversity, abundance, and spatial configuration of floral resources. However, the implications of this variation for pollen transfer and ultimately the reproductive success of insect pollinated plants remains unclear, especially for species which are rare or isolated in the landscape. We used a landscape-scale experiment, coupled with microsatellite genotyping, to explore how the floral richness of habitats affected pollinator behavior and pollination effectiveness. Small arrays of the partially self-compatible plant Californian poppy ( Eschscholzia californica) were introduced across a landscape gradient to simulate rare, spatially isolated populations. The effects on pollinator activity, outcrossing, and plant reproduction were measured. In florally rich habitats, we found reduced pollen movement between plants, leading to fewer long-distance pollination events, lower plant outcrossing, and a higher incidence of pollen limitation. This pattern indicates a potential reduction in per capita pollinator visitation, as suggested by the lower activity densities and richness of pollinators observed within florally rich habitats. In addition, seed production reduced by a factor of 1.8 in plants within florally rich habitats and progeny germination reduced by a factor of 1.2. We show this to be a consequence of self-fertilization within the partially self-compatible plant, E. californica . These findings indicate that locally rare plants are at a competitive disadvantage within florally rich habitats because neighboring plant species disrupt conspecific mating by co-opting pollinators. Ultimately, this Allee effect may play an important role in determining the long-term persistence of rarer plants in the landscape, both in terms of seed production and viability. Community context therefore requires consideration when designing and

Different Somatic Hypermutation Levels among Antibody Subclasses Disclosed by a New Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Antibody Repertoire Analysis

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Kazutaka Kitaura

2017-05-01

Full Text Available A diverse antibody repertoire is primarily generated by the rearrangement of V, D, and J genes and subsequent somatic hypermutation (SHM. Class-switch recombination (CSR produces various isotypes and subclasses with different functional properties. Although antibody isotypes and subclasses are considered to be produced by both direct and sequential CSR, it is still not fully understood how SHMs accumulate during the process in which antibody subclasses are generated. Here, we developed a new next-generation sequencing (NGS-based antibody repertoire analysis capable of identifying all antibody isotype and subclass genes and used it to examine the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 12 healthy individuals. Using a total of 5,480,040 sequences, we compared percentage frequency of variable (V, junctional (J sequence, and a combination of V and J, diversity, length, and amino acid compositions of CDR3, SHM, and shared clones in the IgM, IgD, IgG3, IgG1, IgG2, IgG4, IgA1, IgE, and IgA2 genes. The usage and diversity were similar among the immunoglobulin (Ig subclasses. Clonally related sequences sharing identical V, D, J, and CDR3 amino acid sequences were frequently found within multiple Ig subclasses, especially between IgG1 and IgG2 or IgA1 and IgA2. SHM occurred most frequently in IgG4, while IgG3 genes were the least mutated among all IgG subclasses. The shared clones had almost the same SHM levels among Ig subclasses, while subclass-specific clones had different levels of SHM dependent on the genomic location. Given the sequential CSR, these results suggest that CSR occurs sequentially over multiple subclasses in the order corresponding to the genomic location of IGHCs, but CSR is likely to occur more quickly than SHMs accumulate within Ig genes under physiological conditions. NGS-based antibody repertoire analysis should provide critical information on how various antibodies are generated in the immune system.

Neuroendocrine regulation of appetitive ingestive behavior

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Erin eKeen-Rhinehart

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Food availability in nature is often irregular, and famine is commonplace. Increased motivation to engage in ingestive behaviors increases the chance of survival, providing additional potential opportunities for reproduction. Because of the advantages conferred by entraining ingestive behavior to environmental conditions, neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating the motivation to acquire and ingest food have evolved to be responsive to exogenous (i.e. food stored for future consumption and endogenous (i.e. body fat stores fuel availability. Motivated behaviors like eating occur in two phases. The appetitive phase brings animals into contact with food (e.g. foraging, food hoarding, and the more reflexive consummatory phase results in ingestion (e.g., chewing, swallowing. Quantifiable appetitive behaviors are part of many the natural ingestive behavioral repertoire of species such as hamsters and humans. This review summarizes current knowledge about neuroendocrine regulators of ingestive behavior, with an emphasis appetitive behavior. We will discuss hormonal regulators of appetitive ingestive behaviors, including the orexigenic hormone ghrelin, which potently stimulates foraging and food hoarding in Siberian hamsters. This section includes a discussion of the hormone leptin, its relation to endogenous fat stores, and its role in food deprivation-induced increases in appetitive ingestive behaviors. Next, we discuss how hormonal regulators interact with neurotransmitters involved in the regulation of ingestive behaviors, such as NPY, AgRP and alpha-MSH, to regulate ingestive behavior. Finally, we discuss the potential impact that perinatal nutrient availability can have on the neuroendocrine regulation of ingestive behavior. Understanding the hormonal mechanisms that connect metabolic fuel availability to central appetite regulatory circuits should provide a better understanding of the neuroendocrine regulation of the motivation to engage in ingestive

Upscaling species richness and abundances in tropical forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Tovo, Anna; Suweis, Samir; Formentin, Marco; Favretti, Marco; Volkov, Igor; Banavar, Jayanth R; Azaele, Sandro; Maritan, Amos

2017-10-01

The quantification of tropical tree biodiversity worldwide remains an open and challenging problem. More than two-fifths of the number of worldwide trees can be found either in tropical or in subtropical forests, but only ≈0.000067% of species identities are known. We introduce an analytical framework that provides robust and accurate estimates of species richness and abundances in biodiversity-rich ecosystems, as confirmed by tests performed on both in silico-generated and real forests. Our analysis shows that the approach outperforms other methods. In particular, we find that upscaling methods based on the log-series species distribution systematically overestimate the number of species and abundances of the rare species. We finally apply our new framework on 15 empirical tropical forest plots and quantify the minimum percentage cover that should be sampled to achieve a given average confidence interval in the upscaled estimate of biodiversity. Our theoretical framework confirms that the forests studied are comprised of a large number of rare or hyper-rare species. This is a signature of critical-like behavior of species-rich ecosystems and can provide a buffer against extinction.

Roaring high and low: composition and possible functions of the Iberian stag's vocal repertoire.

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Daniela Passilongo

Full Text Available We provide a detailed description of the rutting vocalisations of free-ranging male Iberian deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus, Hilzheimer 1909, a geographically isolated and morphologically differentiated subspecies of red deer Cervus elaphus. We combine spectrographic examinations, spectral analyses and automated classifications to identify different call types, and compare the composition of the vocal repertoire with that of other red deer subspecies. Iberian stags give bouts of roars (and more rarely, short series of barks that are typically composed of two different types of calls. Long Common Roars are mostly given at the beginning or at the end of the bout, and are characterised by a high fundamental frequency (F0 resulting in poorly defined formant frequencies but a relatively high amplitude. In contrast, Short Common Roars are typically given in the middle or at the end of the bout, and are characterised by a lower F0 resulting in relatively well defined vocal tract resonances, but low amplitude. While we did not identify entirely Harsh Roars (as described in the Scottish red deer subspecies (Cervus elaphus scoticus, a small percentage of Long Common Roars contained segments of deterministic chaos. We suggest that the evolution of two clearly distinct types of Common Roars may reflect divergent selection pressures favouring either vocal efficiency in high pitched roars or the communication of body size in low-pitched, high spectral density roars highlighting vocal tract resonances. The clear divergence of the Iberian red deer vocal repertoire from those of other documented European red deer populations reinforces the status of this geographical variant as a distinct subspecies.

"Nobody Told Me They Didn't Speak English!": Teacher Language Views and Student Linguistic Repertoires in Hutterite Colony Schools in Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Sterzuk, Andrea; Nelson, Cynthia A.

2016-01-01

This article presents a qualitative study of five monolingual teachers' understandings of the linguistic repertoires of their multilingual students. These teachers deliver the Saskatchewan provincial curricula in English to Hutterite colony students who are users of three languages: (a) spoken Hutterisch as a home and community language, (b)…

Noise resistance applied to the study of zinc rich paints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Espada Recarey, L.; Sanchez Bermudez, A.; Urrejola Madrinan, S.; Bouzada Alvela, F.

2001-01-01

Electrochemical Noise has been one of the more useful analysis methods to the study the corrosion processes due to the fact that it is simple and cheap. The objective of this work is to check the efficiency of this technique when it is applied to the study of Rich Zinc Paints and specifically the Noise Resistance parameter which is very efficiency to study metal-electrolyte systems. Then this technique was applied to Rich Zinc Paints systems of which we have already information by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The outcomes of this paper show the efficiency of applying Noise Resistance technique to explain the behavior of this kind of systems. (Author) 18 refs

Massively Parallel RNA Sequencing Identifies a Complex Immune Gene Repertoire in the lophotrochozoan Mytilus edulis

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Philipp, Eva E. R.; Kraemer, Lars; Melzner, Frank; Poustka, Albert J.; Thieme, Sebastian; Findeisen, Ulrike; Schreiber, Stefan; Rosenstiel, Philip

2012-01-01

The marine mussel Mytilus edulis and its closely related sister species are distributed world-wide and play an important role in coastal ecology and economy. The diversification in different species and their hybrids, broad ecological distribution, as well as the filter feeding mode of life has made this genus an attractive model to investigate physiological and molecular adaptations and responses to various biotic and abiotic environmental factors. In the present study we investigated the immune system of Mytilus, which may contribute to the ecological plasticity of this species. We generated a large Mytilus transcriptome database from different tissues of immune challenged and stress treated individuals from the Baltic Sea using 454 pyrosequencing. Phylogenetic comparison of orthologous groups of 23 species demonstrated the basal position of lophotrochozoans within protostomes. The investigation of immune related transcripts revealed a complex repertoire of innate recognition receptors and downstream pathway members including transcripts for 27 toll-like receptors and 524 C1q domain containing transcripts. NOD-like receptors on the other hand were absent. We also found evidence for sophisticated TNF, autophagy and apoptosis systems as well as for cytokines. Gill tissue and hemocytes showed highest expression of putative immune related contigs and are promising tissues for further functional studies. Our results partly contrast with findings of a less complex immune repertoire in ecdysozoan and other lophotrochozoan protostomes. We show that bivalves are interesting candidates to investigate the evolution of the immune system from basal metazoans to deuterostomes and protostomes and provide a basis for future molecular work directed to immune system functioning in Mytilus. PMID:22448234

Diversity and repertoire of IgW and IgM VH families in the newborn nurse shark.

Science.gov (United States)

Rumfelt, Lynn L; Lohr, Rebecca L; Dooley, Helen; Flajnik, Martin F

2004-05-06

Adult cartilaginous fish express three immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes, IgM, IgNAR and IgW. Newborn nurse sharks, Ginglymostoma cirratum, produce 19S (multimeric) IgM and monomeric/dimeric IgM1gj, a germline-joined, IgM-related VH, and very low amounts of 7S (monomeric) IgM and IgNAR proteins. Newborn IgNAR VH mRNAs are diverse in the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) with non-templated nucleotide (N-region) addition, which suggests that, unlike in many other vertebrates, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) expressed at birth is functional. IgW is present in the lungfish, a bony fish sharing a common ancestor with sharks 460 million years ago, implying that the IgW VH family is as old as the IgM VH family. This nurse shark study examined the IgM and IgW VH repertoire from birth through adult life, and analyzed the phylogenetic relationships of these gene families. IgM and IgW VH cDNA clones isolated from newborn nurse shark primary and secondary lymphoid tissues had highly diverse and unique CDR3 with N-region addition and VDJ gene rearrangement, implicating functional TdT and RAG gene activity. Despite the clear presence of N-region additions, newborn CDR3 were significantly shorter than those of adults. The IgM clones are all included in a conventional VH family that can be classified into five discrete groups, none of which is orthologous to IgM VH genes in other elasmobranchs. In addition, a novel divergent VH family was orthologous to a published monotypic VH horn shark family. IgW VH genes have diverged sufficiently to form three families. IgM and IgW VH serine codons using the potential somatic hypermutation hotspot sequence occur mainly in VH framework 1 (FR1) and CDR1. Phylogenetic analysis of cartilaginous fish and lungfish IgM and IgW demonstrated they form two major ancient gene groups; furthermore, these VH genes generally diversify (duplicate and diverge) within a species. As in ratfish, sandbar and horn sharks, most nurse shark IgM VH

CARbodies: Human Antibodies Against Cell Surface Tumor Antigens Selected From Repertoires Displayed on T Cell Chimeric Antigen Receptors

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Vanesa Alonso-Camino

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A human single-chain variable fragment (scFv antibody library was expressed on the surface of human T cells after transduction with lentiviral vectors (LVs. The repertoire was fused to a first-generation T cell receptor ζ (TCRζ-based chimeric antigen receptor (CAR. We used this library to isolate antibodies termed CARbodies that recognize antigens expressed on the tumor cell surface in a proof-of-principle system. After three rounds of activation-selection there was a clear repertoire restriction, with the emergence dominant clones. The CARbodies were purified from bacterial cultures as soluble and active proteins. Furthermore, to validate its potential application for adoptive cell therapy, human T cells were transduced with a LV encoding a second-generation costimulatory CAR (CARv2 bearing the selected CARbodies. Transduced human primary T cells expressed significant levels of the CARbodies-based CARv2 fusion protein on the cell surface, and importantly could be specifically activated, after stimulation with tumor cells. This approach is a promising tool for the generation of antibodies fully adapted to the display format (CAR and the selection context (cell synapse, which could extend the scope of current adoptive cell therapy strategies with CAR-redirected T cells.

Repertoire of intensive care unit pneumonia microbiota.

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Sabri Bousbia

Full Text Available Despite the considerable number of studies reported to date, the causative agents of pneumonia are not completely identified. We comprehensively applied modern and traditional laboratory diagnostic techniques to identify microbiota in patients who were admitted to or developed pneumonia in intensive care units (ICUs. During a three-year period, we tested the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL of patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, community-acquired pneumonia, non-ventilator ICU pneumonia and aspiration pneumonia, and compared the results with those from patients without pneumonia (controls. Samples were tested by amplification of 16S rDNA, 18S rDNA genes followed by cloning and sequencing and by PCR to target specific pathogens. We also included culture, amoeba co-culture, detection of antibodies to selected agents and urinary antigen tests. Based on molecular testing, we identified a wide repertoire of 160 bacterial species of which 73 have not been previously reported in pneumonia. Moreover, we found 37 putative new bacterial phylotypes with a 16S rDNA gene divergence ≥ 98% from known phylotypes. We also identified 24 fungal species of which 6 have not been previously reported in pneumonia and 7 viruses. Patients can present up to 16 different microorganisms in a single BAL (mean ± SD; 3.77 ± 2.93. Some pathogens considered to be typical for ICU pneumonia such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus species can be detected as commonly in controls as in pneumonia patients which strikingly highlights the existence of a core pulmonary microbiota. Differences in the microbiota of different forms of pneumonia were documented.

Great ape gestures: intentional communication with a rich set of innate signals.

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Byrne, R W; Cartmill, E; Genty, E; Graham, K E; Hobaiter, C; Tanner, J

2017-09-08

Great apes give gestures deliberately and voluntarily, in order to influence particular target audiences, whose direction of attention they take into account when choosing which type of gesture to use. These facts make the study of ape gesture directly relevant to understanding the evolutionary precursors of human language; here we present an assessment of ape gesture from that perspective, focusing on the work of the "St Andrews Group" of researchers. Intended meanings of ape gestures are relatively few and simple. As with human words, ape gestures often have several distinct meanings, which are effectively disambiguated by behavioural context. Compared to the signalling of most other animals, great ape gestural repertoires are large. Because of this, and the relatively small number of intended meanings they achieve, ape gestures are redundant, with extensive overlaps in meaning. The great majority of gestures are innate, in the sense that the species' biological inheritance includes the potential to develop each gestural form and use it for a specific range of purposes. Moreover, the phylogenetic origin of many gestures is relatively old, since gestures are extensively shared between different genera in the great ape family. Acquisition of an adult repertoire is a process of first exploring the innate species potential for many gestures and then gradual restriction to a final (active) repertoire that is much smaller. No evidence of syntactic structure has yet been detected.

Thermal behavior of native and hydrophobized wheat gluten, gliadin and glutenin-rich fractions by modulated DSC.

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Micard, V; Guilbert, S

2000-06-13

The glass transition temperature (T(g)) of hydrophobized and native wheat gluten and its protein fractions, with water mass fraction from 0 to 0.2, was studied using modulated differential scanning calorimetry. The T(g) values of unplasticized products were approximately 175 degrees C whatever the treatment (hydrophobization) or the fraction tested, except for the gliadin-rich fraction (162 degrees C). Experimental change in heat capacity at the glass transition (DeltaC(p)) ranged from 0.32 to 0. 50 J/g/ degrees C depending on the gluten fractions. The Gordon-Taylor fit of T(g) evolution as a function of water content showed that glutenin-rich fractions were more sensitive to water plasticization than the gliadin-rich fraction. The Kwei equation gave better fit to experimental data and demonstrated that the water plasticization of gluten and its fractions is influenced by secondary interactions. However, the application of the Couchman-Karasz equation without fitting predicts satisfactorily the plasticization of gluten proteins by water.

Behavioral and Neurochemical Studies in Stressed and Unstressed Rats Fed on Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat Rich Diet

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Samia Moin§, Saida Haider*, Saima Khaliq1, Saiqa Tabassum and Darakhshan J. Haleem

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Stress produces behavioral and neurochemical deficits. To study the relationship between adaptation to stress and macronutrient intake, the present study was designed to monitor the effects of different diets on feed intake, growth rate and serotonin (5-Hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT metabolism following exposure to restraint stress in rats. Rats were divided into four groups (n=12 as control, sugar, protein and fat rich diet fed rats. After 5 weeks of treatment animals of each group were divided into unrestrained and restrained animals (n=6. Rats of restrained group were given immobilization stress for 2 hours/day for 5 days. Food intake and growth rates of unrestrained and restrained rats were monitored daily. Rats were decapitated on 6th day to collect brain samples for neurochemical estimation. Results show that sugar diet fed rats produced adaptation to stress early as compared to normal diet fed rats. Food intake and growth rates of unrestrained and restrained rats were comparable on 3rd day in sugar diet fed rats and on 4th day in normal diet fed rats. Stress decreased food intake and growth rates of protein and fat treated rats. Repeated stress did not alter brain 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels of normal diet fed rats and sugar diet fed rats. Protein diet fed restrained rats showed elevated brain 5-HT levels. Fat diet fed restrained rats significantly decreased brain TRP and 5-HIAA levels. Finding suggested that carbohydrate diet might protect against stressful conditions. Study also showed that nutritional status could alter different behaviors in response to a stressful environment.

Transcription Factor Repertoire of Necrotrophic Fungal Phytopathogen Ascochyta rabiei: Predominance of MYB Transcription Factors As Potential Regulators of Secretome

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Sandhya Verma

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Transcription factors (TFs are the key players in gene expression and their study is highly significant for shedding light on the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary history of organisms. During host–pathogen interaction, extensive reprogramming of gene expression facilitated by TFs is likely to occur in both host and pathogen. To date, the knowledge about TF repertoire in filamentous fungi is in infancy. The necrotrophic fungus Ascochyta rabiei, that causes destructive Ascochyta blight (AB disease of chickpea (Cicer arietinum, demands more comprehensive study for better understanding of Ascochyta-legume pathosystem. In the present study, we performed the genome-wide identification and analysis of TFs in A. rabiei. Taking advantage of A. rabiei genome sequence, we used a bioinformatic approach to predict the TF repertoire of A. rabiei. For identification and classification of A. rabiei TFs, we designed a comprehensive pipeline using a combination of BLAST and InterProScan software. A total of 381 A. rabiei TFs were predicted and divided into 32 fungal specific families of TFs. The gene structure, domain organization and phylogenetic analysis of abundant families of A. rabiei TFs were also carried out. Comparative study of A. rabiei TFs with that of other necrotrophic, biotrophic, hemibiotrophic, symbiotic, and saprotrophic fungi was performed. It suggested presence of both conserved as well as unique features among them. Moreover, cis-acting elements on promoter sequences of earlier predicted A. rabiei secretome were also identified. With the help of published A. rabiei transcriptome data, the differential expression of TF and secretory protein coding genes was analyzed. Furthermore, comprehensive expression analysis of few selected A. rabiei TFs using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed variety of expression patterns during host colonization. These genes were expressed in at least one of the time points tested post

Immune Control of Burkholderia pseudomallei––Common, High-Frequency T-Cell Responses to a Broad Repertoire of Immunoprevalent Epitopes

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Arnone Nithichanon

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp is an environmental bacterial pathogen that causes potentially lethal sepsis in susceptible individuals and is considered a Category B, Tier-1 biothreat agent. As such, it is crucial to gain an improved understanding of protective immunity and potential vaccine candidates. The nature of immune correlates dictating why most exposed individuals in endemic regions undergo asymptomatic seroconversion while others succumb to life-threatening sepsis is largely uncharted. Bp seroreactive, immunogenic proteins have previously been identified by antigen microarray. We here set out to conduct an analysis of T-cell recognition of the Bp immunome using serodominant antigens represented in the original antigen microarray, examining immune correlates of disease in healthy seropositive individuals and those with acute disease or in convalescence. By screening a library of 739 overlapping peptides representing the sequences of 20 different Bp antigens, we aimed to define immune correlates of protection at the level of immunoprevalent T-cell epitopes. Responses to a large number of epitopes were common in healthy seropositive individuals: we found remarkably broad responsiveness to Bp epitopes, with 235 of 739 peptides recognized by ≥80% of all tested donors. The cumulative response to Bp epitopes in healthy, seropositive, donors from this endemic region were of the order of thousands of spot forming cells per million cells, making Bp recognition a significant component of the T-cell repertoire. Noteworthy among our findings, analysis revealed 10 highly immunoprevalent T-cell epitopes, able to induce Bp-specific IFNγ responses that were high in responding T-cell frequency within the repertoire, and also common across individuals with different human leukocyte antigen types. Acute melioidosis patients showed poor T-cell responses to the immunoprevalent epitopes, but acquired responsiveness following recovery from infection. Our

Neuroendocrine regulation of appetitive ingestive behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Keen-Rhinehart, Erin; Ondek, Katelynn; Schneider, Jill E

2013-11-15

Food availability in nature is often irregular, and famine is commonplace. Increased motivation to engage in ingestive behaviors increases the chance of survival, providing additional potential opportunities for reproduction. Because of the advantages conferred by entraining ingestive behavior to environmental conditions, neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating the motivation to acquire and ingest food have evolved to be responsive to exogenous (i.e., food stored for future consumption) and endogenous (i.e., body fat stores) fuel availability. Motivated behaviors like eating occur in two phases. The appetitive phase brings animals into contact with food (e.g., foraging, food hoarding), and the more reflexive consummatory phase results in ingestion (e.g., chewing, swallowing). Quantifiable appetitive behaviors are part of the natural ingestive behavioral repertoire of species such as hamsters and humans. This review summarizes current knowledge about neuroendocrine regulators of ingestive behavior, with an emphasis appetitive behavior. We will discuss hormonal regulators of appetitive ingestive behaviors, including the orexigenic hormone ghrelin, which potently stimulates foraging and food hoarding in Siberian hamsters. This section includes a discussion of the hormone leptin, its relation to endogenous fat stores, and its role in food deprivation-induced increases in appetitive ingestive behaviors. Next, we discuss how hormonal regulators interact with neurotransmitters involved in the regulation of ingestive behaviors, such as neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related protein (AgRP) and α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), to regulate ingestive behavior. Finally, we discuss the potential impact that perinatal nutrient availability can have on the neuroendocrine regulation of ingestive behavior. Understanding the hormonal mechanisms that connect metabolic fuel availability to central appetite regulatory circuits should provide a better understanding of the

Towards a comprehensive catalog of zebrafish behavior 1.0 and beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalueff, Allan V; Gebhardt, Michael; Stewart, Adam Michael; Cachat, Jonathan M; Brimmer, Mallorie; Chawla, Jonathan S; Craddock, Cassandra; Kyzar, Evan J; Roth, Andrew; Landsman, Samuel; Gaikwad, Siddharth; Robinson, Kyle; Baatrup, Erik; Tierney, Keith; Shamchuk, Angela; Norton, William; Miller, Noam; Nicolson, Teresa; Braubach, Oliver; Gilman, Charles P; Pittman, Julian; Rosemberg, Denis B; Gerlai, Robert; Echevarria, David; Lamb, Elisabeth; Neuhauss, Stephan C F; Weng, Wei; Bally-Cuif, Laure; Schneider, Henning

2013-03-01

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly gaining popularity in translational neuroscience and behavioral research. Physiological similarity to mammals, ease of genetic manipulations, sensitivity to pharmacological and genetic factors, robust behavior, low cost, and potential for high-throughput screening contribute to the growing utility of zebrafish models in this field. Understanding zebrafish behavioral phenotypes provides important insights into neural pathways, physiological biomarkers, and genetic underpinnings of normal and pathological brain function. Novel zebrafish paradigms continue to appear with an encouraging pace, thus necessitating a consistent terminology and improved understanding of the behavioral repertoire. What can zebrafish 'do', and how does their altered brain function translate into behavioral actions? To help address these questions, we have developed a detailed catalog of zebrafish behaviors (Zebrafish Behavior Catalog, ZBC) that covers both larval and adult models. Representing a beginning of creating a more comprehensive ethogram of zebrafish behavior, this effort will improve interpretation of published findings, foster cross-species behavioral modeling, and encourage new groups to apply zebrafish neurobehavioral paradigms in their research. In addition, this glossary creates a framework for developing a zebrafish neurobehavioral ontology, ultimately to become part of a unified animal neurobehavioral ontology, which collectively will contribute to better integration of biological data within and across species.

Sensory evaluation of biscuits enriched with artichoke fiber-rich powders (Cynara scolymus L.).

Science.gov (United States)

San José, Francisco J; Collado-Fernández, Montserrat; López, Rafael

2018-01-01

The artichoke by-products from the canning industry are mainly used for silage, being minimally revaluated. The ways of extraction of by-products of artichoke into fiber-rich powders modify their industrial applications in biscuits, as the sensory evaluation may change compared with the reference fiber (Pea fiber, P) used with commercial biscuit. In this sensory study biscuits enriched with fiber-rich powders of artichoke (W, Ca) are compared with biscuits with the same percentage of the reference fiber (P) and control biscuits without fiber (B). For most of the sensory attributes of the biscuits enriched with artichoke fiber-rich powders were perceived similar to the biscuits with the commercial reference fiber (P). The good sensory behavior of the biscuits with artichoke fiber-rich powders during two storage conditions applied may confirm that the artichoke by-products would be a suitable substitute for pea fiber in oven-baked products, like wholemeal biscuits with high-fiber content.

Shallow food for deep divers: Dynamic foraging behavior of male sperm whales in a high latitude habitat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teloni, Valeria; Johnson, M.P.; Miller, P.J.O.

2008-01-01

Groups of female and immature sperm whales live at low latitudes and show a stereotypical diving and foraging behavior with dives lasting about 45 min to depths of between 400 and 1200 m. In comparison, physically mature male sperm whales migrate to high latitudes where little is known about...... their foraging behavior and ecology. Here we use acoustic recording tags to study the diving and acoustic behavior of male sperm whales foraging off northern Norway. Sixty-five hours of tag data provide detailed information about the movements and sound repertoire of four male sperm whales performing 83 dives...... epipelagic prey, is consistent with the hypothesis that male sperm whales may migrate to high latitudes to access a productive, multi-layered foraging habitat....

RESEARCH OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS OF MANAGERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT OF EMPLOYEES USING STATISTICAL METHODS

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Aydoğan Durmuş

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In this study conducted to research the relationship between leadership behaviors of managers between organizational commitment of employees, a survey has been applied to 155 employees who work in 3 companies in Istanbul province. To measure organizational commitment of employees: "Organizational Commitment Scale" developed by Meyer, Allen ve Smith ; to measure leadership behaviors:" Leadership Behaviors Inventory" of Kent and "Multidimensional Leadership Problems" titled survey forms have been examined and leadership behavior scale which is often used in researches and has been created developing leadership behavior questions based on "Behavioral Repertoire of Leaders" of  Goleman. The data collected by the survey were evaluated by entering into SPSS 22 software. As a result of the application; it has been found that, as autocratic, visionary,  participating and leadership behaviors of managers strengthen, attendance to corporation and normative commitment of employees increase, as educational and relationship oriented behaviors of managers strengthen, attendance to corporation and normative commitment of employees strengthens. As overall satisfaction level of employees with leadership behavior of managers increases, their attendance and normative commitment to organization increased as well.

Use of Sexual Material Online and At-Risk Sexual Behavior Regarding HIV/AIDS among College Students

OpenAIRE

Benavides, Raquel A.; Montero, Carolina Valdez; González, Víctor M.; Rodríguez, Dora Julia Onofre

2012-01-01

Use of sexual material online (USMO) by young people has been connected with at-risk sexual behavior for HIV/AIDS. Media Richness and Social Cognitive theories propose that rich media offer more information with interactive and audible visual content, which could have a significant impact on people’s thinking and behavior. The objective was to determine whether USMO presented by rich media has an influence on at-risk sexual behavior for HIV/AIDS. Two hundred young people participated in the s...

Identification of Complete Repertoire of Apis florea Odorant Receptors Reveals Complex Orthologous Relationships with Apis mellifera

Science.gov (United States)

Karpe, Snehal D.; Jain, Rikesh; Brockmann, Axel; Sowdhamini, Ramanathan

2016-01-01

Abstract We developed a computational pipeline for homology based identification of the complete repertoire of olfactory receptor (OR) genes in the Asian honey bee species, Apis florea. Apis florea is phylogenetically the most basal honey bee species and also the most distant sister species to the Western honey bee Apis mellifera, for which all OR genes had been identified before. Using our pipeline, we identified 180 OR genes in A. florea, which is very similar to the number of ORs identified in A. mellifera (177 ORs). Many characteristics of the ORs including gene structure, synteny of tandemly repeated ORs and basic phylogenetic clustering are highly conserved. The composite phylogenetic tree of A. florea and A. mellifera ORs could be divided into 21 clades which are in harmony with the existing Hymenopteran tree. However, we found a few nonorthologous OR relationships between both species as well as independent pseudogenization of ORs suggesting separate evolutionary changes. Particularly, a subgroup of the OR gene clade XI, which had been hypothesized to code cuticular hydrocarbon receptors showed a high number of species-specific ORs. RNAseq analysis detected a total number of 145 OR transcripts in male and 162 in female antennae. Most of the OR genes were highly expressed on the female antennae. However, we detected five distinct male-biased OR genes, out of which three genes (AfOr11, AfOr18, AfOr170P) were shown to be male-biased in A. mellifera, too, thus corroborating a behavioral function in sex-pheromone communication. PMID:27540087

Retention behavior of actinides and long lived fission products on Smectite rich clays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomar, B.S.

2014-01-01

In the present work, sorption of Am(llI), Cs(I) and Sr(ll) by the Smectite rich clay from western India has been studied in detail under the varying experimental conditions, viz., pH, ionic strength, and metal ion concentration. The experimental data on sorption have been modeled using the surface complexation model. Am(llI) sorption by smectite rich clay was found to increase with the pH of the suspension. At lower pH values, the sorption decreased with increasing ionic strength of the suspension, but remained constant at higher pH values. This is reminiscent of the ion exchange mechanism at lower pH and predominantly inner sphere complexation at higher pH. Surface complexation modeling using FITEQL could successfully explain these two mechanisms operating in the different pH values. Sorption of Cs(I) and Sr(II) by the smectite rich clay was studied under the varying experimental conditions. Though the sorption of both the metal ions increased with pH, it decreased with the increasing ionic strength, at all pH values, suggesting ion exchange as the predominant mechanism at all pH values. Further, the ionic strength dependence was different in the case of Cs(I) and Sr(II) depending upon the metal ion concentration. At same metal ion concentration of Cs(I) and Sr(II) (10 -5 M) the extent of decrease with ionic strength was same in both cases, while at 10 -9 M, Cs(I), the decrease was much smaller than that at 10 -5 M. This indicates the existence of ion exchange sites having different affinities. These studies have shown high retention capacity of the clay for actinides and long lived fission products with the sorption following ion exchange mechanism in the case of Cs(I) and Sr(II) and a combination of ion exchange and surface complexation in the case of Am(III) depending upon the pH. The sorption data could be successfully explained within the framework of FITEQL, taking into account both the types of binding sites

Diversity and repertoire of IgW and IgM VH families in the newborn nurse shark

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Dooley Helen

2004-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Adult cartilaginous fish express three immunoglobulin (Ig isotypes, IgM, IgNAR and IgW. Newborn nurse sharks, Ginglymostoma cirratum, produce 19S (multimeric IgM and monomeric/dimeric IgM1gj, a germline-joined, IgM-related VH, and very low amounts of 7S (monomeric IgM and IgNAR proteins. Newborn IgNAR VH mRNAs are diverse in the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3 with non-templated nucleotide (N-region addition, which suggests that, unlike in many other vertebrates, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT expressed at birth is functional. IgW is present in the lungfish, a bony fish sharing a common ancestor with sharks 460 million years ago, implying that the IgW VH family is as old as the IgM VH family. This nurse shark study examined the IgM and IgW VH repertoire from birth through adult life, and analyzed the phylogenetic relationships of these gene families. Results IgM and IgW VH cDNA clones isolated from newborn nurse shark primary and secondary lymphoid tissues had highly diverse and unique CDR3 with N-region addition and VDJ gene rearrangement, implicating functional TdT and RAG gene activity. Despite the clear presence of N-region additions, newborn CDR3 were significantly shorter than those of adults. The IgM clones are all included in a conventional VH family that can be classified into five discrete groups, none of which is orthologous to IgM VH genes in other elasmobranchs. In addition, a novel divergent VH family was orthologous to a published monotypic VH horn shark family. IgW VH genes have diverged sufficiently to form three families. IgM and IgW VH serine codons using the potential somatic hypermutation hotspot sequence occur mainly in VH framework 1 (FR1 and CDR1. Phylogenetic analysis of cartilaginous fish and lungfish IgM and IgW demonstrated they form two major ancient gene groups; furthermore, these VH genes generally diversify (duplicate and diverge within a species. Conclusion As in ratfish

Consequences of early postnatal benzodiazepines exposure in rats. II. Social behavior

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Anna eMikulecka

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Social behavior represents an integral part of behavioral repertoire of rats particularly sensitive to pharmacological and environmental influences. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether early postnatal clonazepam (CZP exposure can induce age-dependent changes related to expression of social behavior. The drug was administered from postnatal day (P 7 until P11 at daily doses of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg i.p. We designed three experiments to assess whether exposure to CZP affects social behavior in respect to the age of rats and the test circumstances, specifically their familiarity with test conditions during adolescence (P32, social behavior in juveniles and adolescents (P18-P42 and social behavior in a resident-intruder paradigm. The frequency and duration of a various patterns of social behavior related to play and social investigation not related to play were evaluated. The results showed that CZP postnatal exposure decreased social play behavior regardless of age and familiarity or unfamiliarity of experimental environment but did not affect the social investigation per se. When rats were confronted with an intruder in their home cages intense wrestling and inhibition of genital investigation were found. In conclusion, these findings show that short-term CZP postnatal exposure inhibits social play behavior and alters specific patterns of social behavior in an age and environment related manner

Defensive repertoire of Drosophila larvae in response to toxic fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Trienens, Monika; Kraaijeveld, Ken; Wertheim, Bregje

2017-10-01

Chemical warfare including insecticidal secondary metabolites is a well-known strategy for environmental microbes to monopolize a food source. Insects in turn have evolved behavioural and physiological defences to eradicate or neutralize the harmful microorganisms. We studied the defensive repertoire of insects in this interference competition by combining behavioural and developmental assays with whole-transcriptome time-series analysis. Confrontation with the toxic filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans severely reduced the survival of Drosophila melanogaster larvae. Nonetheless, the larvae did not behaviourally avoid the fungus, but aggregated at it. Confrontation with fungi strongly affected larval gene expression, including many genes involved in detoxification (e.g., CYP, GST and UGT genes) and the formation of the insect cuticle (e.g., Tweedle genes). The most strongly upregulated genes were several members of the insect-specific gene family Osiris, and CHK-kinase-like domains were over-represented. Immune responses were not activated, reflecting the competitive rather than pathogenic nature of the antagonistic interaction. While internal microbes are widely acknowledged as important, our study emphasizes the underappreciated role of environmental microbes as fierce competitors. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Genomic organization and evolution of the Atlantic salmon hemoglobin repertoire

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Phillips Ruth B

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The genomes of salmonids are considered pseudo-tetraploid undergoing reversion to a stable diploid state. Given the genome duplication and extensive biological data available for salmonids, they are excellent model organisms for studying comparative genomics, evolutionary processes, fates of duplicated genes and the genetic and physiological processes associated with complex behavioral phenotypes. The evolution of the tetrapod hemoglobin genes is well studied; however, little is known about the genomic organization and evolution of teleost hemoglobin genes, particularly those of salmonids. The Atlantic salmon serves as a representative salmonid species for genomics studies. Given the well documented role of hemoglobin in adaptation to varied environmental conditions as well as its use as a model protein for evolutionary analyses, an understanding of the genomic structure and organization of the Atlantic salmon α and β hemoglobin genes is of great interest. Results We identified four bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs comprising two hemoglobin gene clusters spanning the entire α and β hemoglobin gene repertoire of the Atlantic salmon genome. Their chromosomal locations were established using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH analysis and linkage mapping, demonstrating that the two clusters are located on separate chromosomes. The BACs were sequenced and assembled into scaffolds, which were annotated for putatively functional and pseudogenized hemoglobin-like genes. This revealed that the tail-to-tail organization and alternating pattern of the α and β hemoglobin genes are well conserved in both clusters, as well as that the Atlantic salmon genome houses substantially more hemoglobin genes, including non-Bohr β globin genes, than the genomes of other teleosts that have been sequenced. Conclusions We suggest that the most parsimonious evolutionary path leading to the present organization of the Atlantic salmon

Genomic organization and evolution of the Atlantic salmon hemoglobin repertoire

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Background The genomes of salmonids are considered pseudo-tetraploid undergoing reversion to a stable diploid state. Given the genome duplication and extensive biological data available for salmonids, they are excellent model organisms for studying comparative genomics, evolutionary processes, fates of duplicated genes and the genetic and physiological processes associated with complex behavioral phenotypes. The evolution of the tetrapod hemoglobin genes is well studied; however, little is known about the genomic organization and evolution of teleost hemoglobin genes, particularly those of salmonids. The Atlantic salmon serves as a representative salmonid species for genomics studies. Given the well documented role of hemoglobin in adaptation to varied environmental conditions as well as its use as a model protein for evolutionary analyses, an understanding of the genomic structure and organization of the Atlantic salmon α and β hemoglobin genes is of great interest. Results We identified four bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) comprising two hemoglobin gene clusters spanning the entire α and β hemoglobin gene repertoire of the Atlantic salmon genome. Their chromosomal locations were established using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis and linkage mapping, demonstrating that the two clusters are located on separate chromosomes. The BACs were sequenced and assembled into scaffolds, which were annotated for putatively functional and pseudogenized hemoglobin-like genes. This revealed that the tail-to-tail organization and alternating pattern of the α and β hemoglobin genes are well conserved in both clusters, as well as that the Atlantic salmon genome houses substantially more hemoglobin genes, including non-Bohr β globin genes, than the genomes of other teleosts that have been sequenced. Conclusions We suggest that the most parsimonious evolutionary path leading to the present organization of the Atlantic salmon hemoglobin genes involves

MORPHOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF MUSIC FOR LISTENING IN THE REPERTOIRE OF THE FIDDLERS-VIOLONISTS FROM THE NORTHERN AREA OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

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SLABARI NICOLAE

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this article we intend to highlight some characteristic morphological features of the melodies for listening included in the repertoire of the fiddlers- violonists from the north of Moldova, referring, in particular, to the variety and trends of its evolution in the space of time from the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries. By applying this information in the scientific circuit we will contribute to valorizing and completing the image of the fiddler phenomenon at present. The establishment of this repertoire was favored by some socio-political and cultural events of the 20th century, which generated mutation processes, such as globalization, academic schooling, improving the instruments, freedom of communication with musicians from outside the country. As a result, in the investigated space some species are gradually removed from circulation, and others that entered it, are still ongoing a process of crystallization and claim the right to exist. The fiddlers-violinists of the younger generation, tempted by the trendy, increasingly prefer them, being executed at various occasions.

Cloning of the Repertoire of Individual Plasmodium falciparum var Genes Using Transformation Associated Recombination (TAR)

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, Christoph D.; Bühlmann, Tobias; Louis, Edward J.; Beck, Hans-Peter

2011-01-01

One of the major virulence factors of the malaria causing parasite is the Plasmodium falciparum encoded erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1). It is translocated to It the membrane of infected erythrocytes and expressed from approximately 60 var genes in a mutually exclusive manner. Switching of var genes allows the parasite to alter functional and antigenic properties of infected erythrocytes, to escape the immune defense and to establish chronic infections. We have developed an efficient method for isolating VAR genes from telomeric and other genome locations by adapting transformation-associated recombination (TAR) cloning, which can then be analyzed and sequenced. For this purpose, three plasmids each containing a homologous sequence representing the upstream regions of the group A, B, and C var genes and a sequence homologous to the conserved acidic terminal segment (ATS) of var genes were generated. Co-transfection with P. falciparum strain ITG2F6 genomic DNA in yeast cells yielded 200 TAR clones. The relative frequencies of clones from each group were not biased. Clones were screened by PCR, as well as Southern blotting, which revealed clones missed by PCR due to sequence mismatches with the primers. Selected clones were transformed into E. coli and further analyzed by RFLP and end sequencing. Physical analysis of 36 clones revealed 27 distinct types potentially representing 50% of the var gene repertoire. Three clones were selected for sequencing and assembled into single var gene containing contigs. This study demonstrates that it is possible to rapidly obtain the repertoire of var genes from P. falciparum within a single set of cloning experiments. This technique can be applied to individual isolates which will provide a detailed picture of the diversity of var genes in the field. This is a powerful tool to overcome the obstacles with cloning and assembly of multi-gene families by simultaneously cloning each member. PMID:21408186

Patient-Centeredness as Physician Behavioral Adaptability to Patient Preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrard, Valérie; Schmid Mast, Marianne; Jaunin-Stalder, Nicole; Junod Perron, Noëlle; Sommer, Johanna

2018-05-01

A physician who communicates in a patient-centered way is a physician who adapts his or her communication style to what each patient needs. In order to do so, the physician has to (1) accurately assess each patient's states and traits (interpersonal accuracy) and (2) possess a behavioral repertoire to choose from in order to actually adapt his or her behavior to different patients (behavioral adaptability). Physician behavioral adaptability describes the change in verbal or nonverbal behavior a physician shows when interacting with patients who have different preferences in terms of how the physician should interact with them. We hypothesized that physician behavioral adaptability to their patients' preferences would lead to better patient outcomes and that physician interpersonal accuracy was positively related to behavioral adaptability. To test these hypotheses, we recruited 61 physicians who completed an interpersonal accuracy test before being videotaped during four consultations with different patients. The 244 participating patients indicated their preferences for their physician's interaction style prior to the consultation and filled in a consultation outcomes questionnaire directly after the consultation. We coded the physician's verbal and nonverbal behavior for each of the consultations and compared it to the patients' preferences to obtain a measure of physician behavioral adaptability. Results partially confirmed our hypotheses in that female physicians who adapted their nonverbal (but not their verbal) behavior had patients who reported more positive consultation outcomes. Moreover, the more female physicians were accurate interpersonally, the more they showed verbal and nonverbal behavioral adaptability. For male physicians, more interpersonal accuracy was linked to less nonverbal adaptability.

Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease-Causing Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strains Maintain an Antibacterial Type VI Secretion System with Versatile Effector Repertoires.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Peng; Kinch, Lisa N; Ray, Ann; Dalia, Ankur B; Cong, Qian; Nunan, Linda M; Camilli, Andrew; Grishin, Nick V; Salomon, Dor; Orth, Kim

2017-07-01

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is a newly emerging shrimp disease that has severely damaged the global shrimp industry. AHPND is caused by toxic strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus that have acquired a "selfish plasmid" encoding the deadly binary toxins PirA vp /PirB vp To better understand the repertoire of virulence factors in AHPND-causing V. parahaemolyticus , we conducted a comparative analysis using the genome sequences of the clinical strain RIMD2210633 and of environmental non-AHPND and toxic AHPND isolates of V. parahaemolyticus Interestingly, we found that all of the AHPND strains, but none of the non-AHPND strains, harbor the antibacterial type VI secretion system 1 (T6SS1), which we previously identified and characterized in the clinical isolate RIMD2210633. This finding suggests that the acquisition of this T6SS might confer to AHPND-causing V. parahaemolyticus a fitness advantage over competing bacteria and facilitate shrimp infection. Additionally, we found highly dynamic effector loci in the T6SS1 of AHPND-causing strains, leading to diverse effector repertoires. Our discovery provides novel insights into AHPND-causing pathogens and reveals a potential target for disease control. IMPORTANCE Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is a serious disease that has caused severe damage and significant financial losses to the global shrimp industry. To better understand and prevent this shrimp disease, it is essential to thoroughly characterize its causative agent, Vibrio parahaemolyticus Although the plasmid-encoded binary toxins PirA vp /PirB vp have been shown to be the primary cause of AHPND, it remains unknown whether other virulent factors are commonly present in V. parahaemolyticus and might play important roles during shrimp infection. Here, we analyzed the genome sequences of clinical, non-AHPND, and AHPND strains to characterize their repertoires of key virulence determinants. Our studies reveal that an antibacterial type

Linguistic repertoires of interdisciplinarity in brazilian journals in the area of psychology

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Mary Jane Paris Spink

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper is about manners in which linguistic repertoires of interdisciplinarity for dissemination of scientific knowledge are coordinated. It starts with a contextualization about interdisciplinarity and ways in which disciplines are organized for administrative purposes in Brazil. It seeks to answer the question: how these forms of ordering, controlling and coordinating interdisciplinary operate in the dissemination of scientific knowledge? The analysis of the ways of coordinating interdisciplinarity in scientific dissemination was based on the editorial proposals of journals classified as A1, A2 and B1 in the Qualis of the area of Psychology. The conclusion of this analysis is that scientific journals enact interdisciplinarity in different manners because they use various forms of association based on themes, related areas, and theories or theoretical frameworks. We conclude the analysis with a discussion of the implications of the various manners of coordinating knowledge for the dissemination of information for the public at large.

GeoChip-based insights into the microbial functional gene repertoire of marine sponges (high microbial abundance, low microbial abundance) and seawater

KAUST Repository

Bayer, Kristina

2015-01-08

The GeoChip 4.2 gene array was employed to interrogate the microbial functional gene repertoire of sponges and seawater collected from the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Complementary amplicon sequencing confirmed the microbial community composition characteristic of high microbial abundance (HMA) and low microbial abundance (LMA) sponges. By use of GeoChip, altogether 20 273 probes encoding for 627 functional genes and representing 16 gene categories were identified. Minimum curvilinear embedding analyses revealed a clear separation between the samples. The HMA/LMA dichotomy was stronger than any possible geographic pattern, which is shown here for the first time on the level of functional genes. However, upon inspection of individual genes, very few specific differences were discernible. Differences were related to microbial ammonia oxidation, ammonification, and archaeal autotrophic carbon fixation (higher gene abundance in sponges over seawater) as well as denitrification and radiation-stress-related genes (lower gene abundance in sponges over seawater). Except for few documented specific differences the functional gene repertoire between the different sources appeared largely similar. This study expands previous reports in that functional gene convergence is not only reported between HMA and LMA sponges but also between sponges and seawater.

GeoChip-based insights into the microbial functional gene repertoire of marine sponges (high microbial abundance, low microbial abundance) and seawater

KAUST Repository

Bayer, Kristina; Moitinho-Silva, Lucas; Brü mmer, Franz; Cannistraci, Carlo V.; Ravasi, Timothy; Hentschel, Ute

2015-01-01

The GeoChip 4.2 gene array was employed to interrogate the microbial functional gene repertoire of sponges and seawater collected from the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Complementary amplicon sequencing confirmed the microbial community composition characteristic of high microbial abundance (HMA) and low microbial abundance (LMA) sponges. By use of GeoChip, altogether 20 273 probes encoding for 627 functional genes and representing 16 gene categories were identified. Minimum curvilinear embedding analyses revealed a clear separation between the samples. The HMA/LMA dichotomy was stronger than any possible geographic pattern, which is shown here for the first time on the level of functional genes. However, upon inspection of individual genes, very few specific differences were discernible. Differences were related to microbial ammonia oxidation, ammonification, and archaeal autotrophic carbon fixation (higher gene abundance in sponges over seawater) as well as denitrification and radiation-stress-related genes (lower gene abundance in sponges over seawater). Except for few documented specific differences the functional gene repertoire between the different sources appeared largely similar. This study expands previous reports in that functional gene convergence is not only reported between HMA and LMA sponges but also between sponges and seawater.

The leucine-rich repeat structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bella, J; Hindle, K L; McEwan, P A; Lovell, S C

2008-08-01

The leucine-rich repeat is a widespread structural motif of 20-30 amino acids with a characteristic repetitive sequence pattern rich in leucines. Leucine-rich repeat domains are built from tandems of two or more repeats and form curved solenoid structures that are particularly suitable for protein-protein interactions. Thousands of protein sequences containing leucine-rich repeats have been identified by automatic annotation methods. Three-dimensional structures of leucine-rich repeat domains determined to date reveal a degree of structural variability that translates into the considerable functional versatility of this protein superfamily. As the essential structural principles become well established, the leucine-rich repeat architecture is emerging as an attractive framework for structural prediction and protein engineering. This review presents an update of the current understanding of leucine-rich repeat structure at the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary levels and discusses specific examples from recently determined three-dimensional structures.

The CAPRICE RICH detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basini, G. [INFN, Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Rome (Italy); Codino, A.; Grimani, C. [Perugia Univ. (Italy)]|[INFN, Perugia (Italy); De Pascale, M.P. [Rome Univ. `Tor Vergata` (Italy). Dip. di Fisica]|[INFN, Sezione Univ. `Tor Vergata` Rome (Italy); Cafagna, F. [Bari Univ. (Italy)]|[INFN, Bari (Italy); Golden, R.L. [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Particle Astrophysics Lab.; Brancaccio, F.; Bocciolini, M. [Florence Univ. (Italy)]|[INFN, Florence (Italy); Barbiellini, G.; Boezio, M. [Trieste Univ. (Italy)]|[INFN, Trieste (Italy)

1995-09-01

A compact RICH detector has been developed and used for particle identification in a balloon borne spectrometer to measure the flux of antimatter in the cosmic radiation. This is the first RICH detector ever used in space experiments that is capable of detecting unit charged particles, such as antiprotons. The RICH and all other detectors performed well during the 27 hours long flight.

Behavioural repertoire of working donkeys and consistency of behaviour over time, as a preliminary step towards identifying pain-related behaviours.

Science.gov (United States)

Regan, Fran H; Hockenhull, Jo; Pritchard, Joy C; Waterman-Pearson, Avril E; Whay, Helen R

2014-01-01

The donkey has a reputation for stoicism and its behavioural repertoire in clinical contexts is under-reported. Lack of understanding of the norms of donkey behaviour and how it may vary over time can compromise use of behavioural measures as indicators of pain or emotional state. The objective of this study was to find out whether the behaviour of working donkeys was influenced by gender, the time of day or differed between days with a view to assessing how robust these measures are for inclusion in a working donkey ethogram. Frequency and consistency of postural and event behaviours were measured in 21 adult working donkeys (12 females; 9 males). Instantaneous (scan) and focal sampling were used to measure maintenance, lying, ingestive and investigative behaviours at hourly intervals for ten sessions on each of two consecutive days. High head carriage and biting were seen more frequently in male donkeys than females (Pdonkeys (Pdonkeys expressed an extensive behavioural repertoire, although some differences in behaviour were evident between genders. While most behaviours were consistent over time, some behaviours were influenced by time of day. Few behaviours differed between the two test days. The findings can be used to inform the development of a robust, evidence-based ethogram for working donkeys.

Effect of carbo-nitride-rich and oxide-rich inclusions on the pitting susceptibility of depleted uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pu, Zhen; Chen, Xianglin; Meng, Xiandong; Wu, Yanping; Shen, Liang; Wang, Qingfu; Liu, Tianwei; Shuai, Maobing

2017-01-01

Highlights: •The Volta potential differences relative to the matrix are positive for both types of inclusions. •Both types of inclusions are cathodic in the “inclusion/matrix” microgalvanic couples. •The oxide-rich inclusions show a larger Volta potential value of about 115 mV than the carbo-nitride-rich inclusions. •The oxide-rich inclusions give stronger local galvanic coupling with the matrix. •The oxide-rich inclusions are more predisposed to initiate pitting corrosion. -- Abstract: The effects of carbo-nitride-rich and oxide-rich inclusions on the pitting susceptibility of depleted uranium were investigated by electrochemical corrosion measurements, optical microscopy, scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM), and SEM. The results of the potentiodynamic polarization tests suggest that oxide-rich inclusions are more likely to induce pitting corrosion than carbo-nitride-rich inclusions. This enhanced corrosion may be explained by the strong local galvanic coupling between the oxide-rich inclusion and the surrounding matrix, which, from the sight of SKPFM analysis, exhibits a 115 V higher Volta potential than the coupling between the carbo-nitride-rich inclusions and the matrix, respectively.

Self-generated strategic behavior in an ecological shopping task.

Science.gov (United States)

Bottari, Carolina; Wai Shun, Priscilla Lam; Dorze, Guylaine Le; Gosselin, Nadia; Dawson, Deirdre

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVES. The use of cognitive strategies optimizes performance in complex everyday tasks such as shopping. This exploratory study examined the cognitive strategies people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) effectively use in an unstructured, real-world situation. METHOD. A behavioral analysis of the self-generated strategic behaviors of 5 people with severe TBI using videotaped sessions of an ecological shopping task (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Profile) was performed. RESULTS. All participants used some form of cognitive strategy in an unstructured real-world shopping task, although the number, type, and degree of effectiveness of the strategies in leading to goal attainment varied. The most independent person used the largest number and a broader repertoire of self-generated strategies. CONCLUSION. These results provide initial evidence that occupational therapists should examine the use of self-generated cognitive strategies in real-world contexts as a potential means of guiding therapy aimed at improving independence in everyday activities for people with TBI. Copyright © 2014 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Electrochemical study of lithium insertion into carbon-rich polymer-derived silicon carbonitride ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaspar, Jan; Mera, Gabriela; Nowak, Andrzej P.; Graczyk-Zajac, Magdalena; Riedel, Ralf

2010-01-01

This paper presents the lithium insertion into carbon-rich polymer-derived silicon carbonitride (SiCN) ceramic synthesized by the thermal treatment of poly(diphenylsilylcarbodiimide) at three temperatures, namely 1100, 1300, and 1700 o C under 0.1 MPa Ar atmosphere. At lower synthesis temperatures, the material is X-ray amorphous, while at 1700 o C, the SiCN ceramic partially crystallizes. Anode materials prepared from these carbon-rich SiCN ceramics without any fillers and conducting additives were characterized using cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometric charging/discharging. We found that the studied silicon carbonitride ceramics demonstrate a promising electrochemical behavior during lithium insertion/extraction in terms of capacity and cycling stability. The sample synthesized at 1300 o C exhibits a reversible capacity of 392 mAh g -1 . Our study confirms that carbon-rich SiCN phases are electrochemically active materials in terms of Li inter- and deintercalation.

Hologenome analysis of two marine sponges with different microbiomes

KAUST Repository

Ryu, Tae Woo; Seridi, Loqmane; Moitinho-Silva, Lucas; Oates, Matthew; Liew, Yi Jin; Mavromatis, Charalampos Harris; Wang, Xiaolei; Haywood, Annika; Lafi, Feras Fawzi; Kupresanin, Marija; Sougrat, Rachid; Alzahrani, Majed A.; Giles, Emily; Ghosheh, Yanal; Schunter, Celia Marei; Baumgarten, Sebastian; Berumen, Michael L.; Gao, Xin; Aranda, Manuel; Foret, Sylvain; Gough, Julian; Voolstra, Christian R.; Hentschel, Ute; Ravasi, Timothy

2016-01-01

analysis revealed that S. carteri has an expanded repertoire of immunological domains, specifically Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-Rich (SRCR)-like domains, compared to X. testudinaria. On the microbial side, metatranscriptome analyses revealed

Proton-rich nuclear statistical equilibrium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seitenzahl, I.R.; Timmes, F.X.; Marin-Lafleche, A.; Brown, E.; Magkotsios, G.; Truran, J.

2008-01-01

Proton-rich material in a state of nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE) is one of the least studied regimes of nucleosynthesis. One reason for this is that after hydrogen burning, stellar evolution proceeds at conditions of an equal number of neutrons and protons or at a slight degree of neutron-richness. Proton-rich nucleosynthesis in stars tends to occur only when hydrogen-rich material that accretes onto a white dwarf or a neutron star explodes, or when neutrino interactions in the winds from a nascent proto-neutron star or collapsar disk drive the matter proton-rich prior to or during the nucleosynthesis. In this Letter we solve the NSE equations for a range of proton-rich thermodynamic conditions. We show that cold proton-rich NSE is qualitatively different from neutron-rich NSE. Instead of being dominated by the Fe-peak nuclei with the largest binding energy per nucleon that have a proton-to-nucleon ratio close to the prescribed electron fraction, NSE for proton-rich material near freezeout temperature is mainly composed of 56Ni and free protons. Previous results of nuclear reaction network calculations rely on this nonintuitive high-proton abundance, which this Letter explains. We show how the differences and especially the large fraction of free protons arises from the minimization of the free energy as a result of a delicate competition between the entropy and nuclear binding energy.

Uncovering the Repertoire of Endogenous Flaviviral Elements in Aedes Mosquito Genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Yasutsugu; Frangeul, Lionel; Dickson, Laura B; Blanc, Hervé; Verdier, Yann; Vinh, Joelle; Lambrechts, Louis; Saleh, Maria-Carla

2017-08-01

Endogenous viral elements derived from nonretroviral RNA viruses have been described in various animal genomes. Whether they have a biological function, such as host immune protection against related viruses, is a field of intense study. Here, we investigated the repertoire of endogenous flaviviral elements (EFVEs) in Aedes mosquitoes, the vectors of arboviruses such as dengue and chikungunya viruses. Previous studies identified three EFVEs from Aedes albopictus cell lines and one from Aedes aegypti cell lines. However, an in-depth characterization of EFVEs in wild-type mosquito populations and individual mosquitoes in vivo has not been performed. We detected the full-length DNA sequence of the previously described EFVEs and their respective transcripts in several A. albopictus and A. aegypti populations from geographically distinct areas. However, EFVE-derived proteins were not detected by mass spectrometry. Using deep sequencing, we detected the production of PIWI-interacting RNA-like small RNAs, in an antisense orientation, targeting the EFVEs and their flanking regions in vivo The EFVEs were integrated in repetitive regions of the mosquito genomes, and their flanking sequences varied among mosquito populations. We bioinformatically predicted several new EFVEs from a Vietnamese A. albopictus population and observed variation in the occurrence of those elements among mosquitoes. Phylogenetic analysis of an A. aegypti EFVE suggested that it integrated prior to the global expansion of the species and subsequently diverged among and within populations. The findings of this study together reveal the substantial structural and nucleotide diversity of flaviviral integrations in Aedes genomes. Unraveling this diversity will help to elucidate the potential biological function of these EFVEs. IMPORTANCE Endogenous viral elements (EVEs) are whole or partial viral sequences integrated in host genomes. Interestingly, some EVEs have important functions for host fitness and

Reliable cloning of functional antibody variable domains from hybridomas and spleen cell repertoires employing a reengineered phage display system.

Science.gov (United States)

Krebber, A; Bornhauser, S; Burmester, J; Honegger, A; Willuda, J; Bosshard, H R; Plückthun, A

1997-02-14

A prerequisite for the use of recombinant antibody technologies starting from hybridomas or immune repertoires is the reliable cloning of functional immunoglobulin genes. For this purpose, a standard phage display system was optimized for robustness, vector stability, tight control of scFv-delta geneIII expression, primer usage for PCR amplification of variable region genes, scFv assembly strategy and subsequent directional cloning using a single rare cutting restriction enzyme. This integrated cloning, screening and selection system allowed us to rapidly obtain antigen binding scFvs derived from spleen-cell repertoires of mice immunized with ampicillin as well as from all hybridoma cell lines tested to date. As representative examples, cloning of monoclonal antibodies against a his tag, leucine zippers, the tumor marker EGP-2 and the insecticide DDT is presented. Several hybridomas whose genes could not be cloned in previous experimental setups, but were successfully obtained with the present system, expressed high amounts of aberrant heavy and light chain mRNAs, which were amplified by PCR and greatly exceeded the amount of binding antibody sequences. These contaminating variable region genes were successfully eliminated by employing the optimized phage display system, thus avoiding time consuming sequencing of non-binding scFv genes. To maximize soluble expression of functional scFvs subsequent to cloning, a compatible vector series to simplify modification, detection, multimerization and rapid purification of recombinant antibody fragments was constructed.

Platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology.

Science.gov (United States)

Stavrakas, M; Karkos, P D; Markou, K; Grigoriadis, N

2016-12-01

Platelet-rich plasma is a novel material that is being used more frequently in many surgical specialties. A literature review on the current and potential uses of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology was performed. There is limited evidence on the use of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology compared with other specialties: only 11 studies on various subspecialties (otology, rhinology and laryngology) were included in the final review. Based on the limited number of studies, we cannot draw safe conclusions about the value of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology. Nevertheless, the available literature suggests that platelet-rich plasma holds promise for future research and may have a number of clinical applications.

An Improved Cluster Richness Estimator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rozo, Eduardo; /Ohio State U.; Rykoff, Eli S.; /UC, Santa Barbara; Koester, Benjamin P.; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago; McKay, Timothy; /Michigan U.; Hao, Jiangang; /Michigan U.; Evrard, August; /Michigan U.; Wechsler, Risa H.; /SLAC; Hansen, Sarah; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago; Sheldon, Erin; /New York U.; Johnston, David; /Houston U.; Becker, Matthew R.; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago; Annis, James T.; /Fermilab; Bleem, Lindsey; /Chicago U.; Scranton, Ryan; /Pittsburgh U.

2009-08-03

Minimizing the scatter between cluster mass and accessible observables is an important goal for cluster cosmology. In this work, we introduce a new matched filter richness estimator, and test its performance using the maxBCG cluster catalog. Our new estimator significantly reduces the variance in the L{sub X}-richness relation, from {sigma}{sub lnL{sub X}}{sup 2} = (0.86 {+-} 0.02){sup 2} to {sigma}{sub lnL{sub X}}{sup 2} = (0.69 {+-} 0.02){sup 2}. Relative to the maxBCG richness estimate, it also removes the strong redshift dependence of the richness scaling relations, and is significantly more robust to photometric and redshift errors. These improvements are largely due to our more sophisticated treatment of galaxy color data. We also demonstrate the scatter in the L{sub X}-richness relation depends on the aperture used to estimate cluster richness, and introduce a novel approach for optimizing said aperture which can be easily generalized to other mass tracers.

Being Sticker Rich: Numerical Context Influences Children's Sharing Behavior.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tasha Posid

Full Text Available Young children spontaneously share resources with anonymous recipients, but little is known about the specific circumstances that promote or hinder these prosocial tendencies. Children (ages 3-11 received a small (12 or large (30 number of stickers, and were then given the opportunity to share their windfall with either one or multiple anonymous recipients (Dictator Game. Whether a child chose to share or not varied as a function of age, but was uninfluenced by numerical context. Moreover, children's giving was consistent with a proportion-based account, such that children typically donated a similar proportion (but different absolute number of the resources given to them, regardless of whether they originally received a small or large windfall. The proportion of resources donated, however, did vary based on the number of recipients with whom they were allowed to share, such that on average, children shared more when there were more recipients available, particularly when they had more resources, suggesting they take others into consideration when making prosocial decisions. Finally, results indicated that a child's gender also predicted sharing behavior, with males generally sharing more resources than females. Together, findings suggest that the numerical contexts under which children are asked to share, as well as the quantity of resources that they have to share, may interact to promote (or hinder altruistic behaviors throughout childhood.

Long-Lasting Production of New T and B Cells and T-Cell Repertoire Diversity in Patients with Primary Immunodeficiency Who Had Undergone Stem Cell Transplantation: A Single-Centre Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica Valotti

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Levels of Kappa-deleting recombination excision circles (KRECs, T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs, and T-cell repertoire diversity were evaluated in 1038 samples of 124 children with primary immunodeficiency, of whom 102 (54 with severe combined immunodeficiency and 48 with other types of immunodeficiency underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Twenty-two not transplanted patients with primary immunodeficiency were used as controls. Only data of patients from whom at least five samples were sent to the clinical laboratory for routine monitoring of lymphocyte reconstitutions were included in the analysis. The mean time of the follow-up was 8 years. The long-lasting posttransplantation kinetics of KREC and TREC production occurred similarly in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency and with other types of immunodeficiency and, in both groups, the T-cell reconstitution was more efficient than in nontransplanted children. Although thymic output decreased in older transplanted patients, the degree of T-cell repertoire diversity, after an initial increase, remained stable during the observation period. However, the presence of graft-versus-host disease and ablative conditioning seemed to play a role in the time-related shaping of T-cell repertoire. Overall, our data suggest that long-term B- and T-cell reconstitution was equally achieved in children with severe combined immunodeficiency and with other types of primary immunodeficiency.

Quantitative measurement of pathogen specific human memory T cell repertoire diversity using a CDR3β-specific microarray

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gorski Jack

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Providing quantitative microarray data that is sensitive to very small differences in target sequence would be a useful tool in any number of venues where a sample can consist of a multiple related sequences present in various abundances. Examples of such applications would include measurement of pseudo species in viral infections and the measurement of species of antibodies or T cell receptors that constitute immune repertoires. Difficulties that must be overcome in such a method would be to account for cross-hybridization and for differences in hybridization efficiencies between the arrayed probes and their corresponding targets. We have used the memory T cell repertoire to an influenza-derived peptide as a test case for developing such a method. Results The arrayed probes were corresponded to a 17 nucleotide TCR-specific region that distinguished sequences differing by as little as a single nucleotide. Hybridization efficiency between highly related Cy5-labeled subject sequences was normalized by including an equimolar mixture of Cy3-labeled synthetic targets representing all 108 arrayed probes. The same synthetic targets were used to measure the degree of cross hybridization between probes. Reconstitution studies found the system sensitive to input ratios as low as 0.5% and accurate in measuring known input percentages (R2 = 0.81, R = 0.90, p 0.05. Conclusion This novel strategy appears to be robust and can be adapted to any situation where complex mixtures of highly similar sequences need to be quantitatively resolved.

Phylogeography of var gene repertoires reveals fine-scale geospatial clustering of Plasmodium falciparum populations in a highly endemic area.

Science.gov (United States)

Tessema, Sofonias K; Monk, Stephanie L; Schultz, Mark B; Tavul, Livingstone; Reeder, John C; Siba, Peter M; Mueller, Ivo; Barry, Alyssa E

2015-01-01

Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a major global health problem that is being targeted for progressive elimination. Knowledge of local disease transmission patterns in endemic countries is critical to these elimination efforts. To investigate fine-scale patterns of malaria transmission, we have compared repertoires of rapidly evolving var genes in a highly endemic area. A total of 3680 high-quality DBLα-sequences were obtained from 68 P. falciparum isolates from ten villages spread over two distinct catchment areas on the north coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Modelling of the extent of var gene diversity in the two parasite populations predicts more than twice as many var gene alleles circulating within each catchment (Mugil = 906; Wosera = 1094) than previously recognized in PNG (Amele = 369). In addition, there were limited levels of var gene sharing between populations, consistent with local parasite population structure. Phylogeographic analyses demonstrate that while neutrally evolving microsatellite markers identified population structure only at the catchment level, var gene repertoires reveal further fine-scale geospatial clustering of parasite isolates. The clustering of parasite isolates by village in Mugil, but not in Wosera was consistent with the physical and cultural isolation of the human populations in the two catchments. The study highlights the microheterogeneity of P. falciparum transmission in highly endemic areas and demonstrates the potential of var genes as markers of local patterns of parasite population structure. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rich context information for just-in-time adaptive intervention promoting physical activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruciani, F; Nugent, C; Cleland, I; McCullagh, P

2017-07-01

Sedentary lifestyle and inadequate levels of physical activity represent two serious health risk factors. Nevertheless, within developed countries, 60% of people aged over 60 are deemed to be sedentary. Consequently, interest in behavior change to promote physical activity is increasing. In particular, the role of emerging mobile apps to facilitate behavior change has shown promising results. Smart technologies can help in providing rich context information including an objective assessment of the level of physical activity and information on the emotional and physiological state of the person. Collectively, this can be used to develop innovative persuasive solutions for adaptive behavior change. Such solutions offer potential in reducing levels of sedentary behavior. This work presents a study exploring new ways of employing smart technologies to facilitate behavior change. It is achieved by means of (i) developing a knowledge base on sedentary behaviors and recommended physical activity guidelines, and (ii) a context model able to combine information on physical activity, location, and a user's diary to develop a context-aware virtual coach with the ability to select the most appropriate behavior change strategy on a case by case basis.

LHCB RICH gas system proposal

CERN Document Server

Bosteels, Michel; Haider, S

2001-01-01

Both LHCb RICH will be operated with fluorocarbon as gas radiator. RICH 1 will be filled with 4m^3 of C4F10 and RICH 2 with 100m^3 of CF4. The gas systems will run as a closed loop circulation and a gas recovery system within the closed loop is planned for RICH 1, where the recovery of the CF4 will only be realised during filling and emptying of the detector. Inline gas purification is foreseen for the gas systems in order to limit water and oxygen impurities.

Prey transport kinematics in Tupinambis teguixin and Varanus exanthematicus: conservation of feeding behavior in 'chemosensory-tongued' lizards.

Science.gov (United States)

Elias, J A; McBrayer, L D; Reilly, S M

2000-02-01

Although lizards have been predicted to show extensive intraoral prey-processing behaviors, quantitative analyses of the types of prey-processing behavior they demonstrate and of their kinematics have been limited. The more basal lizard lineages (Iguanians) have undergone some study, but the prey-processing repertoires of crown taxa have not been thoroughly examined and quantitative comparisons of behaviors within or among species have not been made. In this study, the prey transport behavior of the savannah monitor (Varanus exanthematicus) and gold tegu (Tupinambis teguixin) are described. Although these two lineages have independently evolved tongues that are highly specialized for chemoreception, we found that they share the same three distinct types of transport behavior. These behavior patterns are (i) a purely inertial transport, (ii) an inertial transport with use of the tongue, and (iii) a non-inertial lingual transport. The tongue is used extensively in both the inertial and the purely lingual transport behaviors. More than 75 % of all transport behaviors involved tongue movements. These species appear to exhibit a conservation of feeding kinematics compared with patterns known for basal lizards. A hypothesis for the evolution of inertial feeding is proposed.

The Corrosion Protection of 2219-T87 Aluminum by Organic and Inorganic Zinc-Rich Primers

Science.gov (United States)

Danford, M. D.; Mendrek, M. J.; Walsh, D. W.

1995-01-01

The behavior of zinc-rich primer-coated 2219-T87 aluminum in a 3.5-percent Na-Cl was investigated using electrochemical techniques. The alternating current (ac) method of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), in the frequency range of 0.001 to 40,000 Hz, and the direct current (dc) method of polarization resistance (PR) were used to evaluate the characteristics of an organic, epoxy zinc-rich primer and an inorganic, ethyl silicate zinc-rich primer. A dc electrochemical galvanic corrosion test was also used to determine the corrosion current of each zinc-rich primer anode coupled to a 2219-T87 aluminum cathode. Duration of the EIS/PR and galvanic testing was 21 days and 24 h, respectively. The galvanic test results demonstrated a very high galvanic current between the aluminum cathode and both zinc-rich primer anodes (37.9 pA/CM2 and 23.7 pA/CM2 for the organic and inorganic primers, respectively). The PR results demonstrated a much higher corrosion rate of the zinc in the inorganic primer than in the organic primer, due primarily to the higher porosity in the former. Based on this investigation, the inorganic zinc-rich primer appears to provide superior galvanic protection and is recommended for additional study for application in the solid rocket booster aft skirt.

The D1 family dopamine receptor, DopR, potentiates hind leg grooming behavior in Drosophila.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitmon, E; Stephens, G; Parkhurst, S J; Wolf, F W; Kehne, G; Taylor, M; Lebestky, T

2016-03-01

Drosophila groom away debris and pathogens from the body using their legs in a stereotyped sequence of innate motor behaviors. Here, we investigated one aspect of the grooming repertoire by characterizing the D1 family dopamine receptor, DopR. Removal of DopR results in decreased hind leg grooming, as substantiated by quantitation of dye remaining on mutant and RNAi animals vs. controls and direct scoring of behavioral events. These data are also supported by pharmacological results that D1 receptor agonists fail to potentiate grooming behaviors in headless DopR flies. DopR protein is broadly expressed in the neuropil of the thoracic ganglion and overlaps with TH-positive dopaminergic neurons. Broad neuronal expression of dopamine receptor in mutant animals restored normal grooming behaviors. These data provide evidence for the role of DopR in potentiating hind leg grooming behaviors in the thoracic ganglion of adult Drosophila. This is a remarkable juxtaposition to the considerable role of D1 family dopamine receptors in rodent grooming, and future investigations of evolutionary relationships of circuitry may be warranted. © 2016 The Authors. Genes, Brain and Behavior published by International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Thermomechanical behavior of Ti-rich NiTi shape memory alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paula, A.S.; Mahesh, K.K.; Santos, C.M.L. dos; Braz Fernandes, F.M.; Costa Viana, C.S. da

2008-01-01

Phase transformations associated with shape memory effect in nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloys can be one-stage, B19' (martensite) ↔ B2 (austenite), two-stage including an intermediate R-phase stage, or multiple-stage depending on the thermal and/or mechanical history of the alloy. In the present paper, we highlight the effect of (i) deformation by cold-rolling (from 10% to 40% thickness reduction) and (ii) final annealing on the transformation characteristics of a Ti-rich NiTi shape memory alloy. For this purpose, one set of samples initially heat treated at 773 K followed by cold-rolling (10-40% thickness reduction), has been further heat treated at various temperatures between 673 and 1073 K. Another sample was subjected to heat treatment at 1040 K for 300 s followed by hot rolling (50%) after cooling in air to 773 K and water quenching to room temperature (T room ). Phase transformations were studied using differential scanning calorimetry, electrical resistivity measurements and in situ X-ray diffraction. A specific pattern of transformation sequences is found as a result of combination of the competing effects due to mechanical-working and annealing

Identification of antigen-specific human monoclonal antibodies using high-throughput sequencing of the antibody repertoire.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ju; Li, Ruihua; Liu, Kun; Li, Liangliang; Zai, Xiaodong; Chi, Xiangyang; Fu, Ling; Xu, Junjie; Chen, Wei

2016-04-22

High-throughput sequencing of the antibody repertoire provides a large number of antibody variable region sequences that can be used to generate human monoclonal antibodies. However, current screening methods for identifying antigen-specific antibodies are inefficient. In the present study, we developed an antibody clone screening strategy based on clone dynamics and relative frequency, and used it to identify antigen-specific human monoclonal antibodies. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that at least 52% of putative positive immunoglobulin heavy chains composed antigen-specific antibodies. Combining information on dynamics and relative frequency improved identification of positive clones and elimination of negative clones. and increase the credibility of putative positive clones. Therefore the screening strategy could simplify the subsequent experimental screening and may facilitate the generation of antigen-specific antibodies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biphasic products of dicalcium phosphate-rich cement with injectability and nondispersibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, Chia-Ling; Chen, Jian-Chih; Hung, Chun-Cheng; Wang, Jen-Chyan; Tien, Yin-Chun; Chen, Wen-Cheng

2014-01-01

In this study, a calcium phosphate cement was developed using tetracalcium phosphate and surface-modified dicalcium phosphate anhydrous (DCPA). This developed injectable bone graft substitute can be molded to the shape of the bone cavity and set in situ through the piping system that has an adequate mechanical strength, non-dispersibility, and biocompatibility. The materials were based on the modified DCPA compositions of calcium phosphate cement (CPC), where the phase ratio of the surface-modified DCPA is higher than that of the conventional CPC for forming dicalcium phosphate (DCP)-rich cement. The composition and morphology of several calcium phosphate cement specimens during setting were analyzed via X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy coupled with an energy dispersive spectroscopy system. The compressive strength of DCP-rich CPCs was greater than 30 MPa after 24 h of immersion in vitro. The reaction of the CPCs produced steady final biphasic products of DCPs with apatite. The composites of calcium phosphate cements derived from tetracalcium phosphate mixed with surface-modified DCPA exhibited excellent mechanical properties, injectability, and interlocking forces between particles, and they also featured nondispersive behavior when immersed in a physiological solution. - Highlights: • Bone cement precursor with nanocrystals is characterized. • DCP-rich CPCs with nanocrystals exhibited biphasic product phases. • Nanocrystals in cement significantly affected the interlocking ability. • Nanocrystals in cement exhibited higher strength and anti-dispersion. • DCP-rich CPCs increase the potential of bioresorption after reaction

Properties of flames propagating in rich propane-air mixtures at microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, S. F.; Pu, Y. K.; Jia, F.; Jarosinski, J.

Under normal gravity conditions it was found that the rich flammability limits for propane-air mixture are 9 2 C 3 H 8 equivalence ratio phi 2 42 for upward and 6 3 C 3 H 8 phi 1 60 for downward propagating flames An extremely large concentration gap exists between these two limits which is attributed to the influence of buoyancy and preferential diffusion in the mixture The present study enables a better understanding of flame behaviors in rich propane-air mixtures through microgravity experiments in which flame propagation can be examined in the absence of buoyancy The experiments were carried out in a cubic closed vessel of 80 mm inner length made of quartz glass A high-speed camera recorded flame propagation in the combustion vessel while the pressure history was measured by a transducer to indicate corresponding changes in heat release rate and the temperature development was measured by a thermocouple During the microgravity experiments the vessel was located inside a drop tower assembly The experimental data were compared with similar experiments conducted under normal gravity The flame characteristics were investigated for mixture concentrations between 6 5 C 3 H 8 and 9 2 C 3 H 8 Reliable data related to laminar burning velocity and flame thickness were obtained Some new details of the flame propagation near rich flammability limits were deduced Comparative experiments revealed the influence of gravity on combustion processes of rich propane-air

The HADES-RICH upgrade using Hamamatsu H12700 MAPMTs with DiRICH FEE + Readout

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, V.; Traxler, M.

2018-03-01

The High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) is operational since the year 2000 and uses a hadron blind RICH detector for electron identification. The RICH photon detector is currently replaced by Hamamatsu H12700 MAPMTs with a readout system based on the DiRICH front-end module. The electronic readout chain is being developed as a joint effort of the HADES-, CBM- and PANDA collaborations and will also be used in the photon detectors for the upcoming Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) and PANDA experiments at FAIR . This article gives a brief overview on the photomultipliers and their quality assurance test measurements, as well as first measurements of the new DiRICH front-end module in final configurations.

Antigenic Fingerprinting following Primary RSV Infection in Young Children Identifies Novel Antigenic Sites and Reveals Unlinked Evolution of Human Antibody Repertoires to Fusion and Attachment Glycoproteins.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Fuentes

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV is the major cause of pneumonia among infants. Here we elucidated the antibody repertoire following primary RSV infection and traced its evolution through adolescence and adulthood. Whole genome-fragment phage display libraries (GFPDL expressing linear and conformational epitopes in the RSV fusion protein (F and attachment protein (G were used for unbiased epitope profiling of infant sera prior to and following RSV infection. F-GFPDL analyses demonstrated modest changes in the anti-F epitope repertoires post-RSV infection, while G-GFPDL analyses revealed 100-fold increase in number of bound phages. The G-reactive epitopes spanned the N- and C-terminus of the G ectodomain, along with increased reactivity to the central conserved domain (CCD. Panels of F and G antigenic sites were synthesized to evaluate sera from young children (<2 yr, adolescents (14-18 yr and adults (30-45 yr in SPR real-time kinetics assays. A steady increase in RSV-F epitope repertoires from young children to adults was observed using peptides and F proteins. Importantly, several novel epitopes were identified in pre-fusion F and an immunodominant epitope in the F-p27. In all age groups, antibody binding to pre-fusion F was 2-3 folds higher than to post-fusion form. For RSV-G, antibody responses were high following early RSV infection in children, but declined significantly in adults, using either G proteins or peptides. This study identified unlinked evolution of anti-F and anti G responses and supportive evidence for immune pressure driven evolution of RSV-G. These findings could help development of effective countermeasures including vaccines.

A PUFA-rich diet improves fat oxidation following saturated fat-rich meal.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Jada L; Miller, Mary K; Skillman, Hannah E; Paton, Chad M; Cooper, Jamie A

2017-08-01

To determine substrate oxidation responses to saturated fatty acid (SFA)-rich meals before and after a 7-day polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich diet versus control diet. Twenty-six, normal-weight, adults were randomly assigned to either PUFA or control diet. Following a 3-day lead-in diet, participants completed the pre-diet visit where anthropometrics and resting metabolic rate (RMR) were measured, and two SFA-rich HF meals (breakfast and lunch) were consumed. Indirect calorimetry was used to determine fat oxidation (Fox) and energy expenditure (EE) for 4 h after each meal. Participants then consumed a PUFA-rich diet (50 % carbohydrate, 15 % protein, 35 % fat, of which 21 % of total energy was PUFA) or control diet (50 % carbohydrate, 15 % protein, 35 % fat, of which 7 % of total energy was PUFA) for the next 7 days. Following the 7-day diet, participants completed the post-diet visit. From pre- to post-PUFA-rich diet, there was no change in RMR (16.3 ± 0.8 vs. 16.4 ± 0.8 kcal/20 min) or in incremental area under the curve for EE (118.9 ± 20.6-126.9 ± 14.1 kcal/8h, ns). Fasting respiratory exchange ratio increased from pre- to post-PUFA-rich diet only (0.83 ± 0.1-0.86 ± 0.1, p diet (0.03 ± 0.1-0.23 ± 0.1 g/15 min for cumulative Fox; p diet initiates greater fat oxidation after eating occasional high SFA meals compared to a control diet, an effect achieved in 7 days.

Species Richness and Phenology of Cerambycid Beetles in Urban Forest Fragments of Northern Delaware

Science.gov (United States)

K. Handley; J. Hough-Goldstein; L.M. Hanks; J.G. Millar; V. D' amico

2015-01-01

Cerambycid beetles are abundant and diverse in forests, but much about their host relationships and adult behavior remains unknown. Generic blends of synthetic pheromones were used as lures in traps, to assess the species richness, and phenology of cerambycids in forest fragments in northern Delaware. More than 15,000 cerambycid beetles of 69 species were trapped over...

Simultaneous determination of the repertoire of classical neurotransmitters released from embryonal carcinoma stem cells using online microdialysis coupled with hydrophilic interaction chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Ya-Bin; Sun, Fan; Teng, Lin; Li, Wen-Bin; An, Shi-Min; Zhang, Chun; Yang, Xin-Jie; Lv, Hao-Yu; Ding, Xu-Ping; Zhu, Liang

2014-01-01

Highlights: • An online MD-HILIC–MS/MS method for simultaneously measuring the repertoire of classical transmitters was developed and validated. • Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) was successfully employed to online system. • Stable isotope labeled internal standards and authentic matrix have been applied to guarantee reliable results. • The method features simple procedure (no sample preparation), high recovery (≥73%), high accuracy (89.36% ≤ RE ≤ 116.89%), good reproducibility (2.18% ≤ RSD ≤ 14.56%), and sensitive limits of detection (2 pg for acetylcholine, serotonin, and glutamate, 10 pg for dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA, and glycine). - Abstract: Dynamic, continuous, and simultaneous multi-analysis of transmitters is important for the delineation of the complex interactions between the neuronal and intercellular communications. But the analysis of the whole repertoire of classical transmitters of diverse structure is challenging due to their different physico-chemical properties and to their high polarity feature which leads to poor retention in traditional reversed-phase columns during LC–MS analysis. Here, an online microdialysis coupled with hydrophilic interaction chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (online MD-HILIC–MS/MS) detection method was developed for the simultaneous measurement of the repertoire of classical transmitters (acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, glutamate, GABA, and glycine). Stable isotope labeled internal standards and authentic matrix have been applied to guarantee reliable results. The method was successfully employed to reveal the characteristics of transmitter release from embryonal carcinoma stem cells. The method features simple procedure (no sample preparation), high recovery (≥73%), high accuracy (89.36% ≤ RE ≤ 116.89%), good reproducibility (2.18% ≤ RSD ≤ 14.56%), and sensitive limits of detection (2 pg for acetylcholine, serotonin, and glutamate, 10 pg

Simultaneous determination of the repertoire of classical neurotransmitters released from embryonal carcinoma stem cells using online microdialysis coupled with hydrophilic interaction chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang, Ya-Bin [Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); Sun, Fan [Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); Teng, Lin [Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); Department of Cardiology and Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, The First College of Clinical Medical Sciences, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443000, Hubei (China); Li, Wen-Bin; An, Shi-Min [Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); Zhang, Chun; Yang, Xin-Jie; Lv, Hao-Yu; Ding, Xu-Ping [Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); Zhu, Liang, E-mail: zhuliang17@gmail.com [Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025 (China); and others

2014-11-07

Highlights: • An online MD-HILIC–MS/MS method for simultaneously measuring the repertoire of classical transmitters was developed and validated. • Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) was successfully employed to online system. • Stable isotope labeled internal standards and authentic matrix have been applied to guarantee reliable results. • The method features simple procedure (no sample preparation), high recovery (≥73%), high accuracy (89.36% ≤ RE ≤ 116.89%), good reproducibility (2.18% ≤ RSD ≤ 14.56%), and sensitive limits of detection (2 pg for acetylcholine, serotonin, and glutamate, 10 pg for dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA, and glycine). - Abstract: Dynamic, continuous, and simultaneous multi-analysis of transmitters is important for the delineation of the complex interactions between the neuronal and intercellular communications. But the analysis of the whole repertoire of classical transmitters of diverse structure is challenging due to their different physico-chemical properties and to their high polarity feature which leads to poor retention in traditional reversed-phase columns during LC–MS analysis. Here, an online microdialysis coupled with hydrophilic interaction chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (online MD-HILIC–MS/MS) detection method was developed for the simultaneous measurement of the repertoire of classical transmitters (acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, glutamate, GABA, and glycine). Stable isotope labeled internal standards and authentic matrix have been applied to guarantee reliable results. The method was successfully employed to reveal the characteristics of transmitter release from embryonal carcinoma stem cells. The method features simple procedure (no sample preparation), high recovery (≥73%), high accuracy (89.36% ≤ RE ≤ 116.89%), good reproducibility (2.18% ≤ RSD ≤ 14.56%), and sensitive limits of detection (2 pg for acetylcholine, serotonin, and glutamate, 10 pg

Systems neuroscience in Drosophila: Conceptual and technical advantages.

Science.gov (United States)

Kazama, H

2015-06-18

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is ideally suited for investigating the neural circuit basis of behavior. Due to the simplicity and genetic tractability of the fly brain, neurons and circuits are identifiable across animals. Additionally, a large set of transgenic lines has been developed with the aim of specifically labeling small subsets of neurons and manipulating them in sophisticated ways. Electrophysiology and imaging can be applied in behaving individuals to examine the computations performed by each neuron, and even the entire population of relevant neurons in a particular region, because of the small size of the brain. Moreover, a rich repertoire of behaviors that can be studied is expanding to include those requiring cognitive abilities. Thus, the fly brain is an attractive system in which to explore both computations and mechanisms underlying behavior at levels spanning from genes through neurons to circuits. This review summarizes the advantages Drosophila offers in achieving this objective. A recent neurophysiology study on olfactory behavior is also introduced to demonstrate the effectiveness of these advantages. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of microstructure on corrosion behavior of Ag-30Cu-27Sn alloy in vitro media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salehisaki, Mehdi; Aryana, Maryam

2014-01-01

Highlights: • High cooling rates decrease the number of Ag intermetallic particles in Cu-rich phase. • Increasing cooling rate improves corrosion behavior of Ag-30Cu-27Sn dental alloy. • Cathode/anode ratio in Cu-rich phases determines the corrosion behavior of alloy. - Abstract: In the present work, three simple heat treatment cycles were used to study the effects of microstructure on electrochemical corrosion behavior of Ag-30Cu-27Sn dental alloy. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements and potentiodynamic polarization tests were carried out to investigate the corrosion behavior of as-cast and heat treated samples in synthetic saliva solution. The presence of intermetallic compounds were studied by X-ray diffraction method (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDAX). The microstructural observations and electrochemical corrosion results revealed that, increasing the cooling rate improves the corrosion behavior of under investigation samples. Improvement of the corrosion behavior is attributed to reducing the area of fine distributed Ag 3 Sn islands in the Cu-rich matrix which decrease the cathode/anode ratio of microgalvanic cells

Emotion regulation, emotional eating and the energy-rich dietary pattern. A population-based study in Chinese adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Qingyun; Tao, Fangbiao; Hou, Fangli; Zhang, Zhaocheng; Ren, Ling-Ling

2016-04-01

Research investigating the influence of emotion regulation (ER) strategies on emotional eating and diet among Chinese adolescents is scarce. The aim of this study was to test associations between two ER strategies (suppression/cognitive reappraisal), emotional eating, and an energy-rich dietary pattern. A total of 4316 adolescents from 10 high schools were surveyed. Dietary patterns were derived using factor analysis. Bivariate correlations were analyzed to examine associations between ER strategies, emotional eating behavior and an energy-rich dietary pattern, by gender. The mediating effect of emotional eating in the relationship between ER and energy-rich food consumption by gender was estimated using structural equation modeling. A higher level of suppression, but no lack of cognitive reappraisal, was associated with emotional eating in boys and girls. A higher level of suppression and lack of cognitive reappraisal were associated with a greater intake of energy-rich foods in girls only. Emotional eating mediated the relationship between a higher level of suppression and a greater intake of energy-rich food in girls. This study revealed significant associations between two ER strategies and an energy-rich dietary pattern in girls, and provided evidence that higher levels of suppression may put girls at risk for emotional eating, potentially affecting the energy-rich dietary pattern. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Wealth Makes Many Friends": Children Expect More Giving From Resource-Rich Than Resource-Poor Individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahl, Richard E; Dunham, Yarrow

2017-08-21

Young children show social preferences for resource-rich individuals, although few studies have explored the causes underlying such preferences. We evaluate the viability of one candidate cause: Children believe that resource wealth relates to behavior, such that they expect the resource rich to be more likely to materially benefit others (including themselves) than the resource poor. In Studies 1 and 2 (ages 4-10), American children from predominantly middle-income families (n = 94) and Indian children from lower income families (n = 30) predicted that the resource rich would be likelier to share with others than the resource poor. In Study 3, American children (n = 66) made similar predictions in an incentivized decision-making task. The possibility that children's expectations regarding giving contribute to prowealth preferences is discussed. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Mechanical properties of simulated Mars materials: gypsum-rich sandstones and lapilli tuff

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Carolyn; Lockner, David; Okubo, Chris

2013-01-01

Observations by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity, and other recent studies on diagenesis in the extensive equatorial layered deposits on Mars, suggest that the likely lithologies of these deposits are gypsum-rich sandstones and tuffaceous sediments (for example, Murchie and others, 2009; Squyres and others, 2012; Zimbelman and Scheidt, 2012). Of particular interest is how the diagenesis history of these sediments (degree of cementation and composition) influences the strength and brittle behavior of the material. For instance, fractures are more common in lower porosity materials under strain, whereas deformation bands, characterized by distributed strain throughout a broader discontinuity in a material, are common in higher porosity sedimentary materials. Such discontinuities can either enhance or restrict fluid flow; hence, failure mode plays an important role in determining the mechanics of fluid migration through sediments (Antonellini and Aydin, 1994; 1995; Taylor and Pollard, 2000; Ogilvie and Glover, 2001). As part of a larger study to characterize processes of fault-controlled fluid flow in volcaniclastic and gypsum-rich sediments on Mars, we have completed a series of laboratory experiments to focus on how gypsum clast content and degree of authigenic cementation affects the strength behavior of simulated Mars rocks. Both axial deformation and hydrostatic pressure tests were done at room temperature under dry conditions.

Influence of environmental enrichment on the behavior and physiology of mice infected by Trypanosoma cruzi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Déborah Maria Moreira da Silva

Full Text Available Abstract INTRODUCTION: Enriched environments normally increase behavioral repertoires and diminish the expression of abnormal behaviors and stress-related physiological problems in animals. Although it has been shown that experimental animals infected with microorganisms can modify their behaviors and physiology, few studies have evaluated how environmental enrichment affects these parameters. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment on the behavior and physiology of confined mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. METHODS: The behaviors of 20 T. cruzi-infected mice and 20 non-infected mice were recorded during three treatments: baseline, enrichment, and post-enrichment. Behavioral data were collected using scan sampling with instantaneous recording of behavior every 30s, totaling 360h. Plasma TNF, CCL2, and IL-10 levels and parasitemia were also evaluated in infected enriched/non-enriched mice. Behavioral data were evaluated by Friedman’s test and physiological data by one-way ANOVA and area under the curve (AUC analysis. RESULTS: Results showed that environmental enrichment significantly increased exploratory behaviors and diminished inactivity. The use of environmental enrichment did not diminish circulating levels of TNF and IL-10 but diminished circulating levels of CCL2 and parasitemia. CONCLUSIONS: Positive behavioral and physiological effects of environmental enrichment were observed in mice living in enriched cages. Thus, environmental enrichment improved the welfare of these animals.

Ignition of alkane-rich FACE gasoline fuels and their surrogate mixtures

KAUST Repository

Sarathy, Mani

2015-01-01

Petroleum derived gasoline is the most used transportation fuel for light-duty vehicles. In order to better understand gasoline combustion, this study investigated the ignition propensity of two alkane-rich FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) gasoline test fuels and their corresponding PRF (primary reference fuel) blend in fundamental combustion experiments. Shock tube ignition delay times were measured in two separate facilities at pressures of 10, 20, and 40 bar, temperatures from 715 to 1500 K, and two equivalence ratios. Rapid compression machine ignition delay times were measured for fuel/air mixtures at pressures of 20 and 40 bar, temperatures from 632 to 745 K, and two equivalence ratios. Detailed hydrocarbon analysis was also performed on the FACE gasoline fuels, and the results were used to formulate multi-component gasoline surrogate mixtures. Detailed chemical kinetic modeling results are presented herein to provide insights into the relevance of utilizing PRF and multi-component surrogate mixtures to reproduce the ignition behavior of the alkane-rich FACE gasoline fuels. The two FACE gasoline fuels and their corresponding PRF mixture displayed similar ignition behavior at intermediate and high temperatures, but differences were observed at low temperatures. These trends were mimicked by corresponding surrogate mixture models, except for the amount of heat release in the first stage of a two-stage ignition events, when observed. © 2014 The Combustion Institute.

Caseworker Behavior and Clients' Employability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weatherall, Cecilie Dohlmann; Markwardt, Kristoffer

experience, economic environment, and rules and restrictions with respect to active labor market policies. A few studies show that organizational structures and managerial organization within the unemployment offices also influence the employability of unemployed clients. But until now, no studies have...... empirically looked at the link between caseworker behavior and clients’ employability. A very rich survey dataset on caseworker behavior combined with informative panel data on the caseworker’s client—the unemployed—makes it possible to study the link between caseworker behavior and clients’ job possibilities....... Results show that there is a relationship between caseworker behavior and employment among the unemployed. Especially the employability among the insured unemployed is related to the concepts of coping, and professional distance....

Mouse lysozyme-M knockout mice reveal how the self-determinant hierarchy shapes the T cell repertoire against this circulating self antigen in wild-type mice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sinha, Pratima; Chi, Howard H.; Kim, Hong R.; Clausen, Björn E.; Pederson, Brian; Sercarz, Eli E.; Forster, Irmgard; Moudgil, Kamal D.

2004-01-01

We have studied T cell tolerance to defined determinants within ML-M using wild-type (WT; ML-M+/+) and LysMcre (ML-M-/-) C3H (H-2(k)) mice to determine the relative contribution of ML-M-derived epitopes vs those from other self Ags in selection of the ML-M-specific T cell repertoire. ML-M was

Kings Today, Rich Tomorrow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fattoum, Asma

2013-01-01

This study investigates the King vs. Rich dilemma that founder-CEOs face at IPO. When undertaking IPO, founders face two options. They can either get rich, but then run the risk of losing the control over their firms; or they can remain kings by introducing defensive mechanisms, but this is likel...

Dietary safety assessment of genetically modified rice EH rich in β-carotene.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yangyang; Xu, Yan; Du, Yanan; Zhao, Xiao; Hu, Ruili; Fan, Xiaorui; Ren, Fangfang; Yao, Quanhong; Peng, Rihe; Tang, Xueming; Zhao, Kai

2017-08-01

This 90-day study aimed to assess the dietary safety of transgenic rice EH which is rich in β-carotene. Two experimental groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 45% rice flour of Zhonghua 11 rice and transgenic rice EH rich in β-carotene, respectively. The reference group was fed a diet containing standard feed nutrition. During the trial period, each rat was weighed and the food intake was recorded twice a week. Their behaviors were observed daily. In the end, blood samples were obtained from all anesthetized rats to measure the hematologic and serum chemistry indicators. Growth performance, anatomy and pathology of all organs in each group were analyzed. Although a few parameters were found to be statistically significantly different across groups, they were within the normal reference range for this breed and age of rats. Therefore, the changes were not considered to be diet related. The results revealed that the transgenic rice EH rich in β-carotene was as nutritious as Zhonghua 11 rice and showed a lack of biologically meaningful unintended effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The behavioral economics of consumer brand choice: patterns of reinforcement and utility maximization.

Science.gov (United States)

Foxall, Gordon R; Oliveira-Castro, Jorge M; Schrezenmaier, Teresa C

2004-06-30

Purchasers of fast-moving consumer goods generally exhibit multi-brand choice, selecting apparently randomly among a small subset or "repertoire" of tried and trusted brands. Their behavior shows both matching and maximization, though it is not clear just what the majority of buyers are maximizing. Each brand attracts, however, a small percentage of consumers who are 100%-loyal to it during the period of observation. Some of these are exclusively buyers of premium-priced brands who are presumably maximizing informational reinforcement because their demand for the brand is relatively price-insensitive or inelastic. Others buy exclusively the cheapest brands available and can be assumed to maximize utilitarian reinforcement since their behavior is particularly price-sensitive or elastic. Between them are the majority of consumers whose multi-brand buying takes the form of selecting a mixture of economy -- and premium-priced brands. Based on the analysis of buying patterns of 80 consumers for 9 product categories, the paper examines the continuum of consumers so defined and seeks to relate their buying behavior to the question of how and what consumers maximize.

Research Dilemmas with Behavioral Big Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Shmueli, Galit

2017-06-01

Behavioral big data (BBD) refers to very large and rich multidimensional data sets on human and social behaviors, actions, and interactions, which have become available to companies, governments, and researchers. A growing number of researchers in social science and management fields acquire and analyze BBD for the purpose of extracting knowledge and scientific discoveries. However, the relationships between the researcher, data, subjects, and research questions differ in the BBD context compared to traditional behavioral data. Behavioral researchers using BBD face not only methodological and technical challenges but also ethical and moral dilemmas. In this article, we discuss several dilemmas, challenges, and trade-offs related to acquiring and analyzing BBD for causal behavioral research.

T-cell receptor repertoire of human peripheral CD161hiTRAV1-2+ MAIT cells revealed by next generation sequencing and single cell analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Held, Kathrin; Beltrán, Eduardo; Moser, Markus; Hohlfeld, Reinhard; Dornmair, Klaus

2015-09-01

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are a T-cell subset that expresses a conserved TRAV1-2 (Vα7.2) T-cell receptor (TCR) chain and the surface marker CD161. They are involved in the defence against microbes as they recognise small organic molecules of microbial origin that are presented by the non-classical MHC molecule 1 (MR1). MAIT cells express a semi-restricted TCR α chain with TRAV1-2 preferentially linked to TRAJ33, TRAJ12, or TRAJ20 which pairs with a limited set of β chains. To investigate the TCR repertoire of human CD161(hi)TRAV1-2(+) T cells in depth we analysed the α and β chains of this T-cell subset by next generation sequencing. Concomitantly we analysed 132 paired α and β chains from single cells to assess the αβ pairing preferences. We found that the CD161(hi)TRAV1-2(+) TCR repertoire in addition to the typical MAIT TCRs further contains polyclonal elements reminiscent of classical αβ T cells. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developments on RICH detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besson, P.; Bourgeois, P.

1996-01-01

The RICH (ring imaging Cherenkov) detector which is dedicated to Cherenkov radiation detection is described. An improvement made by replacing photo sensible vapor with solid photocathode is studied. A RICH detector prototype with a CsI photocathode has been built in Saclay and used with Saturne. The first results are presented. (A.C.)

Robust Optical Richness Estimation with Reduced Scatter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rykoff, E.S.; /LBL, Berkeley; Koester, B.P.; /Chicago U. /Chicago U., KICP; Rozo, E.; /Chicago U. /Chicago U., KICP; Annis, J.; /Fermilab; Evrard, A.E.; /Michigan U. /Michigan U., MCTP; Hansen, S.M.; /Lick Observ.; Hao, J.; /Fermilab; Johnston, D.E.; /Fermilab; McKay, T.A.; /Michigan U. /Michigan U., MCTP; Wechsler, R.H.; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /SLAC

2012-06-07

Reducing the scatter between cluster mass and optical richness is a key goal for cluster cosmology from photometric catalogs. We consider various modifications to the red-sequence matched filter richness estimator of Rozo et al. (2009b), and evaluate their impact on the scatter in X-ray luminosity at fixed richness. Most significantly, we find that deeper luminosity cuts can reduce the recovered scatter, finding that {sigma}{sub ln L{sub X}|{lambda}} = 0.63 {+-} 0.02 for clusters with M{sub 500c} {approx}> 1.6 x 10{sup 14} h{sub 70}{sup -1} M{sub {circle_dot}}. The corresponding scatter in mass at fixed richness is {sigma}{sub ln M|{lambda}} {approx} 0.2-0.3 depending on the richness, comparable to that for total X-ray luminosity. We find that including blue galaxies in the richness estimate increases the scatter, as does weighting galaxies by their optical luminosity. We further demonstrate that our richness estimator is very robust. Specifically, the filter employed when estimating richness can be calibrated directly from the data, without requiring a-priori calibrations of the red-sequence. We also demonstrate that the recovered richness is robust to up to 50% uncertainties in the galaxy background, as well as to the choice of photometric filter employed, so long as the filters span the 4000 {angstrom} break of red-sequence galaxies. Consequently, our richness estimator can be used to compare richness estimates of different clusters, even if they do not share the same photometric data. Appendix A includes 'easy-bake' instructions for implementing our optimal richness estimator, and we are releasing an implementation of the code that works with SDSS data, as well as an augmented maxBCG catalog with the {lambda} richness measured for each cluster.

An Expressive Bodily Movement Repertoire for Marimba Performance, Revealed through Observers' Laban Effort-Shape Analyses, and Allied Musical Features: Two Case Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Broughton, Mary C.; Davidson, Jane W.

2016-01-01

Musicians' expressive bodily movements can influence observers' perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers' music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies—one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers' perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players' bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the types and locations of actions

An expressive bodily movement repertoire for marimba performance, revealed through observers’ Laban effort-shape analyses, and allied musical features: two case studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary C Broughton

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Musicians’ expressive bodily movements can influence observers’ perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers’ music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies – one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers’ perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players’ bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the

An Expressive Bodily Movement Repertoire for Marimba Performance, Revealed through Observers' Laban Effort-Shape Analyses, and Allied Musical Features: Two Case Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Broughton, Mary C; Davidson, Jane W

2016-01-01

Musicians' expressive bodily movements can influence observers' perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers' music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies-one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers' perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players' bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the types and locations of actions

Performance of two honey bee subspecies during harsh weather and Acacia gerrardii nectar-rich flow

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Awad Mohamed Awad

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Both climatic factors and bee forage characteristics affect the population size and productivity of honey bee colonies. To our knowledge, no scientific investigation has as yet considered the potential effect of nectar-rich bee forage exposed to drastic subtropical weather conditions on the performance of honey bee colonies. This study investigated the performance of the honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera jemenitica Ruttner (Yemeni and Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann (Carniolan in weather that was hot and dry and in an environment of nectar-rich flora. The brood production, food storage, bee population and honey yield of Yemeni (native and Carniolan (imported colonies on Talh trees (Acacia gerrardii Benth., a nectar-rich, subtropical, and summer bee forage source in Central Arabia were evaluated. Owing to their structural and behavioral adaptations, the Yemeni bees constructed stronger (high population size colonies than the Carniolan bees. Although both groups yielded similar amounts of Talh honey, the Yemeni bees consumed their stored honey rapidly if not timely harvested. A. m. jemenitica has a higher performance than A. m. carnica during extremely hot-dry conditions and A. gerrardii nectar-rich flow.

Somatic hypermutation of the new antigen receptor gene (NAR) in the nurse shark does not generate the repertoire: possible role in antigen-driven reactions in the absence of germinal centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz, M; Greenberg, A S; Flajnik, M F

1998-11-24

The new antigen receptor (NAR) gene in the nurse shark diversifies extensively by somatic hypermutation. It is not known, however, whether NAR somatic hypermutation generates the primary repertoire (like in the sheep) or rather is used in antigen-driven immune responses. To address this issue, the sequences of NAR transmembrane (Tm) and secretory (Sec) forms, presumed to represent the primary and secondary repertoires, respectively, were examined from the peripheral blood lymphocytes of three adult nurse sharks. More than 40% of the Sec clones but fewer than 11% of Tm clones contained five mutations or more. Furthermore, more than 75% of the Tm clones had few or no mutations. Mutations in the Sec clones occurred mostly in the complementarity-determining regions (CDR) with a significant bias toward replacement substitutions in CDR1; in Tm clones there was no significant bias toward replacements and only a low level of targeting to the CDRs. Unlike the Tm clones where the replacement mutational pattern was similar to that seen for synonymous changes, Sec replacements displayed a distinct pattern of mutations. The types of mutations in NAR were similar to those found in mouse Ig genes rather than to the unusual pattern reported for shark and Xenopus Ig. Finally, an oligoclonal family of Sec clones revealed a striking trend toward acquisition of glutamic/aspartic acid, suggesting some degree of selection. These data strongly suggest that hypermutation of NAR does not generate the repertoire, but instead is involved in antigen-driven immune responses.

Conservation and Biodiversity of Rich Fens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Dagmar Kappel

2014-01-01

Rich fen is a habitat type dependent on a constant supply of nutrient poor, calcium rich groundwater. A high, stable groundwater table, relatively high pH combined with nutrient poor conditions support a special and very species rich vegetation including many rare and threatened plant species. In...

Down-regulation of honey bee IRS gene biases behavior toward food rich in protein.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Wang

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Food choice and eating behavior affect health and longevity. Large-scale research efforts aim to understand the molecular and social/behavioral mechanisms of energy homeostasis, body weight, and food intake. Honey bees (Apis mellifera could provide a model for these studies since individuals vary in food-related behavior and social factors can be controlled. Here, we examine a potential role of peripheral insulin receptor substrate (IRS expression in honey bee foraging behavior. IRS is central to cellular nutrient sensing through transduction of insulin/insulin-like signals (IIS. By reducing peripheral IRS gene expression and IRS protein amount with the use of RNA interference (RNAi, we demonstrate that IRS influences foraging choice in two standard strains selected for different food-hoarding behavior. Compared with controls, IRS knockdowns bias their foraging effort toward protein (pollen rather than toward carbohydrate (nectar sources. Through control experiments, we establish that IRS does not influence the bees' sucrose sensory response, a modality that is generally associated with food-related behavior and specifically correlated with the foraging preference of honey bees. These results reveal a new affector pathway of honey bee social foraging, and suggest that IRS expressed in peripheral tissue can modulate an insect's foraging choice between protein and carbohydrate sources.

Is torrefaction of polysaccharides-rich biomass equivalent to carbonization of lignin-rich biomass?

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Bilgic, E; Yaman, S; Haykiri-Acma, H; Kucukbayrak, S

2016-01-01

Waste biomass species such as lignin-rich hazelnut shell (HS) and polysaccharides-rich sunflower seed shell (SSS) were subjected to torrefaction at 300°C and carbonization at 600°C under nitrogen. The structural variations in torrefied and carbonized biomasses were compared. Also, the burning characteristics under dry air and pure oxygen (oxy-combustion) conditions were investigated. It was concluded that the effects of carbonization on HS are almost comparable with the effects of torrefaction on SSS in terms of devolatilization and deoxygenation potentials and the increases in carbon content and the heating value. Consequently, it can be proposed that torrefaction does not provide efficient devolatilization from the lignin-rich biomass while it is relatively more efficient for polysaccharides-rich biomass. Heat-induced variations in biomass led to significant changes in the burning characteristics under both burning conditions. That is, low temperature reactivity of biomass reduced considerably and the burning shifted to higher temperatures with very high burning rates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dopamine antagonists during parturition disrupt maternal care and the retention of maternal behavior in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Byrnes, Elizabeth M; Rigero, Beth A; Bridges, Robert S

2002-11-01

Brief contact with pups at parturition enables the female rat to establish and retain the full repertoire of maternal behaviors, allowing her to respond rapidly to pups in the future. To determine whether the dopamine system is involved in the retention of maternal behavior, females were continuously infused with dopamine antagonists during the periparturitional period and then allowed either a brief interaction period with pups (3 h) or no interaction with pups (pups removed as they were born). Females were exposed to either the D1-like antagonist SCH 23390 (0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg/day) or the D2-like antagonist clebopride (0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg/day). The high dose of either DA antagonist resulted in significant attenuation of maternal care immediately postpartum. When tested for the retention of maternal behavior 7 days later, however, only the females exposed to the D2 antagonist displayed a delayed response to shown full maternal behavior (FMB) towards donor pups. Thus, while both dopamine receptor subtypes appear necessary for the full and rapid expression of maternal behavior during the early postpartum period, only the D2 receptor subtype appears to be involved in the retention of this behavior.

Viral Richness is Positively Related to Group Size, but Not Mating System, in Bats.

Science.gov (United States)

Webber, Quinn M R; Fletcher, Quinn E; Willis, Craig K R

2017-12-01

Characterizing host traits that influence viral richness and diversification is important for understanding wildlife pathogens affecting conservation and/or human health. Behaviors that affect contact rates among hosts could be important for viral diversification because more frequent intra- and inter-specific contacts among hosts should increase the potential for viral diversification within host populations. We used published data on bats to test the contact-rate hypothesis. We predicted that species forming large conspecific groups, that share their range with more heterospecifics (i.e., sympatry), and with mating systems characterized by high contact rates (polygynandry: multi-male/multi-female), would host higher viral richness than species with small group sizes, lower sympatry, or low contact-rate mating systems (polygyny: single male/multi-female). Consistent with our hypothesis and previous research, viral richness was positively correlated with conspecific group size although the relationship plateaued at group sizes of approximately several hundred thousand bats. This pattern supports epidemiological theory that, up to a point, larger groups have higher contact rates, greater likelihood of acquiring and transmitting viruses, and ultimately greater potential for viral diversification. However, contrary to our hypothesis, there was no effect of sympatry on viral richness and no difference in viral richness between mating systems. We also found no residual effect of host phylogeny on viral richness, suggesting that closely related species do not necessarily host similar numbers of viruses. Our results support the contact-rate hypothesis that intra-specific viral transmission can enhance viral diversification within species and highlight the influence of host group size on the potential of viruses to propagate within host populations.

The normally expressed kappa immunoglobulin light chain gene repertoire and somatic mutations studied by single-sided specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR); frequent occurrence of features often assigned to autoimmunity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juul, L; Hougs, L; Andersen, V

1997-01-01

The expressed human kappa light chain gene repertoire utilized by healthy individuals was studied by two different single-sided specific PCR techniques to avoid bias for certain V genes. A total of 103 rearranged kappa sequences from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy individuals were...

Adaptive Reactive Rich Internet Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Kay-Uwe; Stühmer, Roland; Dörflinger, Jörg; Rahmani, Tirdad; Thomas, Susan; Stojanovic, Ljiljana

Rich Internet Applications significantly raise the user experience compared with legacy page-based Web applications because of their highly responsive user interfaces. Although this is a tremendous advance, it does not solve the problem of the one-size-fits-all approach1 of current Web applications. So although Rich Internet Applications put the user in a position to interact seamlessly with the Web application, they do not adapt to the context in which the user is currently working. In this paper we address the on-the-fly personalization of Rich Internet Applications. We introduce the concept of ARRIAs: Adaptive Reactive Rich Internet Applications and elaborate on how they are able to adapt to the current working context the user is engaged in. An architecture for the ad hoc adaptation of Rich Internet Applications is presented as well as a holistic framework and tools for the realization of our on-the-fly personalization approach. We divided both the architecture and the framework into two levels: offline/design-time and online/run-time. For design-time we explain how to use ontologies in order to annotate Rich Internet Applications and how to use these annotations for conceptual Web usage mining. Furthermore, we describe how to create client-side executable rules from the semantic data mining results. We present our declarative lightweight rule language tailored to the needs of being executed directly on the client. Because of the event-driven nature of the user interfaces of Rich Internet Applications, we designed a lightweight rule language based on the event-condition-action paradigm.2 At run-time the interactions of a user are tracked directly on the client and in real-time a user model is built up. The user model then acts as input to and is evaluated by our client-side complex event processing and rule engine.

Local Chromatin Features Including PU.1 and IKAROS Binding and H3K4 Methylation Shape the Repertoire of Immunoglobulin Kappa Genes Chosen for V(DJ Recombination

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Louise S. Matheson

2017-11-01

Full Text Available V(DJ recombination is essential for the generation of diverse antigen receptor (AgR repertoires. In B cells, immunoglobulin kappa (Igκ light chain recombination follows immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh recombination. We recently developed the DNA-based VDJ-seq assay for the unbiased quantitation of Igh VH and DH repertoires. Integration of VDJ-seq data with genome-wide datasets revealed that two chromatin states at the recombination signal sequence (RSS of VH genes are highly predictive of recombination in mouse pro-B cells. It is unknown whether local chromatin states contribute to Vκ gene choice during Igκ recombination. Here we adapt VDJ-seq to profile the Igκ VκJκ repertoire and present a comprehensive readout in mouse pre-B cells, revealing highly variable Vκ gene usage. Integration with genome-wide datasets for histone modifications, DNase hypersensitivity, transcription factor binding and germline transcription identified PU.1 binding at the RSS, which was unimportant for Igh, as highly predictive of whether a Vκ gene will recombine or not, suggesting that it plays a binary, all-or-nothing role, priming genes for recombination. Thereafter, the frequency with which these genes recombine was shaped both by the presence and level of enrichment of several other chromatin features, including H3K4 methylation and IKAROS binding. Moreover, in contrast to the Igh locus, the chromatin landscape of the promoter, as well as of the RSS, contributes to Vκ gene recombination. Thus, multiple facets of local chromatin features explain much of the variation in Vκ gene usage. Together, these findings reveal shared and divergent roles for epigenetic features and transcription factors in AgR V(DJ recombination and provide avenues for further investigation of chromatin signatures that may underpin V(DJ-mediated chromosomal translocations.

Research: Rags to Rags? Riches to Riches?

Science.gov (United States)

Bracey, Gerald W.

2004-01-01

Everyone has read about what might be called the "gold gap"--how the rich in this country are getting richer and controlling an ever-larger share of the nation's wealth. The Century Foundation has started publishing "Reality Check", a series of guides to campaign issues that sometimes finds gaps in these types of cherished delusions. The guides…

Behavior studies of natural uranium radioactive families descendants in organic rich sediments: the sapropels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gourgiotis, A.

2008-06-01

The element uranium with the particular oxido-reducing properties is often associated with environments rich in organic matter; this is why several authors have proposed to use it as tracer of paleo-productivity in marine sediments. This work describes the distribution of the uranium natural families' radionuclides in organic rich Mediterranean sediments: the sapropels. Several techniques of measurements were used such as mass spectrometry (TIMS, ICP-QMS), alpha and gamma spectrometry. Activity ratios 234 U/ 238 U as well as the ages U-Th of the sapropels present irregular profiles which do not correspond to the assumptions which had been made to explain their formation. Using an 1D diffusion model we have showed that these profiles result from the migration of the radionuclides out of the sapropels. We validated these observations by analyzing several levels of sapropels presenting a spatio-temporal variability. Our study confirms the migration of radiogenic uranium 234 U rad , which is produced in situ by his father the 238 U, as well as the migration of the 226 Ra. However the mobility of radiogenic uranium ( 234 U rad ) is not sufficient to explain the drift of the 230 Th/ 238 U and 231 Pa/ 235 U activity ratios in the S5 sapropel. An important result is that authigenic uranium also migrates, but with lower effective diffusion coefficients than those of the 234 U rad . Because of this mobility, the use of U authigenic of the sediments as an indicator of paleo-productivity must thus be used with precaution. (author)

The artiodactyl APOBEC3 innate immune repertoire shows evidence for a multi-functional domain organization that existed in the ancestor of placental mammals

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Andrésdóttir Valgerdur

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background APOBEC3 (A3 proteins deaminate DNA cytosines and block the replication of retroviruses and retrotransposons. Each A3 gene encodes a protein with one or two conserved zinc-coordinating motifs (Z1, Z2 or Z3. The presence of one A3 gene in mice (Z2–Z3 and seven in humans, A3A-H (Z1a, Z2a-Z1b, Z2b, Z2c-Z2d, Z2e-Z2f, Z2g-Z1c, Z3, suggests extraordinary evolutionary flexibility. To gain insights into the mechanism and timing of A3 gene expansion and into the functional modularity of these genes, we analyzed the genomic sequences, expressed cDNAs and activities of the full A3 repertoire of three artiodactyl lineages: sheep, cattle and pigs. Results Sheep and cattle have three A3 genes, A3Z1, A3Z2 and A3Z3, whereas pigs only have two, A3Z2 and A3Z3. A comparison between domestic and wild pigs indicated that A3Z1 was deleted in the pig lineage. In all three species, read-through transcription and alternative splicing also produced a catalytically active double domain A3Z2-Z3 protein that had a distinct cytoplasmic localization. Thus, the three A3 genes of sheep and cattle encode four conserved and active proteins. These data, together with phylogenetic analyses, indicated that a similar, functionally modular A3 repertoire existed in the common ancestor of artiodactyls and primates (i.e., the ancestor of placental mammals. This mammalian ancestor therefore possessed the minimal A3 gene set, Z1-Z2-Z3, required to evolve through a remarkable series of eight recombination events into the present day eleven Z domain human repertoire. Conclusion The dynamic recombination-filled history of the mammalian A3 genes is consistent with the modular nature of the locus and a model in which most of these events (especially the expansions were selected by ancient pathogenic retrovirus infections.

Essential fatty acid-rich diets protect against striatal oxidative damage induced by quinolinic acid in rats.

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Morales-Martínez, Adriana; Sánchez-Mendoza, Alicia; Martínez-Lazcano, Juan Carlos; Pineda-Farías, Jorge Baruch; Montes, Sergio; El-Hafidi, Mohammed; Martínez-Gopar, Pablo Eliasib; Tristán-López, Luis; Pérez-Neri, Iván; Zamorano-Carrillo, Absalom; Castro, Nelly; Ríos, Camilo; Pérez-Severiano, Francisca

2017-09-01

Essential fatty acids have an important effect on oxidative stress-related diseases. The Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurologic disorder in which oxidative stress caused by free radicals is an important damage mechanism. The HD experimental model induced by quinolinic acid (QUIN) has been widely used to evaluate therapeutic effects of antioxidant compounds. The aim of this study was to test whether the fatty acid content in olive- or fish-oil-rich diet prevents against QUIN-related oxidative damage in rats. Rats were fed during 20 days with an olive- or a fish-oil-rich diet (15% w/w). Posterior to diet period, rats were striatally microinjected with QUIN (240 nmol/µl) or saline solution. Then, we evaluated the neurological damage, oxidative status, and gamma isoform of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ) expression. Results showed that fatty acid-rich diet, mainly by fish oil, reduced circling behavior, prevented the fall in GABA levels, increased PPARγ expression, and prevented oxidative damage in striatal tissue. In addition none of the enriched diets exerted changes neither on triglycerides or cholesterol blood levels, nor or hepatic function. This study suggests that olive- and fish-oil-rich diets exert neuroprotective effects.

Rats that binge eat fat-rich food do not show somatic signs or anxiety associated with opiate-like withdrawal: implications for nutrient-specific food addiction behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bocarsly, Miriam E; Berner, Laura A; Hoebel, Bartley G; Avena, Nicole M

2011-10-24

Previous studies suggest that binge eating sugar leads to behavioral and neurochemical changes similar to those seen with drug addiction, including signs of opiate-like withdrawal. Studies are emerging that show multiple neurochemical and behavioral indices of addiction when animals overeat a fat-rich diet. The goal of the present study was to utilize liquid and solid diets high in sugar and fat content to determine whether opiate-like withdrawal is seen after binge consumption of these diets in Sprague-Dawley rats. Control groups were given ad libitum access to the sweet-fat food or standard chow. All rats were then given a battery of tests to measure signs of opiate-like withdrawal, which included somatic signs of distress, elevated plus-maze anxiety, and locomotor hypoactivity. Neither naloxone-precipitated (3 mg/kg) nor deprivation-induced withdrawal was observed in rats that were maintained on a nutritionally complete pelleted sweet-fat diet or a sweet, high-fat diet supplemented with standard rodent chow. Naloxone-precipitated withdrawal was also not seen in rats fed a liquid sweet-fat food. Further, body weight reduction to 85%, which is known to potentiate the reinforcing effects of substances of abuse, did not affect naloxone-precipitated signs of opiate-like withdrawal. Thus, unlike previous findings reported regarding rats with binge access to a sucrose solution, rats that binge eat sweet-fat combinations do not show signs of opiate-like withdrawal under the conditions tested. These data support the idea that excessive consumption of different nutrients can induce behaviors associated with addiction in different ways, and that the behaviors that could characterize "food addiction" may be subtyped based on the nutritional composition of the food consumed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human Non-linguistic Vocal Repertoire: Call Types and Their Meaning.

Science.gov (United States)

Anikin, Andrey; Bååth, Rasmus; Persson, Tomas

2018-01-01

Recent research on human nonverbal vocalizations has led to considerable progress in our understanding of vocal communication of emotion. However, in contrast to studies of animal vocalizations, this research has focused mainly on the emotional interpretation of such signals. The repertoire of human nonverbal vocalizations as acoustic types, and the mapping between acoustic and emotional categories, thus remain underexplored. In a cross-linguistic naming task (Experiment 1), verbal categorization of 132 authentic (non-acted) human vocalizations by English-, Swedish- and Russian-speaking participants revealed the same major acoustic types: laugh, cry, scream, moan, and possibly roar and sigh. The association between call type and perceived emotion was systematic but non-redundant: listeners associated every call type with a limited, but in some cases relatively wide, range of emotions. The speed and consistency of naming the call type predicted the speed and consistency of inferring the caller's emotion, suggesting that acoustic and emotional categorizations are closely related. However, participants preferred to name the call type before naming the emotion. Furthermore, nonverbal categorization of the same stimuli in a triad classification task (Experiment 2) was more compatible with classification by call type than by emotion, indicating the former's greater perceptual salience. These results suggest that acoustic categorization may precede attribution of emotion, highlighting the need to distinguish between the overt form of nonverbal signals and their interpretation by the perceiver. Both within- and between-call acoustic variation can then be modeled explicitly, bringing research on human nonverbal vocalizations more in line with the work on animal communication.

Analysis of the clonal repertoire of gene-corrected cells in gene therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Paruzynski, Anna; Glimm, Hanno; Schmidt, Manfred; Kalle, Christof von

2012-01-01

Gene therapy-based clinical phase I/II studies using integrating retroviral vectors could successfully treat different monogenetic inherited diseases. However, with increased efficiency of this therapy, severe side effects occurred in various gene therapy trials. In all cases, integration of the vector close to or within a proto-oncogene contributed substantially to the development of the malignancies. Thus, the in-depth analysis of integration site patterns is of high importance to uncover potential clonal outgrowth and to assess the safety of gene transfer vectors and gene therapy protocols. The standard and nonrestrictive linear amplification-mediated PCR (nrLAM-PCR) in combination with high-throughput sequencing exhibits technologies that allow to comprehensively analyze the clonal repertoire of gene-corrected cells and to assess the safety of the used vector system at an early stage on the molecular level. It enables clarifying the biological consequences of the vector system on the fate of the transduced cell. Furthermore, the downstream performance of real-time PCR allows a quantitative estimation of the clonality of individual cells and their clonal progeny. Here, we present a guideline that should allow researchers to perform comprehensive integration site analysis in preclinical and clinical studies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Polysaccharide rich fractions from barks of Ximenia americana inhibit peripheral inflammatory nociception in mice Antinociceptive effect of Ximenia americana polysaccharide rich fractions

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Kaira E.S. da Silva-Leite

Full Text Available Abstract Ximenia americana L., Olacaceae, barks are utilized in folk medicine as analgesic and anti-inflammatory. The objective was to evaluate the toxicity and antinociceptive effect of polysaccharides rich fractions from X. americana barks. The fractions were obtained by extraction with NaOH, followed by precipitation with ethanol and fractionation by ion exchange chromatography. They were administered i.v. or p.o. before nociception tests (writhing, formalin, carragenan-induced hypernociception, hot plate, or during 14 days for toxicity assay. The total polysaccharides fraction (TPL-Xa: 8.1% yield presented 43% carbohydrate (21% uronic acid and resulted in two main fractions after chromatography (FI: 12%, FII: 22% yield. FII showed better homogeneity/purity, content of 44% carbohydrate, including 39% uronic acid, arabinose and galactose as major monosaccharides, and infrared spectra with peaks in carbohydrate range for COO- groups of uronic acid. TPL-Xa (10 mg/kg and FII (0.1 and 1 mg/kg presented inhibitory effect in behavior tests that evaluate nociception induced by chemical and mechanical, but not thermal stimuli. TPL-Xa did not alter parameters of systemic toxicity. In conclusion, polysaccharides rich fractions of X. americana barks inhibit peripheral inflammatory nociception, being well tolerated by animals.

Mixed Media Richness and Computer-Mediated Communications

OpenAIRE

Atkins, Anthony B.

2006-01-01

Mixed richness communications occur when a participant in a conversation receives a different media or combination of media than they transmit. Mixed richness communications occur in the workplace when technical, physiological or practical limitations prevent the use of the same media on both ends of a conversation. Prior research in CMC has focused on same-richness communications, and the design guidelines that are available for same-richness communications may not be applicable to mixed-r...

Odd-even parity splittings and octupole correlations in neutron-rich Ba isotopes

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Y.; Wang, H.; Wang, L.-J.; Yao, J. M.

2018-02-01

The odd-even parity splittings in low-lying parity-doublet states of atomic nuclei with octupole correlations have usually been interpreted as rotational excitations on top of octupole vibration in the language of collective models. In this paper, we report a deep analysis of the odd-even parity splittings in the parity-doublet states of neutron-rich Ba isotopes around neutron number N =88 within a full microscopic framework of beyond-mean-field multireference covariant energy density functional theory. The dynamical correlations related to symmetry restoration and quadrupole-octupole shape fluctuation are taken into account with a generator coordinate method combined with parity, particle-number, and angular-momentum projections. We show that the behavior of odd-even parity splittings is governed by the interplay of rotation, quantum tunneling, and shape evolution. Similar to 224Ra, a picture of rotation-induced octupole shape stabilization in the positive-parity states is exhibited in the neutron-rich Ba isotopes.

Species richness, area and climate correlates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nogues, David Bravo; Bastos Araujo, Miguel

2006-01-01

affects: (1) the selection of climate variables entering a species richness model; and (2) the accuracy of models in predicting species richness in unsampled grid cells. Location Western Europe. Methods Models are developed for European plant, breeding bird, mammal and herptile species richness using...... seven climate variables. Generalized additive models are used to relate species richness, climate and area. Results We found that variation in the grid cell area was large (50 × 50 km: 8-3311 km2; 220 × 220: 193-55,100 km2), but this did not affect the selection of variables in the models. Similarly...... support the assumption that variation in near-equal area cells may be of second-order importance for models explaining or predicting species richness in relation to climate, although there is a possibility that drops in accuracy might increase with grid cell size. The results are, however, contingent...

Continuous acoustic studies of overwintering sprat Sprattus sprattus reveal flexible behavior

KAUST Repository

Solberg, I

2012-09-19

The clupeid fish Sprattus sprattus was studied in a 150 m deep Norwegian fjord throughout an entire overwintering period during which the fjord froze over and a major water renewal occurred. A bottom-mounted (upward-facing) echosounder provided continuous high-resolution data and enabled studies of swimming speed and behavior of individual sprat in addition to population behavior. The continuous acoustic studies were supplemented with intermittent field campaigns. The sprat displayed different behavioral modes with changing environmental conditions. During the first part of the winter, the majority of the population occurred in deep waters during both day and night, yet exhibited a shallower night-time distribution. Individual sprat swam alternately up and down, a ‘rise and sink’ behavior likely a compensation for negative buoyancy because of swim bladder compression. Because feeding was negligible in deep waters, the swimming pattern was not inferred as prey search behavior. Another part of the population schooled at shallower depths during the day and carried out vertical migration to upper waters at night. However, individuals were observed as they switched between these behavioral groups. A sudden change in both swimming behavior and vertical distribution occurred as the fjord became ice covered. Near-bottom ‘rise and sink’ swimming was replaced by schooling in mid-water during the day, and the sprat aggregated in dense layers near the surface at night. We suggest that the ice made the sprat shift their antipredator strategy from hiding at depth to hiding in schools in the darker waters below the ice. This long-term acoustic study has shown that sprat have a flexible behavioral repertoire, displaying different overwintering strategies within a population, depending on environmental conditions.

Generation of Novel Traj18-Deficient Mice Lacking Vα14 Natural Killer T Cells with an Undisturbed T Cell Receptor α-Chain Repertoire.

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Nyambayar Dashtsoodol

Full Text Available Invariant Vα14 natural killer T (NKT cells, characterized by the expression of a single invariant T cell receptor (TCR α chain encoded by rearranged Trav11 (Vα14-Traj18 (Jα18 gene segments in mice, and TRAV10 (Vα24-TRAJ18 (Jα18 in humans, mediate adjuvant effects to activate various effector cell types in both innate and adaptive immune systems that facilitates the potent antitumor effects. It was recently reported that the Jα18-deficient mouse described by our group in 1997 harbors perturbed TCRα repertoire, which raised concerns regarding the validity of some of the experimental conclusions that have been made using this mouse line. To resolve this concern, we generated a novel Traj18-deficient mouse line by specifically targeting the Traj18 gene segment using Cre-Lox approach. Here we showed the newly generated Traj18-deficient mouse has, apart from the absence of Traj18, an undisturbed TCRα chain repertoire by using next generation sequencing and by detecting normal generation of Vα19Jα33 expressing mucosal associated invariant T cells, whose development was abrogated in the originally described Jα18-KO mice. We also demonstrated here the definitive requirement for NKT cells in the protection against tumors and their potent adjuvant effects on antigen-specific CD8 T cells.

Bread, milk and a Tattslotto ticket: the interpretive repertoires of young adult gambling in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Nekich, Maree Ann; Ohtsuka, Keis

2016-01-01

The discourse of Australian young adults who gamble regularly was analysed to explore key dilemmas and challenges of a generation who grew up with the positive and negative impacts of gambling advertisements. Qualitative interviews of seven young recreational gamblers who regularly frequent gaming machine venues were conducted. The discourse that they used to describe their gambling involvement, motivation, development and subjective views were analysed and three central repertoires: 'Culture not self,' 'If it makes you happy,' and 'No problem here!' were identified. The current findings demonstrate the participants' attempts to understand and legitimise their gambling. Further, it was suggested that young adults face a series of dilemmas when deciding whether to gamble and to what extent they gamble. Their discourse highlights the tension between individual agency, societal expectations and familial influence. The respondents primarily gambled for social reasons in a manner which they perceived as culturally acceptable. The importance of harm minimization and public awareness campaigns directed at young adults was also discussed.

The neutrino opacity of neutron rich matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alcain, P.N., E-mail: pabloalcain@gmail.com [Departamento de Física, FCEyN, UBA and IFIBA, Conicet, Pabellón 1, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); IFIBA-CONICET (Argentina); Dorso, C.O. [Departamento de Física, FCEyN, UBA and IFIBA, Conicet, Pabellón 1, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); IFIBA-CONICET (Argentina)

2017-05-15

The study of neutron rich matter, present in neutron star, proto-neutron stars and core-collapse supernovae, can lead to further understanding of the behavior of nuclear matter in highly asymmetric nuclei. Heterogeneous structures are expected to exist in these systems, often referred to as nuclear pasta. We have carried out a systematic study of neutrino opacity for different thermodynamic conditions in order to assess the impact that the structure has on it. We studied the dynamics of the neutrino opacity of the heterogeneous matter at different thermodynamic conditions with semiclassical molecular dynamics model already used to study nuclear multifragmentation. For different densities, proton fractions and temperature, we calculate the very long range opacity and the cluster distribution. The neutrino opacity is of crucial importance for the evolution of the core-collapse supernovae and the neutrino scattering.

Nutrition knowledge, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and eating behaviors by calcium intake level in Korean female college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Min Ju; Kim, Kyung Won

2015-10-01

Calcium is important but deficient in diets of young adult women. This study aimed to examine if cognitive factors and eating behaviors differ according to calcium intake based on the Social Cognitive Theory. Subjects were female college students in Seoul, Korea. Three hundred students completed the questionnaire regarding calcium intake, nutrition knowledge, outcome expectations, self-efficacy and eating behaviors. Data on 240 students were analyzed using t-test or χ(2)-test. Subjects were categorized into two groups, high calcium intake (HC, ≥ 650 mg/day) and low calcium intake (LC, benefits of consuming calcium-rich foods, including 'taste' (P eating dairy foods for snacks' (P eating dairy foods every day' (P eating calcium-rich side dishes at meals' (P Eating behaviors including more frequent consumption of dairy foods, fruits or fruit juice (P foods (P foods, and eating behaviors are important in explaining calcium intake. Nutrition education needs to address practical benefits, reduce negative expectations of calcium-rich foods, increase self-efficacy, and modify eating behaviors contributing to calcium intake.

Local Chromatin Features Including PU.1 and IKAROS Binding and H3K4 Methylation Shape the Repertoire of Immunoglobulin Kappa Genes Chosen for V(D)J Recombination.

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Matheson, Louise S; Bolland, Daniel J; Chovanec, Peter; Krueger, Felix; Andrews, Simon; Koohy, Hashem; Corcoran, Anne E

2017-01-01

V(D)J recombination is essential for the generation of diverse antigen receptor (AgR) repertoires. In B cells, immunoglobulin kappa ( Igκ ) light chain recombination follows immunoglobulin heavy chain ( Igh ) recombination. We recently developed the DNA-based VDJ-seq assay for the unbiased quantitation of Igh VH and DH repertoires. Integration of VDJ-seq data with genome-wide datasets revealed that two chromatin states at the recombination signal sequence (RSS) of VH genes are highly predictive of recombination in mouse pro-B cells. It is unknown whether local chromatin states contribute to Vκ gene choice during Igκ recombination. Here we adapt VDJ-seq to profile the Igκ VκJκ repertoire and present a comprehensive readout in mouse pre-B cells, revealing highly variable Vκ gene usage. Integration with genome-wide datasets for histone modifications, DNase hypersensitivity, transcription factor binding and germline transcription identified PU.1 binding at the RSS, which was unimportant for Igh , as highly predictive of whether a Vκ gene will recombine or not, suggesting that it plays a binary, all-or-nothing role, priming genes for recombination. Thereafter, the frequency with which these genes recombine was shaped both by the presence and level of enrichment of several other chromatin features, including H3K4 methylation and IKAROS binding. Moreover, in contrast to the Igh locus, the chromatin landscape of the promoter, as well as of the RSS, contributes to Vκ gene recombination. Thus, multiple facets of local chromatin features explain much of the variation in Vκ gene usage. Together, these findings reveal shared and divergent roles for epigenetic features and transcription factors in AgR V(D)J recombination and provide avenues for further investigation of chromatin signatures that may underpin V(D)J-mediated chromosomal translocations.

Domain walls collision in Fe-rich and Co-rich glass covered microwires

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Gonzalez J.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We report the results of the investigation of domain walls propagation in Fe-rich and Co-rich microwires performed using Sixtus-Tonks and magneto-optical Kerr effect techniques. It was found that under certain experimental conditions we are able to create the regime of the motion of two domain walls moving to opposite directions which terminates by the collision of the domain walls. Also the domain walls collision was visualized using magneto-optical Kerr effect microscope when the surface giant Barkhausen jump induced by circular magnetic field has been observed.

Brief communication: Paleobiological inferences on the locomotor repertoire of extinct hominoids based on femoral neck cortical thickness: The fossil great ape hispanopithecus laietanus as a test-case study.

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Pina, Marta; Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; Fortuny, Josep; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2012-09-01

The relationship between femoral neck superior and inferior cortical thickness in primates is related to locomotor behavior. This relationship has been employed to infer bipedalism in fossil hominins, although bipeds share the same pattern of generalized quadrupeds, where the superior cortex is thinner than the inferior one. In contrast, knuckle-walkers and specialized suspensory taxa display a more homogeneous distribution of cortical bone. These different patterns, probably related to the range of movement at the hip joint and concomitant differences in the load stresses at the femoral neck, are very promising for making locomotor inferences in extinct primates. To evaluate the utility of this feature in the fossil record, we relied on computed tomography applied to the femur of the Late Miocene hominoid Hispanopithecus laietanus as a test-case study. Both an orthograde body plan and orang-like suspensory adaptations had been previously documented for this taxon on different anatomical grounds, leading to the hypothesis that this fossil ape should display a modern ape-like distribution of femoral neck cortical thickness. This is confirmed by the results of this study, leading to the conclusion that Hispanopithecus represents the oldest evidence of a homogeneous cortical bone distribution in the hominoid fossil record. Our results therefore strengthen the utility of femoral neck cortical thickness for making paleobiological inferences on the locomotor repertoire of fossil primates. This feature would be particularly useful for assessing the degree of orthograde arboreal locomotor behaviors vs. terrestrial bipedalism in putative early hominins. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Targeted capture massively parallel sequencing analysis of LCIS and invasive lobular cancer: Repertoire of somatic genetic alterations and clonal relationships.

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Sakr, Rita A; Schizas, Michail; Carniello, Jose V Scarpa; Ng, Charlotte K Y; Piscuoglio, Salvatore; Giri, Dilip; Andrade, Victor P; De Brot, Marina; Lim, Raymond S; Towers, Russell; Weigelt, Britta; Reis-Filho, Jorge S; King, Tari A

2016-02-01

Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) has been proposed as a non-obligate precursor of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). Here we sought to define the repertoire of somatic genetic alterations in pure LCIS and in synchronous LCIS and ILC using targeted massively parallel sequencing. DNA samples extracted from microdissected LCIS, ILC and matched normal breast tissue or peripheral blood from 30 patients were subjected to massively parallel sequencing targeting all exons of 273 genes, including the genes most frequently mutated in breast cancer and DNA repair-related genes. Single nucleotide variants and insertions and deletions were identified using state-of-the-art bioinformatics approaches. The constellation of somatic mutations found in LCIS (n = 34) and ILC (n = 21) were similar, with the most frequently mutated genes being CDH1 (56% and 66%, respectively), PIK3CA (41% and 52%, respectively) and CBFB (12% and 19%, respectively). Among 19 LCIS and ILC synchronous pairs, 14 (74%) had at least one identical mutation in common, including identical PIK3CA and CDH1 mutations. Paired analysis of independent foci of LCIS from 3 breasts revealed at least one common mutation in each of the 3 pairs (CDH1, PIK3CA, CBFB and PKHD1L1). LCIS and ILC have a similar repertoire of somatic mutations, with PIK3CA and CDH1 being the most frequently mutated genes. The presence of identical mutations between LCIS-LCIS and LCIS-ILC pairs demonstrates that LCIS is a clonal neoplastic lesion, and provides additional evidence that at least some LCIS are non-obligate precursors of ILC. Copyright © 2015 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Forward Genetic Screening Using Behavioral Tests in Zebrafish: A Proof of Concept Analysis of Mutants.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlai, Robert; Poshusta, Tanya L; Rampersad, Mindy; Fernandes, Yohaan; Greenwood, Tammy M; Cousin, Margot A; Klee, Eric W; Clark, Karl J

2017-01-01

The zebrafish enjoys several advantages over other model organisms. It is small, easy to maintain, prolific, and numerous genetic tools are available for it. For example, forward genetic screens have allowed investigators to identify important genes potentially involved in a variety of functions from embryogenesis to cancer. However, despite its sophisticated behavioral repertoire, behavioral methods have rarely been utilized in forward genetic screens. Here, we employ a two-tiered strategy, a proof of concept study, to explore the feasibility of behavioral screens. We generated mutant lines using transposon-based insertional mutagenesis, allowing us to bias mutant selection with target genes expressed within the brain. Furthermore, we employed an efficient and fast behavioral pre-selection in which we investigated the locomotory response of 5-day post-fertilization old larval fish to hyperosmotic shock. Based on this assay, we selected five lines for our lower throughput secondary adult behavioral screen. The latter screen utilized tests in which computer animated image presentation and video-tracking-based automated quantification of behavior allowed us to compare heterozygous zebrafish with their wild-type siblings on their responses to a variety of stimuli. We found significant mutation induced adult behavioral alterations in 4 out of the 5 lines analyzed, including changes in response to social or fear inducing stimuli, to handling and novelty, or in habituation to novelty. We discuss the pros and cons of behavioral phenotyping and of the use of different forward genetic methods in biomedical research with zebrafish.

Measurements of Gasification Characteristics of Coal and Char in CO2-Rich Gas Flow by TG-DTA

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Zhigang Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Pyrolysis, combustion, and gasification properties of pulverized coal and char in CO2-rich gas flow were investigated by using gravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA with changing O2%, heating temperature gradient, and flow rate of CO2-rich gases provided. Together with TG-DTA, flue gas generated from the heated coal, such as CO, CO2, and hydrocarbons (HCs, was analyzed simultaneously on the heating process. The optimum O2% in CO2-rich gas for combustion and gasification of coal or char was discussed by analyzing flue gas with changing O2 from 0 to 5%. The experimental results indicate that O2% has an especially large effect on carbon oxidation at temperature less than 1100°C, and lower O2 concentration promotes gasification reaction by producing CO gas over 1100°C in temperature. The TG-DTA results with gas analyses have presented basic reference data that show the effects of O2 concentration and heating rate on coal physical and chemical behaviors for the expected technologies on coal gasification in CO2-rich gas and oxygen combustion and underground coal gasification.

Fungicidal values of bio-oils and their lignin-rich fractions obtained from wood/bark fast pyrolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohan, Dinesh; Shi, Jenny; Nicholas, Darrel D; Pittman, Charles U; Steele, Philip H; Cooper, Jerome E

2008-03-01

Pine wood, pine bark, oak wood and oak bark were pyrolyzed in an auger reactor. A total of 16 bio-oils or pyrolytic oils were generated at different temperatures and residence times. Two additional pine bio-oils were produced at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in a fluidized-bed reactor at different temperatures. All these bio-oils were fractionated to obtain lignin-rich fractions which consist mainly of phenols and neutrals. The pyrolytic lignin-rich fractions were obtained by liquid-liquid extraction. Whole bio-oils and their lignin-rich fractions were studied as potential environmentally benign wood preservatives to replace metal-based CCA and copper systems that have raised environmental concerns. Each bio-oil and several lignin-rich fractions were tested for antifungal properties. Soil block tests were conducted using one brown-rot fungus (Gloeophyllum trabeum) and one white-rot fungus (Trametes versicolor). The lignin-rich fractions showed greater fungal inhibition than whole bio-oils for a impregnation solution 10% concentration level. Water repellence tests were also performed to study wood wafer swelling behavior before and after bio-oil and lignin-rich fraction treatments. In this case, bio-oil fractions did not exhibit higher water repellency than whole bio-oils. Comparison of raw bio-oils in soil block tests, with unleached wafers, at 10% and 25% bio-oil impregnation solution concentration levels showed excellent wood preservation properties at the 25% level. The good performance of raw bio-oils at higher loading levels suggests that fractionation to generate lignin-rich fractions is unnecessary. At this more effective 25% loading level in general, the raw bio-oils performed similarly. Prevention of leaching is critically important for both raw bio-oils and their fractions to provide decay resistance. Initial tests of a polymerization chemical to prevent leaching showed some success.

Immunoproteomic analysis of the protein repertoire of unsporulated Eimeria tenella oocysts

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Zhang Zhenchao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The apicomplexan protozoans Eimeria spp. cause coccidioses, the most common intestinal diseases in chickens. Coccidiosis is associated with significant animal welfare issues and has a high economic impact on the poultry industry. Lack of a full understanding of immunogenic molecules and their precise functions involved in the Eimeria life cycles may limit development of effective vaccines and drug therapies. In this study, immunoproteomic approaches were used to define the antigenic protein repertoire from the total proteins of unsporulated Eimeria tenella oocysts. Approximately 101 protein spots were recognized in sera from chickens infected experimentally with E. tenella. Forty-six spots of unsporulated oocysts were excised from preparative gels and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight MS (MALDI-TOF-MS and MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS. For unsporulated oocysts, 13 known proteins of E. tenella and 17 homologous proteins to other apicomplexan or protozoan parasites were identified using the ‘Mascot’ server. The remaining proteins were searched against the E. tenella protein sequence database using the ‘Mascot in-house’ search engine (version 2.1 in automated mode, and 12 unknown proteins were identified. The amino acid sequences of the unknown proteins were searched using BLAST against non-redundant sequence databases (NCBI, and 9 homologous proteins in unsporulated oocyst were found homologous to proteins of other apicomplexan parasites. These findings may provide useful evidence for understanding parasite biology, pathogenesis, immunogenicity and immune evasion mechanisms of E. tenella.

Jews in the Netherlands and their languages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Ruiter, A.C.J.

2014-01-01

Cultural contacts between majority and minority groups involve many different aspects, one of which is language. Jews have been living in the Netherlands since around the beginning of the sixteenth century. In the two centuries that followed, their language repertoire was very rich, consisting of at

Making Meaning through Translanguaging in the Literacy Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Pacheco, Mark B.; Miller, Mary E.

2016-01-01

In this Teaching Tip, we share three literacy activities for teachers working with emergent bilinguals. Leveraging students' heritage languages in instruction holds rich opportunities for literacy achievement. Translanguaging pedagogies encourage emergent bilinguals to use the full range of their linguistic repertoires when making meaning in the…

Strategies for interpersonal and public communication in social movements. Transformations in informal networks and repertoires in the era of social Web

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rocío Ortiz Galindo

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This work aims to advance in the theoretical analysis of the field of communication and social movements. The article studies the new changes that have emerged in the social Web era. We will review some of the principal works of the literature to observe the communicative strategies in these collectives, which are able to influence in the social change. We will differentiate the area of interpersonal communication (the informal networks and the public communication (the repertoires of collective action. We will use this classification to analyze the communicative strategies which have born in the social cybermovements, in the ICT age.

CBM RICH geometry optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahmoud, Tariq; Hoehne, Claudia [II. Physikalisches Institut, Giessen Univ. (Germany); Collaboration: CBM-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at the future FAIR complex will investigate the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter at high baryon density and moderate temperatures in A+A collisions from 2-11 AGeV (SIS100) beam energy. The main electron identification detector in the CBM experiment will be a RICH detector with a CO{sub 2} gaseous-radiator, focusing spherical glass mirrors, and MAPMT photo-detectors being placed on a PMT-plane. The RICH detector is located directly behind the CBM dipole magnet. As the final magnet geometry is now available, some changes in the RICH geometry become necessary. In order to guarantee a magnetic field of 1 mT at maximum in the PMT plane for effective operation of the MAPMTs, two measures have to be taken: The PMT plane is moved outwards of the stray field by tilting the mirrors by 10 degrees and shielding boxes have been designed. In this contribution the results of the geometry optimization procedure are presented.

LITHIUM-RICH GIANTS IN GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

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Kirby, Evan N.; Cohen, Judith G. [California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Guhathakurta, Puragra [UCO/Lick Observatory and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Zhang, Andrew J. [The Harker School, 500 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose, CA 95129 (United States); Hong, Jerry [Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94301 (United States); Guo, Michelle [Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Guo, Rachel [Irvington High School, 41800 Blacow Road, Fremont, CA 94538 (United States); Cunha, Katia [Observatório Nacional, São Cristóvão Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2016-03-10

Although red giants deplete lithium on their surfaces, some giants are Li-rich. Intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars can generate Li through the Cameron–Fowler conveyor, but the existence of Li-rich, low-mass red giant branch (RGB) stars is puzzling. Globular clusters are the best sites to examine this phenomenon because it is straightforward to determine membership in the cluster and to identify the evolutionary state of each star. In 72 hours of Keck/DEIMOS exposures in 25 clusters, we found four Li-rich RGB and two Li-rich AGB stars. There were 1696 RGB and 125 AGB stars with measurements or upper limits consistent with normal abundances of Li. Hence, the frequency of Li-richness in globular clusters is (0.2 ± 0.1)% for the RGB, (1.6 ± 1.1)% for the AGB, and (0.3 ± 0.1)% for all giants. Because the Li-rich RGB stars are on the lower RGB, Li self-generation mechanisms proposed to occur at the luminosity function bump or He core flash cannot explain these four lower RGB stars. We propose the following origin for Li enrichment: (1) All luminous giants experience a brief phase of Li enrichment at the He core flash. (2) All post-RGB stars with binary companions on the lower RGB will engage in mass transfer. This scenario predicts that 0.1% of lower RGB stars will appear Li-rich due to mass transfer from a recently Li-enhanced companion. This frequency is at the lower end of our confidence interval.

Sexual behavior reduces hypothalamic androgen receptor immunoreactivity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fernandez-Guasti, Alonso; Swaab, Dick; Rodríguez-Manzo, Gabriela

2003-01-01

Male sexual behavior is regulated by limbic areas like the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN), the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST), the nucleus accumbens (nAcc) and the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMN). Neurons in these brain areas are rich in androgen receptors (AR) and express

[Altitudinal distribution, richness and composition of bird assemblages in a mountainous region in Southern Nayarit, Mexico].

Science.gov (United States)

Jaime-Escalante, Nidia Gissell; Figueroa-Esquivel, Elsa Margarita; Villaseñor Gómez, José Fernando; Jacobo-Sapien, Edwin Alberto; Puebla-Olivares, Fernando

2016-12-01

Elevation gradient studies have strengthened the evaluation of changes in richness and composition of bird assemblages. They also provide information on environmental variables that determine bird distribution, and the variables that define their population structure. Our aim was to describe their variation through an elevational cline in Southern Nayarit, Mexico. To analyze the behavior of richness across the gradient, we gathered information through point counts in nine elevational intervals (300 m from each other) from sea level to 2 700 m of elevation. With a standardized sampling effort, we produced rarefaction curves and analyzed changes in species composition by hierarchical classification using the TWINSPAN technique. In order to identify variables associated with richness changes, we examined the effect of precipitation and habitat structure via regression trees. An analysis of nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was implemented with the purpose to determine if the changes in composition correspond to changes in vegetation types. Species richness varied significantly across the gradient: high in the lower parts of the gradient, reached its peak in the middle, and decreased monotonically with elevation. Species responded to changes in the cline and were grouped in three elevational zones. Analyses suggest that changes in richness and species composition are influenced by vegetation, its structure and precipitation regime, as well as various aspects related to habitat features and disturbance. These aspects should be taken into account in order to design appropriate strategies for the conservation of the birds of Nayarit.

Assessment of MLA assertiveness training for librarians: students' behavior changes after taking C.E. 669, Assertiveness and Human Relations Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Caputo, J S

1985-01-01

C.E. 669, offered for three years, was MLA's first personal development continuing education course. Participants were asked to respond to a follow-up survey about their current assertive philosophy, awareness, and behavioral repertoire. They were also assessed by the Librarian's Assertiveness Inventory, a tool that indicates patterns of behavioral responses, for which some normative data were available from librarians who had not taken the class. Class participants were found to be more likely to behave assertively and less likely to behave aggressively than librarians who had not taken the class. In nine out of ten situational categories, librarians who had taken the class demonstrated assertive response patterns. They also reported remembering and using more than one third of the behavioral techniques covered in class, with particular use of the nonverbal techniques. A majority saw themselves as more assertive since taking the class, although most believed that others viewed them much the same as they had prior to the class. Positive progress toward reaching specific behavioral goals was also reported. PMID:4052676

Interdiffusion behavior of Al-rich oxidation resistant coatings on ferritic-martensitic alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Velraj, S.; Zhang, Y.; Hawkins, E.W. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN 38505-0001 (United States); Pint, B.A. [Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6156 (United States)

2012-10-15

Interdiffusion of thin Al-rich coatings synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and pack cementation on 9Cr ferritic-martensitic alloys was investigated in the temperature range of 650-700 C. The compositional changes after long-term exposures in laboratory air and air + 10 vol% H{sub 2}O were examined experimentally. Interdiffusion was modeled by a modified coating oxidation and substrate interdiffusion model (COSIM) program. The modification enabled the program to directly input the concentration profiles of the as-deposited coating determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Reasonable agreement was achieved between the simulated and experimental Al profiles after exposures. The model was also applied to predict coating lifetime at 650-700 C based on a minimum Al content (C{sub b}) required at the coating surface to re-form protective oxide scale. In addition to a C{sub b} value established from the failure of a thin CVD coating at 700 C, values reported for slurry aluminide coatings were also included in lifetime predictions. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Synthesis, electronic structure, elastic properties, and interfacial behavior of icosahedral boron-rich solids

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Hunold, Oliver

2017-08-01

Boron-rich solids are commonly characterized by icosahedral clusters, where 12 B atoms form an icosahedron, giving rise to outstanding mechanical and transport properties. However, broader applications are limited due to the high synthesis temperature required to obtain the icosahedra-based crystalline structure. Utilizing high power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS), the deposition temperature may be lowered as compared to direct current magnetron sputtering by enhanced surface diffusion. Therefore, HPPMS was utilized to investigate the influence of the substrate temperature on the structural evolution of B-rich Al-Y-B thin films. The formation of the intended AlYB{sub 14} phase together with the (Y,Al)B{sub 6} impurity phase, containing 1.8 at.% less B than AlYB{sub 14}, was observed at a growth temperature of 800 C and hence 600 C below the bulk synthesis temperature. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations it is inferred that minute compositional variations may lead to formation of competing phases, such as (Y,Al)B{sub 6}. Furthermore, 800 C still limits the usage significantly. Therefore, quantum mechanical material design was applied to identify phases with even higher phase stabilities compared to AlYB{sub 14}. Phase stability of T{sub 0.75}Y{sub 0.75}B{sub 14} (T= Sc, Ti, V, Y, Zr, Nb, Si) critically depends on the exact magnitude of charge transferred by T and Y to the B icosahedra. The highest phase stabilities have been identified for Sc{sub 0.75}Y{sub 0.75}B{sub 14}, Ti{sub 0.75}Y{sub 0.75}B{sub 14}, and Zr{sub 0.75}Y{sub 0.75}B{sub 14}. ln combination with Young's modulus values up to 517 GPa these phases are very interesting from a wear-resistance point of view. Still high synthesis temperatures limit the use of such systems onto technologically relevant substrate materials. However, amorphous B-rich solids, which can be synthesized without additional heating, exhibit attractive mechanical and electrical properties. Within these

A facile cathode design combining Ni-rich layered oxides with Li-rich layered oxides for lithium-ion batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Bohang; Li, Wangda; Yan, Pengfei; Oh, Seung-Min; Wang, Chong-Min; Manthiram, Arumugam

2016-09-01

A facile synthesis method was developed to prepare xLi₂MnO₃·(1-x)LiNi_0.7Co_0.15Mn_0.15O₂ (x = 0, 0.03, 0.07, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30 as molar ratio) cathode materials, combining the advantages of high specific capacity from Ni-rich layered phase and surface chemical stability from Li-rich layered phase. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and electrochemical charge/discharge performance confirm the formation of a Li-rich layered phase with C2/m symmetry. Most importantly, high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) reveals a spatial relationship that Li-rich nano-domain islands are integrated into a conventional Ni-rich layered matrix (R$\\bar{3}$m). This is the first time that Li-rich phase has been directly observed inside a particle at the nano-scale, when the overall composition of layered compounds (Li_1+δNi_xMn_yM_1-x-y-δO₂, M refers to transition metal elements) is Ni-rich (x > 0.5) rather than Mn-rich (y > 0.5). Remarkably, xLi₂MnO₃·(1-x)LiNi_0.7Co_0.15Mn_0.15O₂ cathode with optimized x value shows superior electrochemical performance at C/3, i.e., 170 mA h g^-1 with 90.3 % of capacity retention after 400 cycles at 25 °C and 164 mA h g^-1 with 81.3 % capacity retention after 200 cycles at 55 °C.

Theorising creative expression in children's participation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper suggests that phenomenology, the anthropology of the senses and of embodiment, performance theory and multi-modal pedagogies offer a rich set of theoretical ideas with which to consider children's expressive repertoires as overlooked forms of social participation and critique. Four case studies in relation to ...

Facial expressions and pair bonds in hylobatids.

Science.gov (United States)

Florkiewicz, Brittany; Skollar, Gabriella; Reichard, Ulrich H

2018-06-06

Facial expressions are an important component of primate communication that functions to transmit social information and modulate intentions and motivations. Chimpanzees and macaques, for example, produce a variety of facial expressions when communicating with conspecifics. Hylobatids also produce various facial expressions; however, the origin and function of these facial expressions are still largely unclear. It has been suggested that larger facial expression repertoires may have evolved in the context of social complexity, but this link has yet to be tested at a broader empirical basis. The social complexity hypothesis offers a possible explanation for the evolution of complex communicative signals such as facial expressions, because as the complexity of an individual's social environment increases so does the need for communicative signals. We used an intraspecies, pair-focused study design to test the link between facial expressions and sociality within hylobatids, specifically the strength of pair-bonds. The current study compared 206 hr of video and 103 hr of focal animal data for ten hylobatid pairs from three genera (Nomascus, Hoolock, and Hylobates) living at the Gibbon Conservation Center. Using video footage, we explored 5,969 facial expressions along three dimensions: repertoire use, repertoire breadth, and facial expression synchrony [FES]. We then used focal animal data to compare dimensions of facial expressiveness to pair bond strength and behavioral synchrony. Hylobatids in our study overlapped in only half of their facial expressions (50%) with the only other detailed, quantitative study of hylobatid facial expressions, while 27 facial expressions were uniquely observed in our study animals. Taken together, hylobatids have a large facial expression repertoire of at least 80 unique facial expressions. Contrary to our prediction, facial repertoire composition was not significantly correlated with pair bond strength, rates of territorial synchrony

Norepinephrine-induced apoptotic and hypertrophic responses in H9c2 cardiac myoblasts are characterized by different repertoire of reactive oxygen species generation

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Anita Thakur

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Despite recent advances, the role of ROS in mediating hypertrophic and apoptotic responses in cardiac myocytes elicited by norepinephrine (NE is rather poorly understood. We demonstrate through our experiments that H9c2 cardiac myoblasts treated with 2 µM NE (hypertrophic dose generate DCFH-DA positive ROS only for 2 h; while those treated with 100 µM NE (apoptotic dose sustains generation for 48 h, followed by apoptosis. Though the levels of DCFH fluorescence were comparable at early time points in the two treatment sets, its quenching by DPI, catalase and MnTmPyP suggested the existence of a different repertoire of ROS. Both doses of NE also induced moderate levels of H2O2 but with different kinetics. Sustained but intermittent generation of highly reactive species detectable by HPF was seen in both treatment sets but no peroxynitrite was generated in either conditions. Sustained generation of hydroxyl radicals with no appreciable differences were noticed in both treatment sets. Nevertheless, despite similar profile of ROS generation between the two conditions, extensive DNA damage as evident from the increase in 8-OH-dG content, formation of γ-H2AX and PARP cleavage was seen only in cells treated with the higher dose of NE. We therefore conclude that hypertrophic and apoptotic doses of NE generate distinct but comparable repertoire of ROS/RNS leading to two very distinct downstream responses.

Strontium-rich injectable hybrid system for bone regeneration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neves, Nuno, E-mail: nsmneves@gmail.com [Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto (Portugal); INEB — Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 823, 4150-180 Porto (Portugal); FMUP — Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Departamento de Cirurgia, Serviço de Ortopedia, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto (Portugal); Campos, Bruno B. [FCUP — Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Centro de Investigação em Química, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021/1055, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); Almeida, Isabel F.; Costa, Paulo C. [FFUP — Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade do Porto, Laboratório de Tecnologia Farmacêutica, Departamento de Ciências do Medicamento, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto (Portugal); Cabral, Abel Trigo [FMUP — Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Departamento de Cirurgia, Serviço de Ortopedia, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto (Portugal); and others

2016-02-01

Current challenges in the development of scaffolds for bone regeneration include the engineering of materials that can withstand normal dynamic physiological mechanical stresses exerted on the bone and provide a matrix capable of supporting cell migration and tissue ingrowth. The objective of the present work was to develop and characterize a hybrid polymer–ceramic injectable system that consists of an alginate matrix crosslinked in situ in the presence of strontium (Sr), incorporating a ceramic reinforcement in the form of Sr-rich microspheres. The incorporation of Sr in the microspheres and in the vehicle relies on the growing evidence that Sr has beneficial effects in bone remodeling and in the treatment of osteopenic disorders and osteoporosis. Sr-rich porous hydroxyapatite microspheres with a uniform size and a mean diameter of 555 μm were prepared, and their compression strength and friability tested. A 3.5% (w/v) ultrapure sodium alginate solution was used as the vehicle and its in situ gelation was promoted by the addition of calcium (Ca) or Sr carbonate and Glucone-δ-lactone. Gelation times varied with temperature and crosslinking agent, being slower for Sr than for Ca, but adequate for injection in both cases. Injectability was evaluated using a device employed in vertebroplasty surgical procedures, coupled to a texture analyzer in compression mode. Compositions with 35% w of microspheres presented the best compromise between injectability and compression strength of the system, the force required to extrude it being lower than 100 N. Micro CT analysis revealed a homogeneous distribution of the microspheres inside the vehicle, and a mean inter-microspheres space of 220 μm. DMA results showed that elastic behavior of the hybrid is dominant over the viscous one and that the higher storage modulus was obtained for the 3.5%Alg–35%Sr-HAp-Sr formulation. - Highlights: • We developed a Sr rich viscoelastic hybrid system (alginate matrix crosslinked in

Platelet-rich fibrin: the benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Yuvika Raj; Mohanty, Sujata; Verma, Mahesh; Kaur, Raunaq Reet; Bhatia, Priyanka; Kumar, Varun Raj; Chaudhary, Zainab

2016-01-01

Current published data presents confusing results about the effects of platelet-rich fibrin on bone, and there is a need for studies that throw light on its effect. Our main objective therefore was to evaluate (by fractal analysis) osseous regeneration in extraction sockets with and without platelet-rich fibrin in a study with a substantial sample and a reliable technique to calibrate its effects on bone cells. We also assessed the soft tissue response. Thirty-four patients had their bilaterally impacted third molars (68 surgical sites) extracted in this split-mouth study, following which platelet-rich fibrin was placed in one of the sockets. Patients were followed up clinically and radiographically, and a pain score and fractal analysis were used to evaluate healing of soft tissue and bone, respectively. We conclude that platelet-rich fibrin improves healing of both soft and hard tissues. Although osseous healing did not differ significantly between the groups, healing of soft tissue as judged by the pain score was significantly better in the experimental group. Copyright © 2015 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The reconstitution of political theory: David Easton, behavioralism, and the long road to system.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunnell, John G

2013-01-01

During the last half of the twentieth century, the concept of system was arguably the most important concept in the theoretical repertoire of the discipline of American political science. Although systems analysis was broadly employed in the behavioral sciences, David Easton's work was particularly influential in the study of politics. This is in part because he attempted to develop a distinct account of the political system that was not theoretically subservient either to general systems theory or to conceptions of the social system such as that advanced by Talcott Parsons. Although a great deal of attention has been devoted to Easton's theory, the origins and evolution of the system concept in his work have not been carefully reconstructed and analyzed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A predictive processing theory of sensorimotor contingencies: Explaining the puzzle of perceptual presence and its absence in synesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Seth, Anil K

2014-01-01

Normal perception involves experiencing objects within perceptual scenes as real, as existing in the world. This property of "perceptual presence" has motivated "sensorimotor theories" which understand perception to involve the mastery of sensorimotor contingencies. However, the mechanistic basis of sensorimotor contingencies and their mastery has remained unclear. Sensorimotor theory also struggles to explain instances of perception, such as synesthesia, that appear to lack perceptual presence and for which relevant sensorimotor contingencies are difficult to identify. On alternative "predictive processing" theories, perceptual content emerges from probabilistic inference on the external causes of sensory signals, however, this view has addressed neither the problem of perceptual presence nor synesthesia. Here, I describe a theory of predictive perception of sensorimotor contingencies which (1) accounts for perceptual presence in normal perception, as well as its absence in synesthesia, and (2) operationalizes the notion of sensorimotor contingencies and their mastery. The core idea is that generative models underlying perception incorporate explicitly counterfactual elements related to how sensory inputs would change on the basis of a broad repertoire of possible actions, even if those actions are not performed. These "counterfactually-rich" generative models encode sensorimotor contingencies related to repertoires of sensorimotor dependencies, with counterfactual richness determining the degree of perceptual presence associated with a stimulus. While the generative models underlying normal perception are typically counterfactually rich (reflecting a large repertoire of possible sensorimotor dependencies), those underlying synesthetic concurrents are hypothesized to be counterfactually poor. In addition to accounting for the phenomenology of synesthesia, the theory naturally accommodates phenomenological differences between a range of experiential states

Protest Leadership and Repertoire: A Comparative Analysis of Peasant Protest in Hunan in the 1990s

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu Zhang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Based on detailed ethnographic fieldwork, this paper compares two cases of peasant protest against heavy taxes and fees in a northern Hunan county in the 1990s. It argues that peasant protest did not arise spontaneously. Rather, it erupted when leaders emerged who used central policy documents on lowering peasant taxes and fees to mobilise peasants. Protest leaders were articulate and public-spirited peasants who had received political training from the local party-state. Furthermore, the number of leaders, their education level, and their relationship with the local party-state explain why the repertoire and the scope of the two protests varied. Protests led by less educated veteran Communist Party cadres tended to be milder and smaller than those led by better-educated peasants more distant from the local party-state. This paper helps us to understand the process of peasant mobilisation in contemporary China and explains why peasant protest varies across cases.

DHA Mitigates Autistic Behaviors Accompanied by Dopaminergic Change in a Gene/Prenatal Stress Mouse Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsui, Fumihiro; Hecht, Patrick; Yoshimoto, Kanji; Watanabe, Yoshihisa; Morimoto, Masafumi; Fritsche, Kevin; Will, Matthew; Beversdorf, David

2018-02-10

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction, social communication, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. Recent work has begun to explore gene × environmental interactions in the etiology of ASD. We previously reported that prenatal stress exposure in stress-susceptible heterozygous serotonin transporter (SERT) KO pregnant dams in a mouse model resulted in autism-like behavior in the offspring (SERT/S mice). The association between prenatal stress and ASD appears to be affected by maternal SERT genotype in clinical populations as well. Using the mouse model, we examined autistic-like behaviors in greater detail, and additionally explored whether diet supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may mitigate the behavioral changes. Only male SERT/S mice showed social impairment and stereotyped behavior, and DHA supplementation ameliorated some of these behaviors. We also measured monoamine levels in the SERT/S mice after three treatment paradigms: DHA-rich diet continuously from breeding (DHA diet), DHA-rich diet only after weaning (CTL/DHA diet) and control diet only (CTL diet). The dopamine (DA) content in the striatum was significantly increased in the SERT/S mice compared with wild-type (WT) mice, whereas no difference was observed with noradrenaline and serotonin content. Moreover, DA content in the striatum was significantly reduced in the SERT/S mice with the DHA-rich diet provided continuously from breeding. The results indicate that autism-associated behaviors and changes in the dopaminergic system in this setting can be mitigated with DHA supplementation. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Why the Rich drink More but smoke Less: The Impact of Wealth on Health Behaviors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.L.W. van Kippersluis (Hans); T.J. Galama (Titus)

2013-01-01

textabstractWealthier individuals engage in healthier behavior. This paper seeks to explain this phenomenon by developing a theory of health behavior, and exploiting both lottery winnings and inheritances to test the theory. We distinguish between the direct monetary cost and the indirect health

Behavioural repertoire of working donkeys and consistency of behaviour over time, as a preliminary step towards identifying pain-related behaviours.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fran H Regan

Full Text Available The donkey has a reputation for stoicism and its behavioural repertoire in clinical contexts is under-reported. Lack of understanding of the norms of donkey behaviour and how it may vary over time can compromise use of behavioural measures as indicators of pain or emotional state. The objective of this study was to find out whether the behaviour of working donkeys was influenced by gender, the time of day or differed between days with a view to assessing how robust these measures are for inclusion in a working donkey ethogram.Frequency and consistency of postural and event behaviours were measured in 21 adult working donkeys (12 females; 9 males. Instantaneous (scan and focal sampling were used to measure maintenance, lying, ingestive and investigative behaviours at hourly intervals for ten sessions on each of two consecutive days. High head carriage and biting were seen more frequently in male donkeys than females (P<0.001. Level head carriage, licking/chewing and head-shaking were observed more frequently in female donkeys (P<0.001. Tail position, ear orientation, foot stamping, rolling/lying and head-shaking behaviours were affected by time of day (P<0.001. However, only two variations in ear orientation were found to be significantly different over the two days of observations (P<0.001. Tail swishing, head shaking, foot stamping, and ears held sideways and downwards were significantly correlated (P<0.001 and are assumed to be behaviours to discourage flies.All donkeys expressed an extensive behavioural repertoire, although some differences in behaviour were evident between genders. While most behaviours were consistent over time, some behaviours were influenced by time of day. Few behaviours differed between the two test days. The findings can be used to inform the development of a robust, evidence-based ethogram for working donkeys.

MicroRNA repertoire for functional genome research in tilapia identified by deep sequencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Biao; Wang, Zhen-Hua; Zhu, Chang-Dong; Guo, Jin-Tao; Zhao, Jin-Liang

2014-08-01

The Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus; Cichlidae) is an economically important species in aquaculture and occupies a prominent position in the aquaculture industry. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression involved in diverse biological and metabolic processes. To increase the repertoire of miRNAs characterized in tilapia, we used the Illumina/Solexa sequencing technology to sequence a small RNA library using pooled RNA sample isolated from the different developmental stages of tilapia. Bioinformatic analyses suggest that 197 conserved and 27 novel miRNAs are expressed in tilapia. Sequence alignments indicate that all tested miRNAs and miRNAs* are highly conserved across many species. In addition, we characterized the tissue expression patterns of five miRNAs using real-time quantitative PCR. We found that miR-1/206, miR-7/9, and miR-122 is abundantly expressed in muscle, brain, and liver, respectively, implying a potential role in the regulation of tissue differentiation or the maintenance of tissue identity. Overall, our results expand the number of tilapia miRNAs, and the discovery of miRNAs in tilapia genome contributes to a better understanding the role of miRNAs in regulating diverse biological processes.

Corruption and firm behavior

OpenAIRE

Sandra Sequeira; Simeon Djankov

2013-01-01

This paper investigates how corruption affects firrm behavior. Firms can engage in two types of corruption when seeking a public service: cost-reducing "collusive" corruption and cost increasing "coercive" corruption. Using an original and unusually rich dataset on bribe payments at ports matched to firrm-level data, we observe how firms respond to each type of corruption by adjusting their shipping and sourcing strategies. "Collusive" corruption is associated with higher usage of the corrupt...

CACNA1C gene regulates behavioral strategies in operant rule learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Koppe, Georgia; Mallien, Anne Stephanie; Berger, Stefan; Bartsch, Dusan; Gass, Peter; Vollmayr, Barbara; Durstewitz, Daniel

2017-06-01

Behavioral experiments are usually designed to tap into a specific cognitive function, but animals may solve a given task through a variety of different and individual behavioral strategies, some of them not foreseen by the experimenter. Animal learning may therefore be seen more as the process of selecting among, and adapting, potential behavioral policies, rather than mere strengthening of associative links. Calcium influx through high-voltage-gated Ca2+ channels is central to synaptic plasticity, and altered expression of Cav1.2 channels and the CACNA1C gene have been associated with severe learning deficits and psychiatric disorders. Given this, we were interested in how specifically a selective functional ablation of the Cacna1c gene would modulate the learning process. Using a detailed, individual-level analysis of learning on an operant cue discrimination task in terms of behavioral strategies, combined with Bayesian selection among computational models estimated from the empirical data, we show that a Cacna1c knockout does not impair learning in general but has a much more specific effect: the majority of Cacna1c knockout mice still managed to increase reward feedback across trials but did so by adapting an outcome-based strategy, while the majority of matched controls adopted the experimentally intended cue-association rule. Our results thus point to a quite specific role of a single gene in learning and highlight that much more mechanistic insight could be gained by examining response patterns in terms of a larger repertoire of potential behavioral strategies. The results may also have clinical implications for treating psychiatric disorders.

Platelet-Rich Plasma Increases Pigmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Uysal, Cagri A; Ertas, Nilgun Markal

2017-11-01

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous solution of plasma containing 4 to 7 times the baseline concentration of human platelets. Platelet-rich plasma has been widely popular in facial rejuvenation to attenuate wrinkles and has been practically used. The authors have been encountering various patients of increased hiperpigmentation following PRP applications that were performed to attenuate the postinflammatory hiperpigmentation especially after laser treatment. The authors have been using PRP for facial rejuvenation in selected patients and in 1 patient the authors have encountered increased pigmentation over the pigmented skin lesions that were present before the application. The authors recommend that the PRP might increase pigmentation especially in the face region and precautions might be taken before and after the application. Platelet-rich plasma should not be used for the treatment of post inflammatory hiperpigmentation.

Bread, milk and a Tattslotto ticket: the interpretive repertoires of young adult gambling in Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maree Ann Nekich

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract The discourse of Australian young adults who gamble regularly was analysed to explore key dilemmas and challenges of a generation who grew up with the positive and negative impacts of gambling advertisements. Qualitative interviews of seven young recreational gamblers who regularly frequent gaming machine venues were conducted. The discourse that they used to describe their gambling involvement, motivation, development and subjective views were analysed and three central repertoires: ‘Culture not self,’ ‘If it makes you happy,’ and ‘No problem here!’ were identified. The current findings demonstrate the participants’ attempts to understand and legitimise their gambling. Further, it was suggested that young adults face a series of dilemmas when deciding whether to gamble and to what extent they gamble. Their discourse highlights the tension between individual agency, societal expectations and familial influence. The respondents primarily gambled for social reasons in a manner which they perceived as culturally acceptable. The importance of harm minimization and public awareness campaigns directed at young adults was also discussed.

Dynamic behavior of a solid particle bed in a liquid pool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Ping; Yasunaka, Satoshi; Matsumoto, Tatsuya; Morita, Koji; Fukuda, Kenji; Yamano, Hidemasa; Tobita, Yoshiharu

2007-01-01

Dynamic behavior of solid particle beds in a liquid pool against pressure transients was investigated to model the mobility of core materials in a postulated disrupted core of a liquid metal fast reactor. A series of experiments was performed with a particle bed of different bed heights, comprising different monotype solid particles, where variable initial pressures of the originally pressurized nitrogen gas were adopted as the pressure sources. Computational simulations of the experiments were performed using SIMMER-III, a fast reactor safety analysis code. Comparisons between simulated and experimental results show that the physical model for multiphase flows used in the SIMMER-III code can reasonably represent the transient behaviors of pool multiphase flows with rich solid phases, as observed in the current experiments. This demonstrates the basic validity of the SIMMER-III code on simulating the dynamic behaviors induced by pressure transients in a low-energy disrupted core of a liquid metal fast reactor with rich solid phases

The repertoire of bitter taste receptor genes in canids.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Shuai; Wu, Xiaoyang; Chen, Jun; Zhang, Huanxin; Zhong, Huaming; Wei, Qinguo; Yan, Jiakuo; Li, Haotian; Liu, Guangshuai; Sha, Weilai; Zhang, Honghai

2017-07-01

Bitter taste receptors (Tas2rs) play important roles in mammalian defense mechanisms by helping animals detect and avoid toxins in food. Although Tas2r genes have been widely studied in several mammals, minimal research has been performed in canids. To analyze the genetic basis of Tas2r genes in canids, we first identified Tas2r genes in the wolf, maned wolf, red fox, corsac fox, Tibetan fox, fennec fox, dhole and African hunting dog. A total of 183 Tas2r genes, consisting of 118 intact genes, 6 partial genes and 59 pseudogenes, were detected. Differences in the pseudogenes were observed among nine canid species. For example, Tas2r4 was a pseudogene in the dog but might play a functional role in other canid species. The Tas2r42 and Tas2r10 genes were pseudogenes in the maned wolf and dhole, respectively, and the Tas2r5 and Tas2r34 genes were pseudogenes in the African hunting dog; however, these genes were intact genes in other canid species. The differences in Tas2r pseudogenes among canids might suggest that the loss of intact Tas2r genes in canid species is species-dependent. We further compared the 183 Tas2r genes identified in this study with Tas2r genes from ten additional carnivorous species to evaluate the potential influence of diet on the evolution of the Tas2r gene repertoire. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most of the Tas2r genes from the 18 species intermingled across the tree, suggesting that Tas2r genes are conserved among carnivores. Within canids, we found that some Tas2r genes corresponded to the traditional taxonomic groupings, while some did not. PIC analysis showed that the number of Tas2r genes in carnivores exhibited no positive correlation with diet composition, which might be due to the limited number of carnivores included in our study.

The CBM RICH project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adamczewski-Musch, J. [GSI Darmstadt (Germany); Becker, K.-H. [University Wuppertal (Germany); Belogurov, S. [ITEP Moscow (Russian Federation); Boldyreva, N. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); Chernogorov, A. [ITEP Moscow (Russian Federation); Deveaux, C. [University Gießen (Germany); Dobyrn, V. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); Dürr, M. [University Gießen (Germany); Eom, J. [Pusan National University (Korea, Republic of); Eschke, J. [GSI Darmstadt (Germany); Höhne, C. [University Gießen (Germany); Kampert, K.-H. [University Wuppertal (Germany); Kleipa, V. [GSI Darmstadt (Germany); Kochenda, L. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); Kolb, B. [GSI Darmstadt (Germany); Kopfer, J. [University Wuppertal (Germany); Kravtsov, P. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); Lebedev, S.; Lebedeva, E. [University Gießen (Germany); Leonova, E. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); and others

2014-12-01

The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment will study the properties of super dense nuclear matter by means of heavy ion collisions at the future FAIR facility. An integral detector component is a large Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector with CO{sub 2} gas radiator, which will mainly serve for electron identification and pion suppression necessary to access rare dileptonic probes like e{sup +}e{sup −} decays of light vector mesons or J/Ψ. We describe the design of this future RICH detector and focus on results obtained by building a CBM RICH detector prototype tested at CERN-PS.

From Parasite Encounter to Infection: Multiple-Scale Drivers of Parasite Richness in a Wild Social Primate Population

Science.gov (United States)

Benavides J. A.; Huchard, E.; Pettorelli, N.; King, A. J.; Brown, M. E.; Archer, C. E.; Appleton, C. C.; Raymond, M.; Cowlishaw, G.

2011-01-01

Host parasite diversity plays a fundamental role in ecological and evolutionary processes, yet the factors that drive it are still poorly understood. A variety of processes, operating across a range of spatial scales, are likely to influence both the probability of parasite encounter and subsequent infection. Here, we explored eight possible determinants of parasite richness, comprising rainfall and temperature at the population level, ranging behavior and home range productivity at the group level, and age, sex, body condition, and social rank at the individual level. We used a unique dataset describing gastrointestinal parasites in a terrestrial subtropical vertebrate (chacma baboons, Papio ursinus), comprising 662 faecal samples from 86 individuals representing all age-sex classes across two groups over two dry seasons in a desert population. Three mixed models were used to identify the most important factor at each of the three spatial scales (population, group, individual); these were then standardised and combined in a single, global, mixed model. Individual age had the strongest influence on parasite richness, in a convex relationship. Parasite richness was also higher in females and animals in poor condition, albeit at a lower order of magnitude than age. Finally, with a further halving of effect size, parasite richness was positively correlated to day range and temperature. These findings indicate that a range of factors influence host parasite richness through both encounter and infection probabilities, but that individual-level processes may be more important than those at the group or population level.

Theorising Creative Expression in Children's Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Patricia C.

2011-01-01

The paper suggests that phenomenology, the anthropology of the senses and of embodiment, performance theory and multi-modal pedagogies offer a rich set of theoretical ideas with which to consider children's expressive repertoires as overlooked forms of social participation and critique. Four case studies in relation to children's photography,…

Behavioral responses of maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus, Canidae) to different categories of environmental enrichment stimuli and their implications for successful reintroduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, Carlyle Mendes; de Azevedo, Cristiano Schetini; Young, Robert John

2012-01-01

The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus, Illiger, 1815, Canidae) is a threatened species that inhabits the cerrados of Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Captive maned wolves could be potentially used in reintroduction programs for species conservation; however, it is necessary that their behavior and cognitive abilities are conserved. Environmental enrichment is a tool used to stimulate captive animals and maintain a natural behavioral repertoire. To compare the variation of captive maned wolves' behavioral responses to environmental enrichment, we studied three maned wolves held by Belo Horizonte Zoo, Brazil. Foraging, interspecific, and intraspecific stimuli were offered to the animals and their responses were compared with a baseline and postenrichment treatments. The test was used to help in choosing which one of the three individuals would participate in a reintroduction project. The results showed that stimuli type did influence the animal's responses, and that individually wolves responded differently to foraging, interspecific, and intraspecific enrichment items (P80.05 for some behaviors in each enrichment category). The individual's personality seemed to influence their behavioral responses, with animals showing bold and shy responses, and this trait should be considered during decision makings for reintroduction. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

What Do Playing the Trombone, Becoming a Comedian and Teaching in Executive Education Programs Have in Common? (Reflections from Decades of Bad Jokes and Wrong Notes)

Science.gov (United States)

Straussman, Jeffrey D.

2016-01-01

Repertoire: (1) a stock of plays, dances, or pieces that a company or a performer knows or is prepared to perform. (2) the whole body of items that are regularly performed. (3) a stock of skills or types of behavior that a person habitually uses. [https://www.google.com/#q=definition+of+repertoire.] Assessing the impact of teaching on student…

Synthesis and study of neutron-rich nuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Yixiao

1995-01-01

During the past few years our understanding of the decay properties and nuclear structure has been extended in a systematic fashion for the neutron-rich nuclei. This review will first sketch the production and identification of the neutron-rich nuclei throughout the whole mass region, and will then discuss the impressive progress in the studies of the exotic decay properties and nuclear structure of neutron-rich nuclei. Their astrophysical implications will also be outlined

Corrosion and carburization behavior of Al-rich surface layer on Ni-base alloy in supercritical-carbon dioxide environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Ho Jung, E-mail: leehojung@kaist.ac.kr; Kim, Sung Hwan, E-mail: sciencetom@kaist.ac.kr; Kim, Hyunmyung, E-mail: h46kim@kaist.ac.kr; Jang, Changheui, E-mail: chjang@kaist.ac.kr

2016-12-01

Highlights: • Al-rich layer was developed on Alloy 600 by Al deposition and EB remelting. • When exposed to S-CO{sub 2} at 600 °C, mostly Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} with transition Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} was formed. • Carburized region of amorphous C layer was observed at the oxide/matrix interface. • α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} was formed after pre-oxidation which resulted in superior resistance. - Abstract: In order to improve the corrosion and carburization resistance in a high-temperature supercritical-carbon dioxide (S-CO{sub 2}) environment, an Al-rich surface layer was developed on Alloy 600 by Al deposition and a subsequent high energy electron beam (EB) remelting. As a result of the EB surface treatment, an Al enriched (5–7 wt.%) micro-alloying zone (40 μm) was produced. When the EB surface-treated Alloy 600 was corroded in S-CO{sub 2} at 600 °C (20 MPa) for 500 h, the surface oxide layer mostly consisted of chromia (Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3}) with small amount of transition alumina (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}). In addition, a carburized region of an amorphous C layer inter-mixed with the alumina was observed at the oxide/matrix interface. Meanwhile, when the EB surface-treated specimen was pre-oxidized in helium at 900 °C, α-alumina layer was formed on the surface, which showed superior corrosion and carburization resistance in S-CO{sub 2} environment. Therefore, it could be said that the presence of Al-rich surface layer alone is not enough to provide sufficient corrosion and carburization resistance in S-CO{sub 2} environment at 600 °C, unless pre-oxidation at higher temperature is applied to form a more protective α-alumina on the surface.

High-Temperature Nucleosynthesis Processes on the Proton-Rich Side of Stability: the Alpha-Rich Freezeout and the rp^2-Process

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Bradley S.

2001-10-01

Nucleosynthesis on the proton-rich side of stability has at least two intriguing aspects. First, the most abundant of the stable iron-group isotopes, such as ^48Ti, ^52Cr, and ^56,57Fe, are synthesized as proton-rich, radioactive parents in alpha-rich freezeouts from equilibrium. The production of these radioactive progenitors depends in large measure on reactions on the proton-rich side of stability. The second intriguing aspect is that explosive nucleosynthesis in a hydrogen-rich environment (namely, the rp-process) may be associated with exotic astrophysical settings, such as x-ray bursts, and may be responsible for production of some of the light p-process nuclei (for example, ^92,94Mo and ^96,98Ru). We have developed web-based tools to help nuclear physicists determine which nuclear reactions on the proton-rich side of stability govern the nucleosynthesis in these processes. For the alpha-rich freezeout, one may determine the effect of any one of 2,140 reactions on the yield of any isotope in the nuclear reaction network with the web calculator. As a relevant example, I will discuss the governing role of ^57Ni (n,p)^57Co in the synthesis of the important astronomical observable ^57Co. As for explosive, proton-rich burning, I will discuss the synthesis of p-process nuclei in the repetitive rp-process (the rp^2-process). movies/rp.html>Movies of the rp^2-process illustrate its important features and give some indications of the important nuclear reactions.

Neutron rich nuclei around 132Sn

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharya, Sarmishtha

2016-01-01

The neutron rich nuclei with few particles or holes in 132 Sn have various experimental and theoretical interest to understand the evolution of nuclear structure around the doubly magic shell closure Z=50 and N=82. Some of the exotic neutron rich nuclei in this mass region are situated near waiting points in the r-process path and are of special astrophysical interest. Neutron rich nuclei near 132 Sn have been studied using fission fragment spectroscopy. The lifetime of low lying isomeric states have been precisely measured and the beta decay from the ground and isomeric states have been characterized using gamma-ray spectroscopy

Dopamine Agonists and Pathologic Behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brendan J. Kelley

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The dopamine agonists ropinirole and pramipexole exhibit highly specific affinity for the cerebral dopamine D3 receptor. Use of these medications in Parkinson’s disease has been complicated by the emergence of pathologic behavioral patterns such as hypersexuality, pathologic gambling, excessive hobbying, and other circumscribed obsessive-compulsive disorders of impulse control in people having no history of such disorders. These behavioral changes typically remit following discontinuation of the medication, further demonstrating a causal relationship. Expression of the D3 receptor is particularly rich within the limbic system, where it plays an important role in modulating the physiologic and emotional experience of novelty, reward, and risk assessment. Converging neuroanatomical, physiological, and behavioral science data suggest the high D3 affinity of these medications as the basis for these behavioral changes. These observations suggest the D3 receptor as a therapeutic target for obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance abuse, and improved understanding of D3 receptor function may aid drug design of future atypical antipsychotics.

Evaluation of resistive switching properties of Si-rich oxide embedded with Ti nanodots by applying constant voltage and current

Science.gov (United States)

Ohta, Akio; Kato, Yusuke; Ikeda, Mitsuhisa; Makihara, Katsunori; Miyazaki, Seiichi

2018-06-01

We have studied the resistive switching behaviors of electron beam (EB) evaporated Si-rich oxide (SiO x ) sandwiched between Ni electrodes by applying a constant voltage and current. Additionally, the impact of Ti nanodots (NDs) embedded into SiO x on resistive switching behaviors was investigated because it is expected that NDs can trigger the formation of a conductive filament path in SiO x . The resistive switching behaviors of SiO x show that the response time during resistance switching was decreased by increasing the applied constant current or constant voltage. It was found that Ti-NDs in SiO x enhance the conductive filament path formation owing to electric field concentration by Ti-NDs.

ON THE OFFENSE: USING CYBER WEAPONS TO INFLUENCE COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR

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Mary Fendley

2012-12-01

Full Text Available There is an increasing recognition that cyber warfare is an important area of development for targeting and weaponeering, with far-reaching effects in national defense and economic security. The ability to conduct effective operations in cyberspace relies on a robust situational awareness of events occurring in both the physical and information domains, with an understanding of how they affect the cognitive domain of friendly, neutral, and adversary population sets. The dynamic nature of the battlefield complicates efforts to understand shifting adversary motivations and intentions. There are very few approaches, to date, that systematically evaluate the effects of the repertoire of cyber weapons on the cognitive, perceptual, and behavioral characteristics of the adversary. In this paper, we describe a software environment called Cognitive Cyber Weapon Selection Tool (CCWST that simulates a scenario involving cyber weaponry.This tool provides the capabilities to test weapons which may induce behavioral state changes in the adversaries. CCWST provides the required situational awareness to the Cyber Information Operations (IO planner to conduct intelligent weapon selection during weapon activation in order to induce the desired behavioral change in the perception of the adversary. Weapons designed to induce the cognitive state changes of deception, distraction, distrust and confusion were then tested empirically to evaluate the capabilities and expected cognitive state changes induced by these weapons. The results demonstrated that CCWST is a powerful environment within which to test and evaluate the impact of cyber weapons on influencing cognitive behavioral states during information processing.

Antimicrobial effect of platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin.

Science.gov (United States)

Badade, Pallavi S; Mahale, Swapna A; Panjwani, Alisha A; Vaidya, Prutha D; Warang, Ayushya D

2016-01-01

Platelet concentrates have been extensively used in a variety of medical fields to promote soft- and hard-tissue regeneration. The significance behind their use lies in the abundance of growth factors (GFs) in platelets α-granules that promote wound healing. Other than releasing a pool of GFs upon activation, platelets also have many features that indicate their role in the anti-infective host defense. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) against periodontal disease-associated bacteria. Blood samples were obtained from ten adult male patients. PRP and PRF were procured using centrifugation. The antimicrobial activity of PRP and PRF was evaluated by microbial culturing using bacterial strains of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans were inhibited by PRP but not by PRF. PRP is a potentially useful substance in the fight against periodontal pathogens. This might represent a valuable property in adjunct to the enhancement of tissue regeneration.

Impaired rich club and increased local connectivity in children with traumatic brain injury: Local support for the rich?

Science.gov (United States)

Verhelst, Helena; Vander Linden, Catharine; De Pauw, Toon; Vingerhoets, Guy; Caeyenberghs, Karen

2018-03-12

Recent evidence has shown the presence of a "rich club" in the brain, which constitutes a core network of highly interconnected and spatially distributed brain regions, important for high-order cognitive processes. This study aimed to map the rich club organization in 17 young patients with moderate to severe TBI (15.71 ± 1.75 years) in the chronic stage of recovery and 17 age- and gender-matched controls. Probabilistic tractography was performed on diffusion weighted imaging data to construct the edges of the structural connectomes using number of streamlines as edge weight. In addition, the whole-brain network was divided into a rich club network, a local network and a feeder network connecting the latter two. Functional outcome was measured with a parent questionnaire for executive functioning. Our results revealed a significantly decreased rich club organization (p values < .05) and impaired executive functioning (p < .001) in young patients with TBI compared with controls. Specifically, we observed reduced density values in all three subnetworks (p values < .005) and a reduced mean strength in the rich club network (p = .013) together with an increased mean strength in the local network (p = .002) in patients with TBI. This study provides new insights into the nature of TBI-induced brain network alterations and supports the hypothesis that the local subnetwork tries to compensate for the biologically costly subnetwork of rich club nodes after TBI. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cephalopods Between Science, Art, and Engineering: A Contemporary Synthesis

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Ryuta Nakajima

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Cephalopods are outstanding animals. For centuries, they have provided a rich source of inspiration to many aspects of human cultures, from art, history, media, and spiritual beliefs to the most exquisite scientific curiosity. Given their high esthetical value and “mysteriously” rich behavioral repertoire they have functioned as boundary objects (or subjects connecting seemingly distinct thematic fields. Interesting aspects of their being span from the rapid camouflaging ability inspiring contemporary art practices, to their soft and fully muscular body that curiously enough inspired both gastronomy and (soft robotics. The areas influenced by cephalopods include ancient mythology, art, behavioral science, neuroscience, genomics, camouflage technology, and bespoken robotics. Although these might seem far related fields, in this manuscript we want to show how the increasing scientific and popular interest in this heterogeneous class of animals have indeed prompted a high level of integration between scientific, artistic, and sub-popular culture. We will present an overview of the birth and life of cephalopod investigations from the traditional study of ethology, neuroscience, and biodiversity to the more recent and emerging field of genomics, material industry, and soft robotics. Within this framework, we will attempt to capture the current interest and progress in cephalopod scientific research that lately met both the public interest and the “liberal arts” curiosity.

The source rock characters of U-rich granite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mingyue, Feng; Debao, He [CNNC Key Laboratory of Uranium Resources Exploration and Evaluation Technology, Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology (China)

2012-03-15

This paper discusses the stratum composition, lithological association, uranium content of crust and the activation, migration, concentration of uranium at each tectonic cycle in South China. The authors point out that the source rock of U-rich granite is U-rich continental crust which is rich in Si, Al and K. The lithological association is mainly composed of terrestrial clastic rocks formation of mudstone and sandstone, mingled with intermediate-acidic, mafic pyroclastic rocks and carbonate rocks formation. During tectonic movements, the rocks had undergone regional metamorphism, migmatitization, granitization, and formed U-rich granites finally. (authors)

The source rock characters of U-rich granite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Mingyue; He Debao

2012-01-01

This paper discusses the stratum composition, lithological association, uranium content of crust and the activation, migration, concentration of uranium at each tectonic cycle in South China. The authors point out that the source rock of U-rich granite is U-rich continental crust which is rich in Si, Al and K. The lithological association is mainly composed of terrestrial clastic rocks formation of mudstone and sandstone, mingled with intermediate-acidic, mafic pyroclastic rocks and carbonate rocks formation. During tectonic movements, the rocks had undergone regional metamorphism, migmatitization, granitization, and formed U-rich granites finally. (authors)

Modular Study of the Type III Effector Repertoire in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 Reveals a Matrix of Effector Interplay in Pathogenesis

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Hai-Lei Wei

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Summary: The bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 suppresses the two-tiered innate immune system of Nicotiana benthamiana and other plants by injecting a complex repertoire of type III secretion effector (T3E proteins. Effectorless polymutant DC3000D36E was used with a modularized system for native delivery of the 29 DC3000 T3Es singly and in pairs. Assays of the performance of this T3E library in N. benthamiana leaves revealed a matrix of T3E interplay, with six T3Es eliciting death and eight others variously suppressing the death activity of the six. The T3E library was also interrogated for effects on DC3000D36E elicitation of a reactive oxygen species burst, for growth in planta, and for T3Es that reversed these effects. Pseudomonas fluorescens and Agrobacterium tumefaciens heterologous delivery systems yielded notably different sets of death-T3Es. The DC3000D36E T3E library system highlights the importance of 13 T3Es and their interplay in interactions with N. benthamiana. : Wei et al. used a Pseudomonas syringae strain lacking all known type III effectors with a modularized library expressing the 29 active effectors in the strain’s native repertoire, individually and in pairs, to comprehensively determine effector actions and interplay in inducing and suppressing responses associated with plant pathogenesis and immunity. Keywords: effector-triggered-immunity, pattern-triggered-immunity, Hop proteins, plant immunity, mini-Tn7

Fourteen-Month-Olds Adapt Their Imitative Behavior in Light of a Model’s Constraints

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Kata Gellén

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Rather than reenacting every action they observe, preverbal infants adapt their imitative behavior. Although previous studies have revealed the capability of preverbal infants to imitate selectively, the question about the adaptability of this behavior on an individual level did not attract considerable scientific attention until now. In the current study, we investigated whether 14-month-old infants flexibly alternate their imitative response in accordance with a model’s changing physical constraints in a body-part imitation paradigm. Participants were presented with two novel actions whereby a model illuminated a light-box and turned on a sound-box, either by using her forehead (head touch or by sitting on the apparatus (sit-touch. Each participant observed these tasks in two conditions: once where the model’s hands were occupied and once where her hands were free while executing the head or sit-touch. Participants were more likely to reenact the observed novel behavior when the model had freely chosen to perform it than when she had to do so due to physical constraints. Not only did we replicate a number of previous findings, we show here that preverbal infants adapt their imitative behavior across conditions based on the physical constraints of the model. These results point towards the adaptable nature of imitative behavior also on an individual level. This ability might be one of the building blocks for children for learning their social group’s specific action repertoire.

Experimental methods in behavioral teratology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zbinden, G.

1981-09-01

Efforts are made to develop toxicological techniques with which new behavioral teratogens can be recognized. The review describes the most important experimental methods which are presently explored, and which are based on a rich body of knowledge accumulated by experimental psychologists. Most of the tests were developed with small animals, mostly with rats. They range from the rather straightforward determination of various reflexes to complex behavioral situations involving mechanical devices, operant conditioning techniques and procedures evaluating social behavior. In applying these methods in routine toxicology, it is important to remember, that many behavioral effects determined in newborn and adult animals are subtle. Moreover, they are influenced by a large variety of environmental factors affecting the health and the behavior of the mothers and of the offspring in the early and later phases of development. Therefore, the experiments must be conducted under highly standardized conditions and must be controlled rigorously. It is concluded that the best experimental strategy for the evaluation of potential behavioral teratogens is not yet established. Therefore, it would be premature to decide on a fixed protocol to be included in routine animal safety experiments for drugs and other chemical substances.

Tradition over trend: Neighboring chimpanzee communities maintain differences in cultural behavior despite frequent immigration of adult females.

Science.gov (United States)

Luncz, Lydia V; Boesch, Christophe

2014-07-01

The notion of animal culture has been well established mainly through research aiming at uncovering differences between populations. In chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus), cultural diversity has even been found in neighboring communities, where differences were observed despite frequent immigration of individuals. Female chimpanzees transfer at the onset of sexual maturity at an age, when the behavioral repertoire is fully formed. With immigrating females, behavioral variety enters the group. Little is known about the diversity and the longevity of cultural traits within a community. This study is building on previous findings of differences in hammer selection when nut cracking between neighboring communities despite similar ecological conditions. We now further investigated the diversity and maintenance of cultural traits within one chimpanzee community and were able to show high levels of uniformity in group-specific behavior. Fidelity to the behavior pattern did not vary between dispersing females and philopatric males. Furthermore, group-specific tool selection remained similar over a period of 25 years. Additionally, we present a study case on how one newly immigrant female progressively behaved more similar to her new group, suggesting that the high level of similarity in behavior is actively adopted by group members possibly even when originally expressing the behavior in another form. Taken together, our data support a cultural transmission process in adult chimpanzees, which leads to persisting cultural behavior of one community over time. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Magnetocaloric behavior of Mn rich Ni46Cu2Mn43In11 alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Mayukh K.; Obaidat, I. M.; Banerjee, Sangam

2018-02-01

In this work, we studied the magnetic entropy change (ΔSM) across the martensite transformation (MT) in Mn-rich Ni46Cu2Mn43ln11 alloy. This compound undergoes a MT and a magnetic phase transition around the temperatures (TM=) 272 K and (TCA=) 325 K, respectively. A large field induced shift (=0.28 K/kOe) of the MT temperatures is observed. An application of magnetic field (H =) of 50 kOe causes a large ΔSM of 20 J/kg-K and -4.4 J/kg-K around TM and TCA, respectively. We also found that the change in magnetic field induced isothermal ΔSM(H)T is mainly depends on the induced austenite phase fraction by the applied magnetic field at that temperature. Possible reasons for the observed behaviours are comprehensively discussed.

Antioxidant-Rich Fraction of Urtica dioica Mediated Rescue of Striatal Mito-Oxidative Damage in MPTP-Induced Behavioral, Cellular, and Neurochemical Alterations in Rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisht, Rohit; Joshi, Bhuwan Chandra; Kalia, Ajudhiya Nath; Prakash, Atish

2017-09-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) having a complex and multi-factorial neuropathology includes mainly the degeneration of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway, which is a cumulative effect of depleted endogenous antioxidant enzymes, increased oxidative DNA damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, excitotoxicity, and neuroinflammation. The present study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of a potent antioxidant from Urtica dioica in a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) model of parkinsonism. MPTP was administered intranigrally for the induction of PD in male Wistar rats. Behavioral alterations were assessed in between the study period. Animals were sacrificed immediately after behavioral session, and different biochemical, cellular, and neurochemical parameters were measured. Intranigrally repeated administration of MPTP showed significant impairment of motor co-ordination and marked increase of mito-oxidative damage and neuroinflammation in rats. Intranigral MPTP significantly decreases the dopamine and its metabolites with impairment of dopaminergic cell density in rat brain. However, post-treatment with the potent antioxidant fraction of Urtica dioica Linn. (UD) (20, 40, 80 mg/kg) improved the motor function, mito-oxidative defense alteration significantly and dose dependently in MPTP-treated rats. In addition, the potent antioxidant fraction of UD attenuated the pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-β) and restored the level of dopamine and its metabolites in MPTP-induced PD in rats. Moreover, minocycline (30 mg/kg) with lower dose of UD (20 mg/kg) had significantly potentiated the protective effect of minocycline as compared to its effect with other individual drug-treated groups. In conclusion, Urtica dioica protected the dopaminergic neurons probably by reducing mito-oxidative damage, neuroinflammation, and cellular alteration along with enhanced neurotrophic potential. The above results revealed that the antioxidant rich

Plug and Play Framework for Theories of Social Group Dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rehm, Matthias; Endrass, Birgit; André, Elisabeth

2006-01-01

We present an extensible framework for behavior control of social agents in a multi-agent system that has the following features. It implements a basic repertoire of socio-psychological models of behavior and interpersonal interactions that can be plugged and unplugged at will depending on the sp......We present an extensible framework for behavior control of social agents in a multi-agent system that has the following features. It implements a basic repertoire of socio-psychological models of behavior and interpersonal interactions that can be plugged and unplugged at will depending...... on the specific context of the application. This enables us to test several theories in isolation or combination to increase the transparency of the system and to investigate how the inclusion of a certain theory influences the behavior of the agents. Unlike earlier approaches, our approach is not bound...

Understanding the logics of pheromone processing in the honeybee brain: from labeled-lines to across-fiber patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Deisig

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Honeybees employ a very rich repertoire of pheromones to ensure intraspecific communication in a wide range of behavioral contexts. This communication can be complex, since the same compounds can have a variety of physiological and behavioral effects depending on the receiver. Honeybees constitute an ideal model to study the neurobiological basis of pheromonal processing, as they are already one of the most infl uential animal models for the study of general odor processing and learning at behavioral, cellular and molecular levels. Accordingly, the anatomy of the bee brain is well characterized and electro- and opto-physiological recording techniques at different stages of the olfactory circuit are possible in the laboratory. Here we review pheromone communication in honeybees and analyze the different stages of olfactory processing in the honeybee brain, focusing on available data on pheromone detection, processing and representation at these different stages. In particular, we argue that the traditional distinction between labeled-line and across-fi ber pattern processing, attributed to pheromone and general odors respectively, may not be so clear in the case of honeybees, especially for social-pheromones. We propose new research avenues for stimulating future work in this area.

An immersive virtual peer for studying social influences on child cyclists' road-crossing behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Babu, Sabarish V; Grechkin, Timofey Y; Chihak, Benjamin; Ziemer, Christine; Kearney, Joseph K; Cremer, James F; Plumert, Jodie M

2011-01-01

The goal of our work is to develop a programmatically controlled peer to bicycle with a human subject for the purpose of studying how social interactions influence road-crossing behavior. The peer is controlled through a combination of reactive controllers that determine the gross motion of the virtual bicycle, action-based controllers that animate the virtual bicyclist and generate verbal behaviors, and a keyboard interface that allows an experimenter to initiate the virtual bicyclist's actions during the course of an experiment. The virtual bicyclist's repertoire of behaviors includes road following, riding alongside the human rider, stopping at intersections, and crossing intersections through specified gaps in traffic. The virtual cyclist engages the human subject through gaze, gesture, and verbal interactions. We describe the structure of the behavior code and report the results of a study examining how 10- and 12-year-old children interact with a peer cyclist that makes either risky or safe choices in selecting gaps in traffic. Results of our study revealed that children who rode with a risky peer were more likely to cross intermediate-sized gaps than children who rode with a safe peer. In addition, children were significantly less likely to stop at the last six intersections after the experience of riding with the risky than the safe peer during the first six intersections. The results of the study and children's reactions to the virtual peer indicate that our virtual peer framework is a promising platform for future behavioral studies of peer influences on children's bicycle riding behavior. © 2011 IEEE Published by the IEEE Computer Society

"Bad Talk" Made Good: Language Variety in Four Caribbean British Children's Poets

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Michael

2014-01-01

This article looks at how four British-based poets born in the Caribbean exploit the rich language repertoire available to them in their work for children and young people. Following initial consideration of questions of definition and terminology, poetry collections by James Berry, John Agard, Grace Nichols and Valerie Bloom are discussed, with a…

Two-proton knockout on neutron-rich nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazin, D.; Brown, B.A.; Campbell, C.M.; Church, J.A.; Dinca, D.C.; Enders, J.; Gade, A.; Glasmacher, T.; Hansen, P.G.; Mueller, W.F.; Olliver, H.; Perry, B.C.; Sherrill, B.M.; Terry, J.R.; Tostevin, J.A.

2004-01-01

Two-proton knockout reactions on neutron-rich nuclei [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91 (2003) 012501] have been studied in inverse kinematics at intermediate energy. Strong evidence that the two-proton removal from a neutron-rich system proceeds as a direct reaction is presented, together with a preliminary theoretical discussion of the partial cross sections based on eikonal reaction theory and the many-body shell model. They show that this reaction can be used to characterize the wave functions of the projectiles and holds great promise for the study of neutron-rich nuclei

Structure of Light Neutron-rich Nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dlouhy, Zdenek

2007-01-01

In this contribution we searched for irregularities in various separation energies in the frame of mass measurement of neutron-rich nuclei at GANIL. On this basis we can summarize that the new doubly magic nuclei are 8 He, 22 O and 24 O. They are characterized by extra stability and, except 24 O, they cannot accept and bind additional neutrons. However, if we add to these nuclei a proton we obtain 9 Li and 25 F which are the core for two-neutron halo nucleus 11 Li and enables that fluorine can bound even 6 more neutrons, respectively. In that aspect the doubly magic nuclei in the neutron-rich region can form the basis either for neutron halo or very neutron-rich nuclei. (Author)

Temperature-dependent residual shear strength characteristics of smectite-rich landslide soils

Science.gov (United States)

Shibasaki, Tatsuya; Matsuura, Sumio; Okamoto, Takashi

2015-04-01

behaviors were also recognized during cooling-event tests. Shear stress fluctuations, which were obtained by 1 Hz data sampling, showed that shear behavior characteristically changed in response to temperature conditions. Stick-slip behavior prevailed under room temperature conditions, whereas shear behavior gradually changed into stable sliding behavior as temperature decreased. SEM (Scanning Electric Microscope) observation on shear surfaces indicated that silt- and sand-size asperities in the vicinity of the shear surface influence the occurrence of stick-slip behavior. It is also characteristically noted that rod-shaped smectitic clays, here called "roll", developed on shear surfaces and are arrayed densely perpendicular to the shearing direction in a micrometer scale. We assume that these rolls are probably rotating slowly within shear zone and acting as a lubricant which affects the temperature-dependent frictional properties of the shearing plane. These experimental results show that residual strength characteristics of smectite-rich soils are sensitive to temperature conditions. Our findings imply that if slip surface soils contain a high fraction of smectite, a decrease in ground temperature can lead to lowered shear resistance of the slip surface and triggering of slow landslide movement.

Narrative Inquiry for Science Education: Teachers' repertoire-making in the case of environmental curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Seyoung

2011-04-01

This paper considers how the school science curriculum can be conceptualised in order to address the contingent and complex nature of environmental and sustainability-related knowledge and understanding. A special concern lies in the development of research perspectives and tools for investigating ways, in which teachers are faced with complex and various situations in the sense-making of science-related issues, and subsequent pedagogic issues. Based on an empirical examination of Korean teachers' sense-making of their curricular practice, the paper develops a narrative approach to teachers' perspectives and knowledge by considering the value of stories as sense-making tools for reflective questioning of what is worth teaching, how and why. By employing the idea of 'repertoire', the study regards teachers' stories about their environment-related personal and teaching experiences as offering angles with which to understand teachers' motivation and reflection in curricular development and implementation. Furthermore, three empirical cases present ways in which the nature of knowledge and understanding is recognised and potentially integrated into pedagogies through teachers' narratives. Finally, the paper argues for the need to reconsider the role of the science teacher in addressing environmental and sustainability-related issues, in ways that facilitate teachers' reflexive interpretation of meanings in cultural texts and the construction of pedagogic text.

Impact of a 3-Months Vegetarian Diet on the Gut Microbiota and Immune Repertoire

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chenchen Zhang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The dietary pattern can influence the immune system directly, but may also modulate it indirectly by regulating the gut microbiota. Here, we investigated the effect of a 3-months lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet on the diversity of gut microbiota and the immune system in healthy omnivorous volunteers, using high-throughput sequencing technologies. The short-term vegetarian diet did not have any major effect on the diversity of the immune system and the overall composition of the metagenome. The prevalence of bacterial genera/species with known beneficial effects on the intestine, including butyrate-producers and probiotic species and the balance of autoimmune-related variable genes/families were, however, altered in the short-term vegetarians. A number of bacterial species that are associated with the expression level of IgA, a key immunoglobulin class that protects the gastrointestinal mucosal system, were also identified. Furthermore, a lower diversity of T-cell repertoire and expression level of IgE, as well as a reduced abundance of inflammation-related genes in the gut microbiota were potentially associated with a control group with long-term vegetarians. Thus, the composition and duration of the diet may have an impact on the balance of pro-/anti-inflammatory factors in the gut microbiota and immune system.

Island Species Richness Increases with Habitat Diversity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hortal, J.; Triantis, K.A.; Meiri, S.; Thebault, E.M.C.; Sfenthourakis, S.

2009-01-01

Species richness is commonly thought to increase with habitat diversity. However, a recent theoretical model aiming to unify niche and island biogeography theories predicted a hump-shaped relationship between richness and habitat diversity. Given the contradiction between model results and previous

Eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, cognition, and behavior in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Milte, Catherine M; Parletta, Natalie; Buckley, Jonathan D; Coates, Alison M; Young, Ross M; Howe, Peter R C

2012-06-01

To determine the effects of an eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-rich oil and a docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich oil versus an ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich safflower oil (control) on literacy and behavior in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a randomized controlled trial. Supplements rich in EPA, DHA, or safflower oil were randomly allocated for 4 mo to 90 Australian children 7 to 12 y old with ADHD symptoms higher than the 90th percentile on the Conners Rating Scales. The effect of supplementation on cognition, literacy, and parent-rated behavior was assessed by linear mixed modeling. Pearson correlations determined associations between the changes in outcome measurements and the erythrocyte fatty acid content (percentage of total) from baseline to 4 mo. There were no significant differences between the supplement groups in the primary outcomes after 4 mo. However, the erythrocyte fatty acid profiles indicated that an increased proportion of DHA was associated with improved word reading (r = 0.394) and lower parent ratings of oppositional behavior (r = 0.392). These effects were more evident in a subgroup of 17 children with learning difficulties: an increased erythrocyte DHA was associated with improved word reading (r = 0.683), improved spelling (r = 0.556), an improved ability to divide attention (r = 0.676), and lower parent ratings of oppositional behavior (r = 0.777), hyperactivity (r = 0.702), restlessness (r = 0.705), and overall ADHD symptoms (r = 0.665). Increases in erythrocyte ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, specifically DHA, may improve literacy and behavior in children with ADHD. The greatest benefit may be observed in children who have comorbid learning difficulties. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Copper precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of Cu-bearing 316L austenitic stainless steel: A comprehensive cross-correlation study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi, Tong; Babar Shahzad, M.; Xu, Dake; Zhao, Jinlong; Yang, Chunguang; Qi, Min; Yang, Ke

2016-01-01

The effect of precipitation hardening on mechanical properties and coarsening behavior of Cu-rich precipitates in a Cu-bearing 316L austenite stainless steel after aging at 700 °C for different time were systematically investigated. The variations of morphology and composition of Cu-rich precipitates as a function of aging time were respectively characterized by electrical resistivity, atom probe tomography (APT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that both hardness and mechanical strength increased to peak value within short aging time, and remained nearly unchanged with prolonged aging time. The TEM observation confirmed a coherent interface between Cu-rich precipitates and austenite matrix, while high number densities of spheroidal Cu-rich precipitates were observed in all aged samples. APT analyses confirmed virtually 100% Cu core composition of Cu-rich precipitates, whereas the average radius was slightly increased from 1.38±0.46 nm to 2.39±0.81 nm with increasing the aging time. The relatively slow growth and coarsening behavior of Cu-rich precipitates was largely attributed to the slower diffusion kinetics of Cu, low interfacial energy and high strain energy of Cu-rich precipitates in the austenite matrix, and was well predicted by the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner theory. The slow increase in average radius of Cu-rich precipitates was consistent with the modest change in hardness and yield strength with extended aging. In addition, the precipitation strengthening effects of Cu-rich precipitates were quantitatively evaluated and analyzed. These cumulative results and analyses could provide a solid foundation for much wider applications of Cu-bearing stainless steels.

Copper precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of Cu-bearing 316L austenitic stainless steel: A comprehensive cross-correlation study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xi, Tong [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Babar Shahzad, M.; Xu, Dake; Zhao, Jinlong [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (China); Yang, Chunguang, E-mail: cgyang@imr.ac.cn [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (China); Qi, Min [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Yang, Ke, E-mail: kyang@imr.ac.cn [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (China)

2016-10-15

The effect of precipitation hardening on mechanical properties and coarsening behavior of Cu-rich precipitates in a Cu-bearing 316L austenite stainless steel after aging at 700 °C for different time were systematically investigated. The variations of morphology and composition of Cu-rich precipitates as a function of aging time were respectively characterized by electrical resistivity, atom probe tomography (APT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that both hardness and mechanical strength increased to peak value within short aging time, and remained nearly unchanged with prolonged aging time. The TEM observation confirmed a coherent interface between Cu-rich precipitates and austenite matrix, while high number densities of spheroidal Cu-rich precipitates were observed in all aged samples. APT analyses confirmed virtually 100% Cu core composition of Cu-rich precipitates, whereas the average radius was slightly increased from 1.38±0.46 nm to 2.39±0.81 nm with increasing the aging time. The relatively slow growth and coarsening behavior of Cu-rich precipitates was largely attributed to the slower diffusion kinetics of Cu, low interfacial energy and high strain energy of Cu-rich precipitates in the austenite matrix, and was well predicted by the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner theory. The slow increase in average radius of Cu-rich precipitates was consistent with the modest change in hardness and yield strength with extended aging. In addition, the precipitation strengthening effects of Cu-rich precipitates were quantitatively evaluated and analyzed. These cumulative results and analyses could provide a solid foundation for much wider applications of Cu-bearing stainless steels.

Jet-stirred reactor oxidation of alkane-rich FACE gasoline fuels

KAUST Repository

Chen, Bingjie

2016-06-23

Understanding species evolution upon gasoline fuel oxidation can aid in mitigating harmful emissions and improving combustion efficiency. Experimentally measured speciation profiles are also important targets for surrogate fuel kinetic models. This work presents the low- and high-temperature oxidation of two alkane-rich FACE gasolines (A and C, Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) in a jet-stirred reactor at 10. bar and equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 2 by probe sampling combined with gas chromatography and Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectrometry analysis. Detailed speciation profiles as a function of temperature are presented and compared to understand the combustion chemistry of these two real fuels. Simulations were conducted using three surrogates (i.e., FGA2, FGC2, and FRF 84), which have similar physical and chemical properties as the two gasolines. The experimental results reveal that the reactivity and major product distributions of these two alkane-rich FACE fuels are very similar, indicating that they have similar global reactivity despite their different compositions. The simulation results using all the surrogates capture the two-stage oxidation behavior of the two FACE gasolines, but the extent of low temperature reactivity is over-predicted. The simulations were analyzed, with a focus on the n-heptane and n-butane sub-mechanisms, to help direct the future model development and surrogate fuel formulation strategies.

Jet-stirred reactor oxidation of alkane-rich FACE gasoline fuels

KAUST Repository

Chen, Bingjie; Togbé , Casimir; Wang, Zhandong; Dagaut, Philippe; Sarathy, Mani

2016-01-01

Understanding species evolution upon gasoline fuel oxidation can aid in mitigating harmful emissions and improving combustion efficiency. Experimentally measured speciation profiles are also important targets for surrogate fuel kinetic models. This work presents the low- and high-temperature oxidation of two alkane-rich FACE gasolines (A and C, Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) in a jet-stirred reactor at 10. bar and equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 2 by probe sampling combined with gas chromatography and Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectrometry analysis. Detailed speciation profiles as a function of temperature are presented and compared to understand the combustion chemistry of these two real fuels. Simulations were conducted using three surrogates (i.e., FGA2, FGC2, and FRF 84), which have similar physical and chemical properties as the two gasolines. The experimental results reveal that the reactivity and major product distributions of these two alkane-rich FACE fuels are very similar, indicating that they have similar global reactivity despite their different compositions. The simulation results using all the surrogates capture the two-stage oxidation behavior of the two FACE gasolines, but the extent of low temperature reactivity is over-predicted. The simulations were analyzed, with a focus on the n-heptane and n-butane sub-mechanisms, to help direct the future model development and surrogate fuel formulation strategies.

The thermomechanics of nonlinear irreversible behaviors an introduction

CERN Document Server

Maugin, Gérard A

1999-01-01

In this invaluable book, macroscopic irreversible thermodynamics is presented in its realm and its splendor by appealing to the notion of internal variables of state. This applies to both fluids and solids with or without microstructures of mechanical or electromagnetic origin. This unmatched richness of essentially nonlinear behaviors is the result of the use of modern mathematical techniques such as convex analysis in a clear-cut framework which allows one to put under the umbrella of "irreversible thermodynamics" behaviors which until now have been commonly considered either not easily cove

Habituation of the C-start response in larval zebrafish exhibits several distinct phases and sensitivity to NMDA receptor blockade.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam C Roberts

Full Text Available The zebrafish larva has been a valuable model system for genetic and molecular studies of development. More recently, biologists have begun to exploit the surprisingly rich behavioral repertoire of zebrafish larvae to investigate behavior. One prominent behavior exhibited by zebrafish early in development is a rapid escape reflex (the C-start. This reflex is mediated by a relatively simple neural circuit, and is therefore an attractive model behavior for neurobiological investigations of simple forms of learning and memory. Here, we describe two forms of short-lived habituation of the C-start in response to brief pulses of auditory stimuli. A rapid form, persisting for ≥1 min but <15 min, was induced by 120 pulses delivered at 0.5-2.0 Hz. A more extended form (termed "short-term habituation" here, which persisted for ≥25 min but <1 h, was induced by spaced training. The spaced training consisted of 10 blocks of auditory pulses delivered at 1 Hz (5 min interblock interval, 900 pulses per block. We found that these two temporally distinguishable forms of habituation are mediated by different cellular mechanisms. The short-term form depends on activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs, whereas the rapid form does not.

Rapidly involuting congenital hemangioma (RICH): a brief case report

OpenAIRE

Scalise, Robert; Bolton, Joanna; Gibbs, Neil F

2014-01-01

Congenital hemangiomas (CH) are benign vascular neoplasms that proliferate in utero and have completed development by birth. Two subtypes of CH are recognized: rapidly involuting congenital hemangiomas (RICH) and non-involuting congenital hemangiomas (NICH). Involution of the RICH subtype often begins in the first weeks of life. NICH does not involute, allowing the distinction between RICH and NICH. We report a case of an infant with RICH occurring on the scalp, examined at birth and followed...

A theoretical interpersonal style repertoire for middle-level managers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Koortzen

2005-10-01

Full Text Available The development of the interpersonal behaviour of managers has received a good deal of attention, especially in terms of the most appropriate interpersonal styles in the work context and the skills involved in developing and maintaining effective interpersonal relationships. The design of effective interpersonal development programs requires a thorough evaluation of an individual’s interpersonal development needs. In order to do this, evaluators should have an understanding of the most appropriate interpersonal styles for managers. Given the aims of the investigation, the approach that was followed was to evaluate the relevant literature in this field. The theoretical goal was to study and describe the most appropriate theoretical interpersonal style repertoire of middle-level managers using the interpersonal approach, and specifically the 1982 Interpersonal Circle. The conclusions support the notion that dominant, assured, exhibitionistic, social, friendly, warm and trusting styles are the most relevant of the 16 interpersonal segments, while the assured-dominant, social-exhibitionistic and warm-friendly octants are viewed as the most appropriate. Opsomming Die ontwikkeling van die interpersoonlike gedrag van bestuurders het reeds heelwat aandag gekry. Dit geld veral vir aangeleenthede wat verband hou met die mees toepaslike interpersoonlike style binne die werkskonteks en die vaardighede wat die ontwikkeling van effektiewe interpersoonlike verhoudings onderlê. Die ontwikkeling van effektiewe interpersoonlike ontwikkelingsprogramme vereis ’n deeglike evaluering van ’n individu se interpersoonlike ontwikkelingsbehoeftes. Om dit te vermag, is dit nodig vir evalueerders om te verstaan wat die mees toepaslike interpersoonlike style vir bestuurders is. Gegee die doelwitte van die ondersoek is die metode wat gevolg is ’n evaluering van die relevante literatuur in hierdie gebied. Die teoretiese doel was om die mees toepaslike teoretiese

Variability and repertoire size of T-cell receptor V alpha gene segments.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, D M; Pattern, P; Chien, Y; Yokota, T; Eshhar, Z; Giedlin, M; Gascoigne, N R; Goodnow, C; Wolf, R; Arai, K

The immune system of higher organisms is composed largely of two distinct cell types, B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes, each of which is independently capable of recognizing an enormous number of distinct entities through their antigen receptors; surface immunoglobulin in the case of the former, and the T-cell receptor (TCR) in the case of the latter. In both cell types, the genes encoding the antigen receptors consist of multiple gene segments which recombine during maturation to produce many possible peptides. One striking difference between B- and T-cell recognition that has not yet been resolved by the structural data is the fact that T cells generally require a major histocompatibility determinant together with an antigen whereas, in most cases, antibodies recognize antigen alone. Recently, we and others have found that a series of TCR V beta gene sequences show conservation of many of the same residues that are conserved between heavy- and light-chain immunoglobulin V regions, and these V beta sequences are predicted to have an immunoglobulin-like secondary structure. To extend these studies, we have isolated and sequenced eight additional alpha-chain complementary cDNA clones and compared them with published sequences. Analyses of these sequences, reported here, indicate that V alpha regions have many of the characteristics of V beta gene segments but differ in that they almost always occur as cross-hybridizing gene families. We conclude that there may be very different selective pressures operating on V alpha and V beta sequences and that the V alpha repertoire may be considerably larger than that of V beta.

Firm size diversity, functional richness, and resilience

Science.gov (United States)

Garmestani, A.S.; Allen, Craig R.; Mittelstaedt, J.D.; Stow, C.A.; Ward, W.A.

2006-01-01

This paper applies recent advances in ecology to our understanding of firm development, sustainability, and economic development. The ecological literature indicates that the greater the functional richness of species in a system, the greater its resilience - that is, its ability to persist in the face of substantial changes in the environment. This paper focuses on the effects of functional richness across firm size on the ability of industries to survive in the face of economic change. Our results indicate that industries with a richness of industrial functions are more resilient to employment volatility. ?? 2006 Cambridge University Press.

Modeling Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Richness Using Landscape Attributes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcia S. Meixler

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We used a rapid, repeatable, and inexpensive geographic information system (GIS approach to predict aquatic macroinvertebrate family richness using the landscape attributes stream gradient, riparian forest cover, and water quality. Stream segments in the Allegheny River basin were classified into eight habitat classes using these three landscape attributes. Biological databases linking macroinvertebrate families with habitat classes were developed using life habits, feeding guilds, and water quality preferences and tolerances for each family. The biological databases provided a link between fauna and habitat enabling estimation of family composition in each habitat class and hence richness predictions for each stream segment. No difference was detected between field collected and modeled predictions of macroinvertebrate families in a paired t-test. Further, predicted stream gradient, riparian forest cover, and total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and suspended sediment classifications matched observed classifications much more often than by chance alone. High gradient streams with forested riparian zones and good water quality were predicted to have the greatest macroinvertebrate family richness and changes in water quality were predicted to have the greatest impact on richness. Our findings indicate that our model can provide meaningful landscape scale macroinvertebrate family richness predictions from widely available data for use in focusing conservation planning efforts.

Complimentary mechanisms of dual checkpoint blockade expand unique T-cell repertoires and activate adaptive anti-tumor immunity in triple-negative breast tumors

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Junping; Yang, Xiao Yi; Lei, Gangjun; Wang, Tao; Liu, Cong-Xiao; Morse, Michael A.; Gouin, Kenneth; Knott, Simon R. V.; Hartman, Zachary C.

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive and molecularly diverse breast cancer subtype typified by the presence of p53 mutations (∼80%), elevated immune gene signatures and neoantigen expression, as well as the presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). As these factors are hypothesized to be strong immunologic prerequisites for the use of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) antibodies, multiple clinical trials testing single ICBs have advanced to Phase III, with early indications of heterogeneous response rates of <20% to anti-PD1 and anti-PDL1 ICB. While promising, these modest response rates highlight the need for mechanistic studies to understand how different ICBs function, how their combination impacts functionality and efficacy, as well as what immunologic parameters predict efficacy to different ICBs regimens in TNBC. To address these issues, we tested anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 in multiple models of TNBC and found that their combination profoundly enhanced the efficacy of either treatment alone. We demonstrate that this efficacy is due to anti-CTLA4-driven expansion of an individually unique T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire whose functionality is enhanced by both intratumoral Treg suppression and anti-PD1 blockade of tumor expressed PDL1. Notably, the individuality of the TCR repertoire was observed regardless of whether the tumor cells expressed a nonself antigen (ovalbumin) or if tumor-specific transgenic T-cells were transferred prior to sequencing. However, responsiveness was strongly correlated with systemic measures of tumor-specific T-cell and B-cell responses, which along with systemic assessment of TCR expansion, may serve as the most useful predictors for clinical responsiveness in future clinical trials of TNBC utilizing anti-PD1/anti-CTLA4 ICB. PMID:29721371

Complimentary mechanisms of dual checkpoint blockade expand unique T-cell repertoires and activate adaptive anti-tumor immunity in triple-negative breast tumors.

Science.gov (United States)

Crosby, Erika J; Wei, Junping; Yang, Xiao Yi; Lei, Gangjun; Wang, Tao; Liu, Cong-Xiao; Agarwal, Pankaj; Korman, Alan J; Morse, Michael A; Gouin, Kenneth; Knott, Simon R V; Lyerly, H Kim; Hartman, Zachary C

2018-01-01

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive and molecularly diverse breast cancer subtype typified by the presence of p53 mutations (∼80%), elevated immune gene signatures and neoantigen expression, as well as the presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). As these factors are hypothesized to be strong immunologic prerequisites for the use of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) antibodies, multiple clinical trials testing single ICBs have advanced to Phase III, with early indications of heterogeneous response rates of <20% to anti-PD1 and anti-PDL1 ICB. While promising, these modest response rates highlight the need for mechanistic studies to understand how different ICBs function, how their combination impacts functionality and efficacy, as well as what immunologic parameters predict efficacy to different ICBs regimens in TNBC. To address these issues, we tested anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 in multiple models of TNBC and found that their combination profoundly enhanced the efficacy of either treatment alone. We demonstrate that this efficacy is due to anti-CTLA4-driven expansion of an individually unique T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire whose functionality is enhanced by both intratumoral Treg suppression and anti-PD1 blockade of tumor expressed PDL1. Notably, the individuality of the TCR repertoire was observed regardless of whether the tumor cells expressed a nonself antigen (ovalbumin) or if tumor-specific transgenic T-cells were transferred prior to sequencing. However, responsiveness was strongly correlated with systemic measures of tumor-specific T-cell and B-cell responses, which along with systemic assessment of TCR expansion, may serve as the most useful predictors for clinical responsiveness in future clinical trials of TNBC utilizing anti-PD1/anti-CTLA4 ICB.

Geomorphic controls on elevational gradients of species richness.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertuzzo, Enrico; Carrara, Francesco; Mari, Lorenzo; Altermatt, Florian; Rodriguez-Iturbe, Ignacio; Rinaldo, Andrea

2016-02-16

Elevational gradients of biodiversity have been widely investigated, and yet a clear interpretation of the biotic and abiotic factors that determine how species richness varies with elevation is still elusive. In mountainous landscapes, habitats at different elevations are characterized by different areal extent and connectivity properties, key drivers of biodiversity, as predicted by metacommunity theory. However, most previous studies directly correlated species richness to elevational gradients of potential drivers, thus neglecting the interplay between such gradients and the environmental matrix. Here, we investigate the role of geomorphology in shaping patterns of species richness. We develop a spatially explicit zero-sum metacommunity model where species have an elevation-dependent fitness and otherwise neutral traits. Results show that ecological dynamics over complex terrains lead to the null expectation of a hump-shaped elevational gradient of species richness, a pattern widely observed empirically. Local species richness is found to be related to the landscape elevational connectivity, as quantified by a newly proposed metric that applies tools of complex network theory to measure the closeness of a site to others with similar habitat. Our theoretical results suggest clear geomorphic controls on elevational gradients of species richness and support the use of the landscape elevational connectivity as a null model for the analysis of the distribution of biodiversity.

Environmental heterogeneity–species richness relationships from a global perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anke Stein

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Spatial environmental heterogeneity (EH is considered one of the most important factors promoting species richness, but no general consent about the EH–richness relationship exists so far. This is because research methods and study settings vary widely, and because non-significant and negative associations have also been reported. My thesis provides a comprehensive review of the different measurements and terminologies of EH used in the literature, and presents strong quantitative evidence of a generally positive relationship between biotic and abiotic EH and species richness of terrestrial plants and animals from landscape to global extents. In a meta-analysis and a subsequent case study comparing multiple EH measures and their association with mammal species richness worldwide, I furthermore reveal that the outcome of EH–richness studies depends strongly on study design, including both the EH measure chosen and spatial scale. My research contributes to a better understanding of the EH–richness relationship, while identifying future research needs.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE RICHNESS ESTIMATES OF maxBCG CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozo, Eduardo; Rykoff, Eli S.; Koester, Benjamin P.; Hansen, Sarah; Becker, Matthew; Bleem, Lindsey; McKay, Timothy; Hao Jiangang; Evrard, August; Wechsler, Risa H.; Sheldon, Erin; Johnston, David; Annis, James; Scranton, Ryan

2009-01-01

Minimizing the scatter between cluster mass and accessible observables is an important goal for cluster cosmology. In this work, we introduce a new matched filter richness estimator, and test its performance using the maxBCG cluster catalog. Our new estimator significantly reduces the variance in the L X -richness relation, from σ lnLx 2 = (0.86±0.02) 2 to σ lnLx 2 = (0.69±0.02) 2 . Relative to the maxBCG richness estimate, it also removes the strong redshift dependence of the L X -richness scaling relations, and is significantly more robust to photometric and redshift errors. These improvements are largely due to the better treatment of galaxy color data. We also demonstrate the scatter in the L X -richness relation depends on the aperture used to estimate cluster richness, and introduce a novel approach for optimizing said aperture which can easily be generalized to other mass tracers.

Scope and Limits of the Notion of "Repertoire of Contention" to Describe, Measure and Explain Conflictivity in XXI Century Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolás Orellana Águila

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to analyze the dynamics of social conflict in Chile during the period 2000-2011. We elaborate catalogues of contention actions from Clacso’s “Cronologías del Conflicto Social”, that are the basis to identify actors, actions, and adversaries. The specific objective is double: on one hand, to take to the limit the theoretical foundations in which a large part of academic interpretations of social conflict are based, evaluating their utility and possible criticisms; on the other, to evaluate whether those who mobilize respond to a heteronomous dynamics of conflict or rather are subjects with an autonomous capacity of action. With this analysis we expect to have enough elements to elaborate an outline of the repertoire of contention in Chile during this Century.

Origin of the latitudinal richness gradient

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engemann, Kristine; Sandel, Brody Steven; Enquist, Brian J.

2015-01-01

Spatial variation in richness patterns must be due to variation in rates of speciation, extinction, immigration and emigration. Hotspots of diversity can occur either because they are hotspots of speciation (cradles) or cold spots of extinction (museums) – two major hypotheses that make contrasting...... predictions for the phylogenetic structure of communities. We test these hypotheses by comparing centers of species richness and phylogenetic clustering for vascular plants in the New World. Range maps for 88,417 plant species were extracted from the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) database...... and combined with the BIEN mega phylogeny of >80,000 species. We calculated the Phylogenetic Diversity Index (PDI) and Net Relatedness Index (NRI) for each cell in a 100×100 km grid using a new computationally efficient algorithm. Species richness patterns were compared to patterns of PDI and NRI. We found...

The CBM RICH project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adamczewski-Musch, J. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Akishin, P. [Laboratory of Information Technologies, Joint Institute for Nuclear research (JINR-LIT), Dubna (Russian Federation); Becker, K.-H. [Department of Physics, University of Wuppertal, D-42097 Wuppertal (Germany); Belogurov, S. [SSC RF ITEP, 117218 Moscow (Russian Federation); Bendarouach, J. [Institute of Physics II and Institute of Applied Physics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen (Germany); Boldyreva, N. [National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” B.P. Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188300 Gatchina (Russian Federation); Chernogorov, A. [SSC RF ITEP, 117218 Moscow (Russian Federation); Deveaux, C. [Institute of Physics II and Institute of Applied Physics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen (Germany); Dobyrn, V. [National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” B.P. Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188300 Gatchina (Russian Federation); Dürr, M. [Institute of Physics II and Institute of Applied Physics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen (Germany); Eschke, J. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Förtsch, J. [Department of Physics, University of Wuppertal, D-42097 Wuppertal (Germany); Heep, J.; Höhne, C. [Institute of Physics II and Institute of Applied Physics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen (Germany); Kampert, K.-H. [Department of Physics, University of Wuppertal, D-42097 Wuppertal (Germany); and others

2017-02-11

The CBM RICH detector is an integral component of the future CBM experiment at FAIR, providing efficient electron identification and pion suppression necessary for the measurement of rare dileptonic probes in heavy ion collisions. The RICH design is based on CO{sub 2} gas as radiator, a segmented spherical glass focussing mirror with Al+MgF{sub 2} reflective coating, and Multianode Photomultipliers for efficient Cherenkov photon detection. Hamamatsu H12700 MAPMTs have recently been selected as photon sensors, following an extensive sensor evaluation, including irradiation tests to ensure sufficient radiation hardness of the MAPMTs. A brief overview of the detector design and concept is given, results on the radiation hardness of the photon sensors are shown, and the development of a FPGA-TDC based readout chain is discussed.

Testing the Relationships between Diversification, Species Richness, and Trait Evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozak, Kenneth H; Wiens, John J

2016-11-01

Understanding which traits drive species diversification is essential for macroevolutionary studies and to understand patterns of species richness among clades. An important tool for testing if traits influence diversification is to estimate rates of net diversification for each clade, and then test for a relationship between traits and diversification rates among clades. However, this general approach has become very controversial. Numerous papers have now stated that it is inappropriate to analyze net diversification rates in groups in which clade richness is not positively correlated with clade age. Similarly, some have stated that variation in net diversification rates does not explain variation in species richness patterns among clades across the Tree of Life. Some authors have also suggested that strong correlations between richness and diversification rates are a statistical artifact and effectively inevitable. If this latter point is true, then correlations between richness and diversification rates would be uninformative (or even misleading) for identifying how much variation in species richness among clades is explained by variation in net diversification rates. Here, we use simulations (based on empirical data for plethodontid salamanders) to address three main questions. First, how is variation in net diversification rates among clades related to the relationship between clade age and species richness? Second, how accurate are these net diversification rate estimators, and does the age-richness relationship have any relevance to their accuracy? Third, is a relationship between species richness and diversification rates an inevitable, statistical artifact? Our simulations show that strong, positive age-richness relationships arise when diversification rates are invariant among clades, whereas realistic variation in diversification rates among clades frequently disrupts this relationship. Thus, a significant age-richness relationship should not be a

Characterization and corrosion behavior of F6NM stainless steel treated in high temperature water

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zheng-yang; Cai, Zhen-bing; Yang, Wen-jin; Shen, Xiao-yao; Xue, Guo-hong; Zhu, Min-hao

2018-03-01

F6NM martensitic stainless steel was exposed to 350 °C water condition for 500, 1500, and 2500 h to simulate pressurized water reactor (PWR) condition. The characterization and corrosion behavior of the oxide film were investigated. Results indicate that the exposed steel surface formed a double-layer oxide film. The outer oxide film is Fe-rich and contains two type oxide particles. However, the inner oxide film is Cr-rich, and two oxide films, whose thicknesses increase with increasing exposure time. The oxide film reduces the corrosion behavior because the outer oxide film has many crack and pores. Finally, the mechanism and factors affecting the formation of the oxide film were investigated.

A network architecture supporting consistent rich behavior in collaborative interactive applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, James; Glencross, Mashhuda; Pettifer, Steve; Hubbold, Roger

2006-01-01

Network architectures for collaborative virtual reality have traditionally been dominated by client-server and peer-to-peer approaches, with peer-to-peer strategies typically being favored where minimizing latency is a priority, and client-server where consistency is key. With increasingly sophisticated behavior models and the demand for better support for haptics, we argue that neither approach provides sufficient support for these scenarios and, thus, a hybrid architecture is required. We discuss the relative performance of different distribution strategies in the face of real network conditions and illustrate the problems they face. Finally, we present an architecture that successfully meets many of these challenges and demonstrate its use in a distributed virtual prototyping application which supports simultaneous collaboration for assembly, maintenance, and training applications utilizing haptics.

Why New Spinal Cord Plasticity Does Not Disrupt Old Motor Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi; Chen, Lu; Wang, Yu; Chen, Xiang Yang; Wolpaw, Jonathan R

2017-08-23

When new motor learning changes the spinal cord, old behaviors are not impaired; their key features are preserved by additional compensatory plasticity. To explore the mechanisms responsible for this compensatory plasticity, we transected the spinal dorsal ascending tract before or after female rats acquired a new behavior-operantly conditioned increase or decrease in the right soleus H-reflex-and examined an old behavior-locomotion. Neither spinal dorsal ascending tract transection nor H-reflex conditioning alone impaired locomotion. Nevertheless, when spinal dorsal ascending tract transection and H-reflex conditioning were combined, the rats developed a limp and a tilted posture that correlated in direction and magnitude with the H-reflex change. When the right H-reflex was increased by conditioning, the right step lasted longer than the left and the right hip was higher than the left; when the right H-reflex was decreased by conditioning, the opposite occurred. These results indicate that ascending sensory input guides the compensatory plasticity that normally prevents the plasticity underlying H-reflex change from impairing locomotion. They support the concept of the state of the spinal cord as a negotiated equilibrium that reflects the concurrent influences of all the behaviors in an individual's repertoire; and they support the new therapeutic strategies this concept introduces. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The spinal cord provides a reliable final common pathway for motor behaviors throughout life. Until recently, its reliability was explained by the assumption that it is hardwired; but it is now clear that the spinal cord changes continually as new behaviors are acquired. Nevertheless, old behaviors are preserved. This study shows that their preservation depends on sensory feedback from the spinal cord to the brain: if feedback is removed, the acquisition of a new behavior may disrupt an old behavior. In sum, when a new behavior changes the spinal cord, sensory

Fundamental roles of the innate-like repertoire of natural antibodies in immune homeostasis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaya eVas

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The composition of the early immune repertoire is biased with prominent expression of spontaneously arising B-cell clones that produce IgM with recurrent and often autoreactive binding specificities. Amongst these naturally-arising antibodies (NAbs are IgM antibodies that specifically recognize damaged and senescent cells, often via oxidation-associated neo-determinants. These NAbs are present from birth and can be further boosted by apoptotic cell challenge. Recent studies have shown that IgM NAb to apoptotic cells can enhance phagocytic clearance, as well as suppress pro-inflammatory responses induced via Toll-like receptors, and block pathogenic IgG-immune complex (IC-mediated inflammatory responses. Specific antibody effector functions appear to be involved, as these anti-inflammatory properties are dependent on IgM-mediated recruitment of the early recognition factors of complement. Clinical surveys have suggested that anti-AC IgM NAbs may modulate disease activity in some patients with autoimmune disease. In mechanistic studies, anti-AC NAbs were shown to act in dendritic cells by inhibition of the Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK pathway, a primary signal transduction pathway that controls inflammatory responses. This immunomodulatory pathway has an absolute requirement for the induction of MAPK Phosphatase-1. Taken together, recent studies have elucidated the novel properties of a class of protective NAbs, which may directly blunt inflammatory responses through a primitive pathway for regulation of the innate immune system.

A diverse host thrombospondin-type-1 repeat protein repertoire promotes symbiont colonization during establishment of cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Neubauer, Emilie-Fleur; Poole, Angela Z; Neubauer, Philipp; Detournay, Olivier; Tan, Kenneth; Davy, Simon K; Weis, Virginia M

2017-05-08

The mutualistic endosymbiosis between cnidarians and dinoflagellates is mediated by complex inter-partner signaling events, where the host cnidarian innate immune system plays a crucial role in recognition and regulation of symbionts. To date, little is known about the diversity of thrombospondin-type-1 repeat (TSR) domain proteins in basal metazoans or their potential role in regulation of cnidarian-dinoflagellate mutualisms. We reveal a large and diverse repertoire of TSR proteins in seven anthozoan species, and show that in the model sea anemone Aiptasia pallida the TSR domain promotes colonization of the host by the symbiotic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium minutum . Blocking TSR domains led to decreased colonization success, while adding exogenous TSRs resulted in a 'super colonization'. Furthermore, gene expression of TSR proteins was highest at early time-points during symbiosis establishment. Our work characterizes the diversity of cnidarian TSR proteins and provides evidence that these proteins play an important role in the establishment of cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

THE REACH AND RICHNESS OF WIKINOMICS: IS THE FREE WEB-BASED ENCYCLOPEDIA WIKIPEDIA ONLY FOR RICH COUNTRIES?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rask, Morten

2007-01-01

In this article, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether the free Web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Based on data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, the author finds that the cent......In this article, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether the free Web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Based on data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, the author finds...... that the central structural effect is on the level of human development in the current country. In other words, Wikipedia is in general more for rich countries than for less developed countries. It is suggested that policy makers make investments in increasing the general level of literacy, education, and standard...

A Computational Model of Selection by Consequences

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, J. J.

2004-01-01

Darwinian selection by consequences was instantiated in a computational model that consisted of a repertoire of behaviors undergoing selection, reproduction, and mutation over many generations. The model in effect created a digital organism that emitted behavior continuously. The behavior of this digital organism was studied in three series of…

arXiv The Future of RICH Detectors through the Light of the LHCb RICH

CERN Document Server

D'Ambrosio, C.; Easo, S.; Petrolini, A.; Ullaland, O.

2017-12-21

The limitations in performance of the present RICH system in the LHCb experiment are given by the natural chromatic dispersion of the gaseous Cherenkov radiator, the aberrations of the optical system and the pixel size of the photon detectors. Moreover, the overall PID performance can be affected by high detector occupancy as the pattern recognition becomes more difficult with high particle multiplicities. This paper shows a way to improve performance by systematically addressing each of the previously mentioned limitations. These ideas are applied in the present and future upgrade phases of the LHCb experiment. Although applied to specific circumstances, they are used as a paradigm on what is achievable in the development and realisation of high precision RICH detectors.

Partitioning sources of variation in vertebrate species richness

Science.gov (United States)

Boone, R.B.; Krohn, W.B.

2000-01-01

Aim: To explore biogeographic patterns of terrestrial vertebrates in Maine, USA using techniques that would describe local and spatial correlations with the environment. Location: Maine, USA. Methods: We delineated the ranges within Maine (86,156 km2) of 275 species using literature and expert review. Ranges were combined into species richness maps, and compared to geomorphology, climate, and woody plant distributions. Methods were adapted that compared richness of all vertebrate classes to each environmental correlate, rather than assessing a single explanatory theory. We partitioned variation in species richness into components using tree and multiple linear regression. Methods were used that allowed for useful comparisons between tree and linear regression results. For both methods we partitioned variation into broad-scale (spatially autocorrelated) and fine-scale (spatially uncorrelated) explained and unexplained components. By partitioning variance, and using both tree and linear regression in analyses, we explored the degree of variation in species richness for each vertebrate group that Could be explained by the relative contribution of each environmental variable. Results: In tree regression, climate variation explained richness better (92% of mean deviance explained for all species) than woody plant variation (87%) and geomorphology (86%). Reptiles were highly correlated with environmental variation (93%), followed by mammals, amphibians, and birds (each with 84-82% deviance explained). In multiple linear regression, climate was most closely associated with total vertebrate richness (78%), followed by woody plants (67%) and geomorphology (56%). Again, reptiles were closely correlated with the environment (95%), followed by mammals (73%), amphibians (63%) and birds (57%). Main conclusions: Comparing variation explained using tree and multiple linear regression quantified the importance of nonlinear relationships and local interactions between species

Beta decomposition processes in Hf-rich Hf--Nb alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, W.B.; Taggart, R.; Polonis, D.H.

1978-01-01

The decomposition of the bcc β-phase by both athermal and isothermal processes has been investigated in Hf-rich Hf--Nb alloys. An all β-phase structure is retained in chill-cast alloys containing 30 to 50 at.% Nb (Cb), although electron diffraction streaking effects and the behavior of the temperature coefficient of electrical resistivity indicate the presence of a bcc lattice instability similar to that reported in solute lean Ti and Zr alloys. Aging a Hf 0 . 65 Nb 0 . 35 alloy at 400 and 600 0 C resulted in the direct precipitation of a fine dispersion of α-phase needles; this morphology differs from the discs of transition α (α/sub t/) which Carpenter et al observed in Nb-rich Nb 0 . 68 Hf 0 . 32 . During continued aging, the needles grow selectively to form colonies or groups of needles in which both the individual needles and the groups of needles have major axes aligned along (110)/sub β/ type directions. The initial α-phase particles exhibit the Burgers orientation relationship with the parent matrix; continued aging changes the electron diffraction patterns in a way that is similar to that observed in aged Ti--Mo and Ti--Mo--Al alloys where they were attributed to the α-phase having a different crystallographic relationship to the β-phase (Type 2 α-phase). The observed changes in the electron diffraction patterns of aged Hf 0 . 65 Nb 0 . 35 cannot be described as resulting from strained Burgers α-phase

Corrosion behavior of pyroclore-rich titanate ceramics for plutonium disposition; impurity effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakel, A. J.

1999-01-01

The baseline ceramic contains Ti, U, Ca, Hf, Gd, and Ce, and is made up of only four phases, pyrochlore, zirconolite, rutile, and brannerite. The impurities present in the three other ceramics represent impurities expected in the feed, and result in different phase distributions. The results from 3 day, 90 C MCC-1 tests with impurity ceramics were significantly different than the results from tests with the baseline ceramic. Overall, the addition of impurities to these titanate ceramics alters the phase distributions, which in turn, affects the corrosion behavior

Richness, biomass, and nutrient content of a wetland macrophyte community affect soil nitrogen cycling in a diversity-ecosystem functioning experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Korol, Alicia R.; Ahn, Changwoo; Noe, Gregory

2016-01-01

The development of soil nitrogen (N) cycling in created wetlands promotes the maturation of multiple biogeochemical cycles necessary for ecosystem functioning. This development proceeds from gradual changes in soil physicochemical properties and influential characteristics of the plant community, such as competitive behavior, phenology, productivity, and nutrient composition. In the context of a 2-year diversity experiment in freshwater mesocosms (0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 richness levels), we assessed the direct and indirect impacts of three plant community characteristics – species richness, total biomass, and tissue N concentration – on three processes in the soil N cycle – soil net ammonification, net nitrification, and denitrification potentials. Species richness had a positive effect on net ammonification potential (NAP) through higher redox potentials and likely faster microbial respiration. All NAP rates were negative, however, due to immobilization and high rates of ammonium removal. Net nitrification was inhibited at higher species richness without mediation from the measured soil properties. Higher species richness also inhibited denitrification potential through increased redox potential and decreased nitrification. Both lower biomass and/or higher tissue ratios of carbon to nitrogen, characteristics indicative of the two annual plants, were shown to have stimulatory effects on all three soil N processes. The two mediating physicochemical links between the young macrophyte community and microbial N processes were soil redox potential and temperature. Our results suggest that early-successional annual plant communities play an important role in the development of ecosystem N multifunctionality in newly created wetland soils.

The behavior of biogenic silica-rich rocks and volcanic tuffs as pozzolanic additives in cement

Science.gov (United States)

Fragoulis, Dimitris; Stamatakis, Michael; Anastasatou, Marianthi

2015-04-01

Cements currently produced, include a variety of pozzolanic materials, aiming for lower clinker addition and utilization of vast deposits of certain raw materials and/or mining wastes and byproducts. The major naturally occurring pozzolanic materials include glassy tuffs, zeolitic tuffs, diatomites and volcanic lavas rich in glassy phase, such as perlites. Therefore, based on the available raw materials in different locations, the cement composition might vary according to the accessibility of efficient pozzolanic materials. In the present investigation, the behavior of pozzolanic cements produced with representative samples of the aforementioned materials was studied, following the characterization of the implemented pozzolanas with respect to their chemical and mineralogical characteristics. Laboratory cements were produced by co-grinding 75% clinker, 5% gypsum and 20% pozzolana, for the same period of time (45 min). Regarding pozzolanic materials, four different types of pozzolanas were utilized namely, diatomite, perlite, zeolite tuff and glassy tuff. More specifically, two diatomite samples originated from Australia and Greece, with high and low reactive silica content respectively, two perlite samples originated from Turkey and from Milos Island, Greece, with different reactive silica contents, a zeolite tuff sample originated from Turkey and a glassy tuff sample originated from Milos Island, Greece. The above pozzolana samples, which were ground in the laboratory ball mill for cement production performed differently during grinding and that was reflected upon the specific surface area (cm2/gr) values. The perlites and the glassy tuff were the hardest to grind, whereas, the zeolite tuff and the Australian diatomite were the easiest ones. However, the exceedingly high specific surface area of the Australian diatomite renders cement difficult to transport and tricky to use for concrete manufacturing, due to the high water demand of the cement mixture. Regarding

Disturbance alters local-regional richness relationships in appalachian forests

Science.gov (United States)

Belote, R.T.; Sanders, N.J.; Jones, R.H.

2009-01-01

Whether biological diversity within communities is limited by local interactions or regional species pools remains an important question in ecology. In this paper, we investigate how an experimentally applied tree-harvesting disturbance gradient influenced local-regional richness relationships. Plant species richness was measured at three spatial scales (2 ha = regional; 576 m2 and 1 m2 = local) on three occasions (one year pre-disturbance, one year post-disturbance, and 10 years post-disturbance) across five disturbance treatments (uncut control through clearcut) replicated throughout the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. We investigated whether species richness in 576-m2 plots and 1-m2 subplots depended on species richness in 2-ha experimental units and whether this relationship changed through time before and after canopy disturbance. We found that, before disturbance, the relationship between local and regional richness was weak or nonexistent. One year after disturbance local richness was a positive function of regional richness, because local sites were colonized from the regional species pool. Ten years after disturbance, the positive relationship persisted, but the slope had decreased by half. These results suggest that disturbance can set the stage for strong influences of regional species pools on local community assembly in temperate forests. However, as time since disturbance increases, local controls on community assembly decouple the relationships between regional and local diversity. ?? 2009 by the Ecological Society of America.

The importance of being social : preclinical studies on social development, cognitive control and drug addiction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baarendse, P.J.J.

2012-01-01

Marked developmental changes in social behavior take place during youth, including increased complexity of the social repertoire and dramatic increment of peer-directed social interactions. Social experiences early in life are of major importance for proper behavioral development and create valuable

Synthesis and study of neutron-rich nuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Y.X.

1995-01-01

During the past few years our understanding of the decay properties and nuclear structure has been extended in a systematic fashion for the neutron-rich nuclei. This review will discuss the impressive progress in the studies of the exotic decay properties and nuclear structure of n-rich nuclei. Their astrophysical implications will also be outlined. ((orig.))

LHCb RICH1 Engineering Design Review Report

CERN Document Server

Brook, N; Metlica, F; Muir, A; Phillips, A; Buckley, A; Gibson, V; Harrison, K; Jones, C R; Katvars, S G; Lazzeroni, C; Storey, J; Ward, CP; Wotton, S; Alemi, M; Arnabaldi, C; Bellunato, T F; Calvi, M; Matteuzzi, C; Musy, M; Negri, P; Perego, D L; Pessina, G; Chamonal, R; Eisenhardt, S; Lawrence, J; McCarron, J; Muheim, F; Playfer, S; Walker, A; Cuneo, S; Fontanelli, F; Gracco, Valerio; Mini, G; Musico, P; Petrolini, A; Sannino, M; Bates, A; MacGregor, A; O'Shea, V; Parkes, C; Paterson, S; Petrie, D; Pickford, A; Rahman, M; Soler, F; Allebone, L; Barber, J H; Cameron, W; Clark, D; Dornan, Peter John; Duane, A; Egede, U; Hallam, R; Howard, A; Plackett, R; Price, D; Savidge, T; Vidal-Sitjes, G; Websdale, D M; Adinolfi, M; Bibby, J H; Cioffi, C; Gligorov, Vladimir V; Harnew, N; Harris, F; McArthur, I A; Newby, C; Ottewell, B; Rademacker, J; Senanayake, R; Somerville, L P; Soroko, A; Smale, N J; Topp-Jørgensen, S; Wilkinson, G; Yang, S; Benayoun, M; Khmelnikov, V A; Obraztsov, V F; Densham, C J; Easo, S; Franek, B; Kuznetsov, G; Loveridge, P W; Morrow, D; Morris, JV; Papanestis, A; Patrick, G N; Woodward, M L; Aglieri-Rinella, G; Albrecht, A; Braem, André; Campbell, M; D'Ambrosio, C; Forty, R W; Frei, C; Gys, Thierry; Jamet, O; Kanaya, N; Losasso, M; Moritz, M; Patel, M; Piedigrossi, D; Snoeys, W; Ullaland, O; Van Lysebetten, A; Wyllie, K

2005-01-01

This document describes the concepts of the engineering design to be adopted for the upstream Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector (RICH1) of the reoptimized LHCb detector. Our aim is to ensure that coherent solutions for the engineering design and integration for all components of RICH1 are available, before proceeding with the detailed design of these components.

ALBUM SUARA (REPERTOIRE KATAK SERASAH Leptobrachium hasseltii TSCHUDI, 1883 DI SITU GUNUNG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sasi Kirono

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study describes the vocal repertoire of forest litter frog Leptobrachium hasseltii from Situgunung Resort, Mount Gede Pangrango National Park. Two types of calls were identified: advertisement call and aggressive call. Each types were represented by two different characteristics thus four types of calls were examined. The kruskall and wallis test was used to test the difference of nine features. Pearson’s correlation test also used to determine the relationship of all call features to air temperature and body size. Dominant frequency of all call types was relatively similar. Advertisement calls type I was emitted in short duration and fewer notes than advertisement call type II. Aggressive call type I and have longer call duration compared to both of advertisement call. However the introductory note of aggressive call type II was more longer than the others. Aggressive call of L. hasseltii tended to be discrete (territorial and encounter and represented two different continuums. This were caused by the extreme differences of both calls in duration and distance between males when emitting calls. Dominan frequencies of all call types inverse correlated with body size of frogs. Most of temporal features of advertisement call type II correlated with body size and only call duration were longer with increasingly air temperature. Interpulse-interval and pulse period were more longer by increasing the body size, while the introductory note, pulse rate and pulse repetition rate were becoming shortened and it could predict male body size to facilitated competition between males, thus serves as mate selection indicator. Key words: advertisement call, agressif call, Leptobrachium hasseltii, Situgunung resort, social interaction

Linear Stability Analysis of Laminar Premixed Fuel-Rich Double-Spray Flames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noam Weinberg

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the stability of a double-spray premixed flame formed when both fuel and oxidizer are initially present in the form of sprays of evaporating liquid droplets. To simplify the inherent complexity that characterizes the analytic solution of multi-phase combustion processes, the analysis is restricted to fuel-rich laminar premixed double-spray flames, and assumes a single-step global chemical reaction mechanism. Steady-state solutions are obtained and the sensitivity of the flame temperature and the flame propagating velocity to the initial liquid fuel and/or oxidizer loads are established. The stability analysis revealed an increased proneness to cellular instability induced by the presence of the two sprays, and for the fuel-rich case considered here the influence of the liquid oxidizer was found to be more pronounced than that of the liquid fuel. Similar effects were noted for the neutral pulsating stability boundaries. The impact of unequal latent heats of vaporization is also investigated and found to be in keeping with the destabilizing influence of heat loss due to droplet evaporation. It should be noted that as far as the authors are aware no experimental evidence is available for (at least validation of the predictions. However, they do concur in a general and reasonable fashion with independent experimental evidence in the literature of the behavior of single fuel spray laminar premixed flames.

Cognitive plasticity in foraging Vespula germanica wasps.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Adamo, Paola; Lozada, Mariana

2011-01-01

Vespula germanica (F.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) is a highly invasive social wasp that exhibits a rich behavioral repertoire in which learning and memory play a fundamental role in foraging. The learning abilities of these wasps were analyzed while relocating a food source and whether V. germanica foragers are capable of discriminating between different orientation patterns and generalizing their choice to a new pattern. Foraging wasps were trained to associate two different stripe orientation patterns with their respective food locations. Their response to a novel configuration that maintained the orientation of one of the learned patterns but differed in other aspects (e.g. width of stripes) was then evaluated. The results support the hypothesis that V. germanica wasps are able to associate a particular oriented pattern with the location of a feeder and to generalize their choice to a new pattern, which differed in quality, but presented the same orientation.

Relativistic mean field calculations in neutron-rich nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gangopadhyay, G.; Bhattacharya, Madhubrata [Department of Physics, University of Calcutta, 92 Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road, Kolkata 700 009 (India); Roy, Subinit [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Block AF, Sector 1, Kolkata- 700 064 (India)

2014-08-14

Relativistic mean field calculations have been employed to study neutron rich nuclei. The Lagrange's equations have been solved in the co-ordinate space. The effect of the continuum has been effectively taken into account through the method of resonant continuum. It is found that BCS approximation performs as well as a more involved Relativistic Continuum Hartree Bogoliubov approach. Calculations reveal the possibility of modification of magic numbers in neutron rich nuclei. Calculation for low energy proton scattering cross sections shows that the present approach reproduces the density in very light neutron rich nuclei.

Diel Behavioral Activity Patterns in Adult Solitarious Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sidi Ould Ely

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The responses of adult solitarious desert locust to odors from a host plant were evaluated in a two-choice wind tunnel. Solitarious desert locusts collected from the field (Red Sea Coast were more attracted to volatiles from potted Heliotropium ovalifolium in scotophase than in photophase. The attraction towards the host plant odors rather than to clean air, in both photophase and scotophase, concurs with previous observations on oviposition preferences near these plants. Diel behavioral activity patterns of adult solitarious desert locusts Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål that were collected from the field in Port Sudan were investigated by monitoring, scanning, resting, taking off, and walking/running in a wind tunnel. Solitarious locusts that had been propagated in the laboratory for 20 generations were also observed for comparison. In both groups of locusts, insects were significantly more active after sunset and this activity attained peak level at 1-2 hours after dusk. Of the two groups, solitarious locusts collected from the field were significantly more active. In the scotophase, the former traversed distances that were about seven times those covered by laboratory-reared locusts. Overall, the results show that the repertoire of behavioral activities of solitarious locusts is maintained in laboratory-reared insects, albeit at a lower level. The implications of these observations in the behavioral ecology of the desert locust are discussed.

Pan-neuronal calcium imaging with cellular resolution in freely swimming zebrafish.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dal Hyung; Kim, Jungsoo; Marques, João C; Grama, Abhinav; Hildebrand, David G C; Gu, Wenchao; Li, Jennifer M; Robson, Drew N

2017-11-01

Calcium imaging with cellular resolution typically requires an animal to be tethered under a microscope, which substantially restricts the range of behaviors that can be studied. To expand the behavioral repertoire amenable to imaging, we have developed a tracking microscope that enables whole-brain calcium imaging with cellular resolution in freely swimming larval zebrafish. This microscope uses infrared imaging to track a target animal in a behavior arena. On the basis of the predicted trajectory of the animal, we applied optimal control theory to a motorized stage system to cancel brain motion in three dimensions. We combined this motion-cancellation system with differential illumination focal filtering, a variant of HiLo microscopy, which enabled us to image the brain of a freely swimming larval zebrafish for more than an hour. This work expands the repertoire of natural behaviors that can be studied with cellular-resolution calcium imaging to potentially include spatial navigation, social behavior, feeding and reward.

Differences in species richness patterns between unicellular and multicellular organisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillebrand, Helmut; Watermann, Frank; Karez, Rolf; Berninger, Ulrike-G

2001-01-01

For unicellular organisms, a lack of effects of local species richness on ecosystem function has been proposed due to their locally high species richness and their ubiquitous distribution. High dispersal ability and high individual numbers may enable unicellular taxa to occur everywhere. Using our own and published data sets on uni- and multicellular organisms, we conducted thorough statistical analyses to test whether (1) unicellular taxa show higher relative local species richness compared to multicellular taxa, (2) unicellular taxa show lower slopes of the species:area relationships and species:individuals relationships, and (3) the species composition of unicellular taxa is less influenced by geographic distance compared to multicellular taxa. We found higher local species richness compared to the global species pool for unicellular organisms than for metazoan taxa. The difference was significant if global species richness was conservatively estimated but not if extrapolated, and therefore higher richness estimates were used. Both microalgae and protozoans showed lower slopes between species richness and sample size (area or individuals) compared to macrozoobenthos, also indicating higher local species richness for unicellular taxa. The similarity of species composition of both benthic diatoms and ciliates decreased with increasing geographic distance. This indicated restricted dispersal ability of protists and the absence of ubiquity. However, a steeper slope between similarity and distance was found for polychaetes and corals, suggesting a stronger effect of distance on the dispersal of metazoans compared to unicellular taxa. In conclusion, we found partly different species richness patterns among uni- and multicellular eukaryotes, but no strict ubiquity of unicellular taxa. Therefore, the effect of local unicellular species richness on ecosystem function has to be reanalyzed. Macroecological patterns suggested for multicellular organisms may differ in

Directory of Factual and Numeric Databases of Relevance to Aerospace and Defence R and D (Repertoire de Bases de donnees Factuelles ou Numeriques d’interet pour la R and D).

Science.gov (United States)

1992-07-01

Madrid Faculty of Science Institute of Materials Sciences (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid) ADDRESS...OF ORGANIZATION: Construcciones Aeronauticas SA CASA ADDRESS/POINT OF CONTACT: Attention: J. Pascual Laboratory Aeropuerto de San Pablo 41007 Sevilla...Factual and Numeric Databases of Relevance to Aerospace and Defence R & D (Repertoire de Bases de donnees Factuelles ou Num~riques d’inte’re^t pour

Structural, mechanical and corrosion studies of Cr-rich inclusions in 152 cladding of dissimilar metal weld joint

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yifeng; Wang, Jianqiu; Han, En-Hou; Yang, Chengdong

2018-01-01

Cr-rich inclusions were discovered in 152 cladding at the inner wall of domestic dissimilar metal weld joint, and their morphologies, microstructures, mechanical properties and corrosion behaviors were systematically characterized by SEM, TEM, nanoindentation and FIB. The results indicate that the Cr-rich inclusions originate from large-size Cr particles in 152 welding electrode flux, and they are 50-150 μm in size in most cases, and there is a continuous transition zone of 2-5 μm in width between the Cr inclusion core and 152 cladding matrix, and the transition zone consists of Ni & Fe-rich dendritic austenite and Cr23C6 and Cr matrix. The transition zone has the highest nanoindentation hardness (7.66 GPa), which is much harder than the inclusion core (5.14 GPa) and 152 cladding (3.71 GPa). In-situ microscopic tensile tests show that cracks initialize preferentially in transition zone, and then propagate into the inclusion core, and creep further into 152 cladding after penetrating the core area. The inclusion core and its transition zone both share similar oxide film structure with nickel-base 152 cladding matrix in simulated primary water, while those two parts present better general corrosion resistance than 152 cladding matrix due to higher Cr concentration.

Visual communication, reproductive behavior, and home range of Hylodes dactylocinus (Anura, Leptodactylidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia Narvaes

2005-12-01

Full Text Available We studied the signaling, reproductive and courtship behaviors of the diurnal stream-dwelling frog Hylodes dactylocinus. The repertoire of visual signals of H. dactylocinus includes foot-flagging, leg-stretching, body movements, and toe-wiggling. The visual signals are performed only by males and are used to defend territories against intruders and to attract females. Home rangesize varied from 0.12 to 13.12 m2 for males (N = 44, and from 0.45 to 7.98 m2 for females (N = 24; residency time varied from one to 12 months for males, and from two to 10 months for females. During the courtship of H. dactylocinus the male gives an encounter call towards an approaching female, touches her snout, and guides her to a previously dug nest. After oviposition, the female leaves the nest and returns to her own home range; the male remains calling after concealing the nest entrance.

Dynamic partitioning of a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored protein in glycosphingolipid-rich microdomains imaged by single-quantum dot tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinaud, Fabien; Michalet, Xavier; Iyer, Gopal; Margeat, Emmanuel; Moore, Hsiao-Ping; Weiss, Shimon

2009-06-01

Recent experimental developments have led to a revision of the classical fluid mosaic model proposed by Singer and Nicholson more than 35 years ago. In particular, it is now well established that lipids and proteins diffuse heterogeneously in cell plasma membranes. Their complex motion patterns reflect the dynamic structure and composition of the membrane itself, as well as the presence of the underlying cytoskeleton scaffold and that of the extracellular matrix. How the structural organization of plasma membranes influences the diffusion of individual proteins remains a challenging, yet central, question for cell signaling and its regulation. Here we have developed a raft-associated glycosyl-phosphatidyl-inositol-anchored avidin test probe (Av-GPI), whose diffusion patterns indirectly report on the structure and dynamics of putative raft microdomains in the membrane of HeLa cells. Labeling with quantum dots (qdots) allowed high-resolution and long-term tracking of individual Av-GPI and the classification of their various diffusive behaviors. Using dual-color total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, we studied the correlation between the diffusion of individual Av-GPI and the location of glycosphingolipid GM1-rich microdomains and caveolae. We show that Av-GPI exhibit a fast and a slow diffusion regime in different membrane regions, and that slowing down of their diffusion is correlated with entry in GM1-rich microdomains located in close proximity to, but distinct, from caveolae. We further show that Av-GPI dynamically partition in and out of these microdomains in a cholesterol-dependent manner. Our results provide direct evidence that cholesterol-/sphingolipid-rich microdomains can compartmentalize the diffusion of GPI-anchored proteins in living cells and that the dynamic partitioning raft model appropriately describes the diffusive behavior of some raft-associated proteins across the plasma membrane.

Butterfly Species Richness in Selected West Albertine Rift Forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrice Kasangaki

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The butterfly species richness of 17 forests located in the western arm of the Albertine Rift in Uganda was compared using cluster analysis and principal components analysis (PCA to assess similarities among the forests. The objective was to compare the butterfly species richness of the forests. A total of 630 butterfly species were collected in 5 main families. The different species fell into 7 ecological groupings with the closed forest group having the most species and the swamp/wetland group with the fewest number of species. Three clusters were obtained. The first cluster had forests characterized by relatively high altitude and low species richness despite the big area in the case of Rwenzori and being close to the supposed Pleistocene refugium. The second cluster had forests far away from the supposed refugium except Kisangi and moderate species richness with small areas, whereas the third cluster had those forests that were more disturbed, high species richness, and low altitudinal levels with big areas.

LHCB : The upgraded LHCb RICH detector: status and perspectives

CERN Multimedia

Cardinale, Roberta

2015-01-01

The LHCb experiment is designed to perform high-precision measurements of CP violation and search for New Physics using the enormous flux of beauty and charmed hadrons produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The two RICH detectors installed in LHCb have performed successfully during the 2010-2012 data taking period. The data from these detectors were essential to most of the physics results published by LHCb. In order to extend its potential for discovery and study of new phenomena it is planned to upgrade the LHCb experiment in 2018 with a 40MHz readout and a much more flexible software-based triggering system. This would increase the readout rate and occupancies for the RICH detectors. The RICH detector will require new photon detectors and modifications of the optics of the upstream RICH detector. Tests of the complete opto-electronic chain have been performed during testbeam sessions in autumn 2014. The status and perspectives of the RICH upgrade project will be presented.

Neutron rich nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foucher, R.

1979-01-01

If some β - emitters are particularly interesting to study in light, medium, and heavy nuclei, another (and also) difficult problem is to know systematically the properties of these neutron rich nuclei far from the stability line. A review of some of their characteristics is presented. How far is it possible to be objective in the interpretation of data is questioned and implications are discussed

Individual and environmental influences on adolescent eating behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Story, Mary; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; French, Simone

2002-03-01

Food choices of adolescents are not consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Food intakes tend to be low in fruits, vegetables, and calcium-rich foods and high in fat. Skipping meals is also a concern among adolescents, especially girls. Factors influencing eating behaviors of adolescents need to be better understood to develop effective nutrition interventions to change eating behaviors. This article presents a conceptual model based on social cognitive theory and an ecological perspective for understanding factors that influence adolescent eating behaviors and food choices. In this model, adolescent eating behavior is conceptualized as a function of individual and environmental influences. Four levels of influence are described: individual or intrapersonal influences (eg, psychosocial, biological); social environmental or interpersonal (eg, family and peers); physical environmental or community settings (eg, schools, fast food outlets, convenience stores); and macrosystem or societal (eg, mass media, marketing and advertising, social and cultural norms).

State of the art/science: Visual methods and information behavior research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hartel, Jenna; Sonnenwald, Diane H.; Lundh, Anna

2012-01-01

This panel reports on methodological innovation now underway as information behavior scholars begin to experiment with visual methods. The session launches with a succinct introduction to visual methods by Jenna Hartel and then showcases three exemplar visual research designs. First, Dianne Sonne...... will have gained: knowledge of the state of the art/science of visual methods in information behavior research; an appreciation for the richness the approach brings to the specialty; and a platform to take new visual research designs forward....

The effect of platelet-rich plasma on composite graft survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Yeo Reum; Kang, Eun Hye; Yang, Chae Eun; Yun, In Sik; Lee, Won Jai; Lew, Dae Hyun

2014-08-01

Composite grafts are suitable for facial reconstruction because of good color matching, low donor-site morbidity, acceptable texture, and easy surgical techniques. However, their use is limited to small defects and by unpredictable survival rates. As platelet-rich plasma contains large numbers of growth factors and has been widely used for tissue regeneration, this study aimed to investigate platelet-rich plasma as an adjuvant to enhance composite graft survival. Twenty New Zealand White rabbits were used, and chondrocutaneous composite grafts were applied to their ears. The grafts were then returned to their original positions after rotation to block the original circulation from the base of the graft. Each of the individual ears was assigned randomly into one of two groups: experimental (n=20; platelet-rich plasma group) or control (n=20; control group). The surrounding skin of the composite graft was injected with either 1.0 ml of platelet-rich plasma derived from autologous whole blood in the platelet-rich plasma group or normal saline in the control group. Graft survival, cutaneous blood flow, CD31-stained vessels, and vascular endothelial growth factor protein levels were examined. Twelve days after surgery, graft viability in the platelet-rich plasma group was higher than in the control group. Blood perfusion was also higher in the platelet-rich plasma group. Compared with the control group, the number of CD31 blood vessels and vascular endothelial growth factor expression levels were significantly increased in the platelet-rich plasma group. The authors' results suggest that platelet-rich plasma restores the perfusion of composite grafts by enhancing revascularization and may exert therapeutic effects on the survival of composite grafts.

Variation in singing style use in the reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus: influencing factors and possible functions

OpenAIRE

Brunner, P; Pasinelli, G

2010-01-01

The two main functions of bird song are territory defence and mate attraction. Considerable progress has been made in understanding how species adjust the use of songs to serve these and other (presumed) functions of bird song, but the striking variety of singing behavior observable in wild birds remains enigmatic. Some species make do with simple songs and small repertoires, while others show large, complex repertoires and still others have evolved several distinct singing styles. In most sp...

Constraints on the properties of Pluto's nitrogen-ice rich layer from convection simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, T.; McKinnon, W. B.; Schenk, P.

2016-12-01

Pluto's Sputnik Planum basin (informally named) displays regular cellular patterns strongly suggesting that solid-state convection is occurring in a several-kilometers-deep nitrogen-ice rich layer (McKinnon et al., Convection in a volatile nitrogen-ice-rich layer drives Pluto's geological vigour, Nature 534, 82-85, 2016). We investigate the behavior of thermal convection in 2-D that covers a range of parameters applicable to the nitrogen ice layer to constrain its properties such that these long-wavelength surface features can be explained. We perform a suite of numerical simulations of convection with basal heating and temperature-dependent viscosity in either exponential form or Arrhenius form. For a plausible range of Rayleigh numbers and viscosity contrasts for solid nitrogen, convection can occur in all possible regimes: sluggish lid, transitional, or stagnant lid, or the layer could be purely conducting. We suggest the range of depth and temperature difference across the layer for convection to occur. We observe that the plume dynamics can be widely different in terms of the aspect ratio of convecting cells, or the width and spacing of plumes, and also in the lateral movement of plumes. These differences depend on the regime of convection determined by the Rayleigh number and the actual viscosity contrast across the layer, but is not sensitive to whether the viscosity is in Arrhenius or exponential form. The variations in plume dynamics result in different types of dynamic topography, which can be compared with the observed horizontal and vertical scales of the cells in Sputnik Planum. Based on these simulations we suggest several different possibilities for the formation and evolution of Sputnik Planum, which may be a consequence of the time-dependent behavior of thermal convection.

Small leucine-rich proteoglycans in the aging skeleton

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Young, M F; Bi, Y; Ameye, L

2006-01-01

Small Leucine-Rich Proteoglyans (SLRPs) are major skeletal extracellular matrix (ECM) components that comprise a family of 13 members containing repeats of a leucine-rich motif. To examine SLRP function, we generated mice deficient in one or more member and analyzed them at the tissue, cell...

Effects of odors on behaviors of captive Amur leopards Panthera pardus orientalis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shangying YU

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Captive environments often fail to resemble the wild environment in respects of limited space, unchanging habitat, lack of stimulus and contingency. Common animal welfare problems which occur in captive animals include low behavioral diversity, abnormal behavior and excessive inactivity. Environmental enrichment, as an effective strategy to tackle these problems and promote mental health of captive animals, has been recognized as an important principal for captive animal management. Among all the enrichment techniques, olfactory enrichment is a simple and effective method for improving the well-being of the olfactory sensitive felids. Behavioral problems were observed in six Amur leopards Panthera pardus orientalis at Beijing Zoological Garden. These were held in the older type exhibits which have now been rebuilt. These behaviors include stereotypic behavior and excessive inactivity caused by the spatially limited enclosures with low levels of stimuli. To determine the effects of predator, prey, and herb odors as potential enrichment materials for captive leopards, we conducted olfactory enrichment experiments for the leopards and tested the effects of nutmeg Myristica fragrans, feces of roe deer Capreolus capreolus and urine of Amur tiger Panthera tigris altaica to test for an increase in behavioral repertoire and activity. Odors provided in this study were also believed to improve the psychological and physiological health of individuals. To standardize the method of presentation the odors were introduced to the enclosures by rubbing or spraying onto a clean towel. Our results show that the selected three odors effectively increased the behavioral diversity. Ten new behavior types were observed in the nutmeg experiment, eight in the feces of roe deer experiment and six in the tiger urine experiment. Among the three odors, cats responded to nutmeg for the longest duration, followed by tiger urine and feces of roe deer. Leopards showed more

Pollen Deposition Is More Important than Species Richness for Seed Set in Luffa Gourd.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, M; Saeed, S; Sajjad, A

2016-10-01

In the context of global biodiversity decline, it is imperative to understand the different aspects of bee communities for sustaining the vital ecosystem service of pollination. Bee species can be assigned to functional groups (average difference among species in functionally related traits) on the basis of complementarity (trait variations exhibited by individual organisms) in their behavior but is not yet known which functional group trait is most important for seed set. In this study, first, the functional groups of bees were made based on their five selected traits (pollen deposition, visitation rate, stay time, visiting time of the day, body size) and then related to the seed set of obligate cross-pollinated Luffa gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca). We found that bee diversity and abundance differed significantly among the studied plots, but only the bee species richness was positively related to the seed set. Functional group diversity in terms of pollen deposition explained even more of the variance in seed set (r 2  = 0.74) than did the species richness (r 2  = 0.53) making it the most important trait of bee species for predicting the crop reproductive success.

Tribological performance of near equiatomic and Ti-rich NiTi shape memory alloy thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tillmann, Wolfgang; Momeni, Soroush

2015-01-01

Near equiatomic and Ti-rich NiTi shape memory alloy thin films were magnetron sputtered with the same processing parameters and thickness of 3 μm. The microstructure, composition, shape memory behavior, mechanical and tribological properties of the deposited thin films were analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), nanoindentation, ball-on-disc, scratch test, and three dimensional (3D) optical microscopy. The obtained results clearly show how the crystallization evolution and precipitation formation of these two sets of thin films can drastically influence their mechanical and tribological performances

Three-dimensional structure and cytokine distribution of platelet-rich fibrin.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Meng-Yi; Wang, Ching-Wei; Wang, Jyun-Yi; Lin, Ming-Fang; Chan, Wing P

2017-02-01

Previous reports have revealed that several cytokines (including platelet-derived growth factor-BB, transforming growth factors-β1 and insulin-like growth factor-1) can enhance the rate of bone formation and synthesis of extracellular matrix in orthopaedics or periodontology. This study aimed to determine the concentration of cytokines within platelet-rich fibrin microstructures and investigate whether there are differences in the different portions of platelet-rich fibrin, which has implications for proper clinical use of platelet-rich fibrin gel. Whole blood was obtained from six New Zealand rabbits (male, 7 to 39 weeks old, weight 2.7-4 kg); it was then centrifuged for preparation of platelet-rich fibrin gels and harvest of plasma. The resultant platelet-rich fibrin gels were used for cytokine determination, histological analyses and scanning electron microscopy. All plasmas obtained were subject to the same cytokine determination assays for the purpose of comparison. Cytokines platelet-derived growth factor-BB and transforming growth factor-β1 formed concentration gradients from high at the red blood cell end of the platelet-rich fibrin gel (p=1.88×10-5) to low at the plasma end (p=0.19). Insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations were similar at the red blood cell and plasma ends. The porosities of the platelet-rich fibrin samples taken in sequence from the red blood cell end to the plasma end were 6.5% ± 4.9%, 24.8% ± 7.5%, 30.3% ± 8.5%, 41.4% ± 12.3%, and 40.3% ± 11.7%, respectively, showing a gradual decrease in the compactness of the platelet-rich fibrin network. Cytokine concentrations are positively associated with platelet-rich fibrin microstructure and portion in a rabbit model. As platelet-rich fibrin is the main entity currently used in regenerative medicine, assessing cytokine concentration and the most valuable portion of PRF gels is essential and recommended to all physicians.

Three-dimensional structure and cytokine distribution of platelet-rich fibrin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng-Yi Bai

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Previous reports have revealed that several cytokines (including platelet-derived growth factor-BB, transforming growth factors-β1 and insulin-like growth factor-1 can enhance the rate of bone formation and synthesis of extracellular matrix in orthopaedics or periodontology. This study aimed to determine the concentration of cytokines within platelet-rich fibrin microstructures and investigate whether there are differences in the different portions of platelet-rich fibrin, which has implications for proper clinical use of platelet-rich fibrin gel. METHODS: Whole blood was obtained from six New Zealand rabbits (male, 7 to 39 weeks old, weight 2.7-4 kg; it was then centrifuged for preparation of platelet-rich fibrin gels and harvest of plasma. The resultant platelet-rich fibrin gels were used for cytokine determination, histological analyses and scanning electron microscopy. All plasmas obtained were subject to the same cytokine determination assays for the purpose of comparison. RESULTS: Cytokines platelet-derived growth factor-BB and transforming growth factor-β1 formed concentration gradients from high at the red blood cell end of the platelet-rich fibrin gel (p=1.88×10-5 to low at the plasma end (p=0.19. Insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations were similar at the red blood cell and plasma ends. The porosities of the platelet-rich fibrin samples taken in sequence from the red blood cell end to the plasma end were 6.5% ± 4.9%, 24.8% ± 7.5%, 30.3% ± 8.5%, 41.4% ± 12.3%, and 40.3% ± 11.7%, respectively, showing a gradual decrease in the compactness of the platelet-rich fibrin network. CONCLUSION: Cytokine concentrations are positively associated with platelet-rich fibrin microstructure and portion in a rabbit model. As platelet-rich fibrin is the main entity currently used in regenerative medicine, assessing cytokine concentration and the most valuable portion of PRF gels is essential and recommended to all physicians.

The corrosion and stress corrosion cracking behavior of a novel alumina-forming austenitic stainless steel in supercritical water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Hongying [School of Mechanical Engineering, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang 455002 (China); Yang, Haijie [Modern Engineering Training Center, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang 455002 (China); Wang, Man [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Giron-Palomares, Benjamin [School of Mechanical Engineering, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang 455002 (China); Zhou, Zhangjian, E-mail: zhouzhj@mater.ustb.edu.cn [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Zhang, Lefu [School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, No 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai (China); Zhang, Guangming, E-mail: ustbzgm@163.com [School of Automobile & Transportation, Qingdao Technological University, Qingdao 266520 (China)

2017-02-15

The general corrosion and stress corrosion behavior of Fe-27Ni-15Cr-5Al-2Mo-0.4Nb alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) steel were investigated in supercritical water under different conditions. A double layer oxide structure was formed: a Fe-rich outer layer (Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) and an Al-Cr-rich inner layer. And the inner layer has a low growth rate with exposing time, which is good for improvement of corrosion resistance. Additionally, some internal nodular Al-Cr-rich oxides were also observed, which resulted in a local absence of inner layer. Stress corrosion specimens exhibited a combination of high strength, good ductility and low susceptibility. The stress strength and elongation was reduced by increasing temperature and amount of dissolved oxygen. In addition, the corresponding susceptibility was increased with decreased temperatures and increased oxygen contents. - Highlights: • The general corrosion and SCC in SCW of the AFA steel have been limited reported. • Fe-rich inner and Al-Cr-rich outer layers are formed in 650 °C/25 MPa/10 ppb SCW. • The SCC behavior exhibits a combination of high strength and good ductility. • Strength and elongation are lowered by increase of temperature and oxygen content. • The AFA steel shows low SCC susceptibility and a superior corrosion resistance.

The corrosion and stress corrosion cracking behavior of a novel alumina-forming austenitic stainless steel in supercritical water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Hongying; Yang, Haijie; Wang, Man; Giron-Palomares, Benjamin; Zhou, Zhangjian; Zhang, Lefu; Zhang, Guangming

2017-01-01

The general corrosion and stress corrosion behavior of Fe-27Ni-15Cr-5Al-2Mo-0.4Nb alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) steel were investigated in supercritical water under different conditions. A double layer oxide structure was formed: a Fe-rich outer layer (Fe 2 O 3 and Fe 3 O 4 ) and an Al-Cr-rich inner layer. And the inner layer has a low growth rate with exposing time, which is good for improvement of corrosion resistance. Additionally, some internal nodular Al-Cr-rich oxides were also observed, which resulted in a local absence of inner layer. Stress corrosion specimens exhibited a combination of high strength, good ductility and low susceptibility. The stress strength and elongation was reduced by increasing temperature and amount of dissolved oxygen. In addition, the corresponding susceptibility was increased with decreased temperatures and increased oxygen contents. - Highlights: • The general corrosion and SCC in SCW of the AFA steel have been limited reported. • Fe-rich inner and Al-Cr-rich outer layers are formed in 650 °C/25 MPa/10 ppb SCW. • The SCC behavior exhibits a combination of high strength and good ductility. • Strength and elongation are lowered by increase of temperature and oxygen content. • The AFA steel shows low SCC susceptibility and a superior corrosion resistance.

Investigating the form-function interface in African apes: Relationships between principal moments of area and positional behaviors in femoral and humeral diaphyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Kristian J

2005-07-01

Investigations of cross-sectional geometry in nonhuman primate limb bones typically attribute shape ratios to qualitative behavioral characterizations, e.g., leaper, slow climber, brachiator, or terrestrial vs. arboreal quadruped. Quantitative positional behavioral data, however, have yet to be used in a rigorous evaluation of such shape-behavior connections. African apes represent an ideal population for such an investigation because their relatedness minimizes phylogenetic inertia, they exhibit diverse behavioral repertoires, and their locomotor behaviors are known from multiple studies. Cross-sectional data from femoral and humeral diaphyses were collected for 222 wild-shot specimens, encompassing Pan paniscus and all commonly recognized African ape subspecies. Digital representations of diaphyseal cross sections were acquired via computed tomography at three locations per diaphysis. Locomotor behaviors were pooled broadly into arboreal and terrestrial categories, then partitioned into quadrupedal walking, quadrumanous climbing, scrambling, and suspensory categories. Sex-specific taxonomic differences in ratios of principal moments of area (PMA) were statistically significant more often in the femoral diaphysis than the humeral diaphysis. While it appears difficult to relate a measure of shape (e.g., PMA ratio) to individual locomotor modes, general locomotor differences (e.g., percentage arboreal vs. terrestrial locomotion) are discerned more easily. As percentage of arboreal locomotion for a group increases, average cross sections appear more circular. Associations between PMA ratio and specific locomotor behaviors are less straightforward. Individual behaviors that integrate eccentric limb positions (e.g., arboreal scrambling) may not engender more circular cross sections than behaviors that incorporate repetitive sagittal movements (e.g., quadrupedal walking) in a straightforward manner. (c) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Catalog Learning: Carabid Beetles Learn to Manipulate with Innate Coherent Behavioral Patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhanna Reznikova

2013-07-01

Full Text Available One of the most fascinating problems in comparative psychology is how learning contributes to solving specific functional problems in animal life, and which forms of learning our species shares with non-human animals. Simulating a natural situation of territorial conflicts between predatory carabids and red wood ants in field and laboratory experiments, we have revealed a relatively simple and quite natural form of learning that has been overlooked. We call it catalog learning, the name we give to the ability of animals to establish associations between stimuli and coherent behavioral patterns (patterns consist of elementary motor acts that have a fixed order. Instead of budgeting their motor acts gradually, from chaotic to rational sequences in order to learn something new, which is characteristic for a conditioning response, animals seem to be “cataloguing” their repertoire of innate coherent behavioral patterns in order to optimize their response to a certain repetitive event. This form of learning can be described as “stimulus-pattern” learning. In our experiments four “wild” carabid species, whose cognitive abilities have never been studied before, modified their behavior in a rather natural manner in order to avoid damage from aggressive ants. Beetles learned to select the relevant coherent behavioral patterns from the set of seven patterns, which are common to all four species and apparently innate. We suggest that this form of learning differs from the known forms of associative learning, and speculate that it is quite universal and can be present in a wide variety of species, both invertebrate and vertebrate. This study suggests a new link between the concepts of cognition and innateness.

Reconstruction and calibration strategies for the LHCb RICH detector

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

- LHCb particle identification - LHCb ring pattern recognition algorithm requirements - RICH pattern recognition - Cherenkov angle reconstruction online - Online PID - Hough transform - Metropolis- Hastings Markov chains - PID online: physics performances - Rich PID Callibration

The common equine class I molecule Eqca-1*00101 (ELA-A3.1) is characterized by narrow peptide binding and T cell epitope repertoires.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, Tobias; Moore, Carrie; Sidney, John; Miller, Donald; Tallmadge, Rebecca; Harman, Rebecca M; Oseroff, Carla; Wriston, Amanda; Shabanowitz, Jeffrey; Hunt, Donald F; Osterrieder, Nikolaus; Peters, Bjoern; Antczak, Douglas F; Sette, Alessandro

2015-11-01

Here we describe a detailed quantitative peptide-binding motif for the common equine leukocyte antigen (ELA) class I allele Eqca-1*00101, present in roughly 25 % of Thoroughbred horses. We determined a preliminary binding motif by sequencing endogenously bound ligands. Subsequently, a positional scanning combinatorial library (PSCL) was used to further characterize binding specificity and derive a quantitative motif involving aspartic acid in position 2 and hydrophobic residues at the C-terminus. Using this motif, we selected and tested 9- and 10-mer peptides derived from the equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) proteome for their capacity to bind Eqca-1*00101. PSCL predictions were very efficient, with an receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve performance of 0.877, and 87 peptides derived from 40 different EHV-1 proteins were identified with affinities of 500 nM or higher. Quantitative analysis revealed that Eqca-1*00101 has a narrow peptide-binding repertoire, in comparison to those of most human, non-human primate, and mouse class I alleles. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from six EHV-1-infected, or vaccinated but uninfected, Eqca-1*00101-positive horses were used in IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays. When we screened the 87 Eqca-1*00101-binding peptides for T cell reactivity, only one Eqca-1*00101 epitope, derived from the intermediate-early protein ICP4, was identified. Thus, despite its common occurrence in several horse breeds, Eqca-1*00101 is associated with a narrow binding repertoire and a similarly narrow T cell response to an important equine viral pathogen. Intriguingly, these features are shared with other human and macaque major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules with a similar specificity for D in position 2 or 3 in their main anchor motif.

A Point-of-Purchase Intervention Using Grocery Store Tour Podcasts About Omega-3s Increases Long-Term Purchases of Omega-3-Rich Food Items.

Science.gov (United States)

Bangia, Deepika; Shaffner, Donald W; Palmer-Keenan, Debra M

2017-06-01

To assess the impacts associated with a grocery store tour point-of-purchase intervention using podcasts about omega-3 fatty acid (n-3)-rich food items. A repeated-measures secondary data analysis of food purchase records obtained from a convenience sample of shoppers' loyalty cards. Shoppers (n = 251) who had listened to podcasts regarding n-3-rich foods while shopping. The number of omega-3-rich food purchases made according to food or food category by participants determined via spreadsheets obtained from grocery store chain. Descriptive statistics were performed on demographic characteristics. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess whether food purchases increased from 6 months before to 6 months after intervention. Correlations assessed the relationship between intentions to purchase n-3-rich foods expressed on the intervention day with actual long-term n-3-rich food purchases. Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis ANOVAs and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to analyze differences between changes made and demographic variables (ie, participants' gender, race, and education levels). Most shoppers (59%) increased n-3-rich food purchases, with significant mean purchase changes (t[172] = -6.9; P < .001; pre = 0.2 ± 0.7; post = 3.6 ± 5.1). Podcasts are promising nutrition education tools. Longer studies could assess whether lasting change results from podcast use. Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Elucidating the genotype-phenotype map by automatic enumeration and analysis of the phenotypic repertoire.

Science.gov (United States)

Lomnitz, Jason G; Savageau, Michael A

The gap between genotype and phenotype is filled by complex biochemical systems most of which are poorly understood. Because these systems are complex, it is widely appreciated that quantitative understanding can only be achieved with the aid of mathematical models. However, formulating models and measuring or estimating their numerous rate constants and binding constants is daunting. Here we present a strategy for automating difficult aspects of the process. The strategy, based on a system design space methodology, is applied to a class of 16 designs for a synthetic gene oscillator that includes seven designs previously formulated on the basis of experimentally measured and estimated parameters. Our strategy provides four important innovations by automating: (1) enumeration of the repertoire of qualitatively distinct phenotypes for a system; (2) generation of parameter values for any particular phenotype; (3) simultaneous realization of parameter values for several phenotypes to aid visualization of transitions from one phenotype to another, in critical cases from functional to dysfunctional; and (4) identification of ensembles of phenotypes whose expression can be phased to achieve a specific sequence of functions for rationally engineering synthetic constructs. Our strategy, applied to the 16 designs, reproduced previous results and identified two additional designs capable of sustained oscillations that were previously missed. Starting with a system's relatively fixed aspects, its architectural features, our method enables automated analysis of nonlinear biochemical systems from a global perspective, without first specifying parameter values. The examples presented demonstrate the efficiency and power of this automated strategy.

Noise resistance applied to the study of zinc rich paints; Aplicacion de la resistencia de ruido al estudio de pinturas ricas en zinc

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Espada Recarey, L.; Sanchez Bermudez, A.; Urrejola Madrinan, S.; Bouzada Alvela, F. [Universidad de Vigo (Spain)

2001-07-01

Electrochemical Noise has been one of the more useful analysis methods to the study the corrosion processes due to the fact that it is simple and cheap. The objective of this work is to check the efficiency of this technique when it is applied to the study of Rich Zinc Paints and specifically the Noise Resistance parameter which is very efficiency to study metal-electrolyte systems. Then this technique was applied to Rich Zinc Paints systems of which we have already information by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The outcomes of this paper show the efficiency of applying Noise Resistance technique to explain the behavior of this kind of systems. (Author) 18 refs.