Abstract
The PathoSystems Resource Integration Center (PATRIC) is the bacterial Bioinformatics Resource Center funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ...(https://www.patricbrc.org). PATRIC supports bioinformatic analyses of all bacteria with a special emphasis on pathogens, offering a rich comparative analysis environment that provides users with access to over 250 000 uniformly annotated and publicly available genomes with curated metadata. PATRIC offers web-based visualization and comparative analysis tools, a private workspace in which users can analyze their own data in the context of the public collections, services that streamline complex bioinformatic workflows and command-line tools for bulk data analysis. Over the past several years, as genomic and other omics-related experiments have become more cost-effective and widespread, we have observed considerable growth in the usage of and demand for easy-to-use, publicly available bioinformatic tools and services. Here we report the recent updates to the PATRIC resource, including new web-based comparative analysis tools, eight new services and the release of a command-line interface to access, query and analyze data.
IMPORTANCE: Approximately 80% of US adults and adolescents are insufficiently active. Physical activity fosters normal growth and development and can make people feel, function, and sleep better and ...reduce risk of many chronic diseases. OBJECTIVE: To summarize key guidelines in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (PAG). PROCESS AND EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee conducted a systematic review of the science supporting physical activity and health. The committee addressed 38 questions and 104 subquestions and graded the evidence based on consistency and quality of the research. Evidence graded as strong or moderate was the basis of the key guidelines. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) based the PAG on the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report. RECOMMENDATIONS: The PAG provides information and guidance on the types and amounts of physical activity to improve a variety of health outcomes for multiple population groups. Preschool-aged children (3 through 5 years) should be physically active throughout the day to enhance growth and development. Children and adolescents aged 6 through 17 years should do 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. Adults should do at least 150 minutes to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes to 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. They should also do muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week. Older adults should do multicomponent physical activity that includes balance training as well as aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Pregnant and postpartum women should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week. Adults with chronic conditions or disabilities, who are able, should follow the key guidelines for adults and do both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Recommendations emphasize that moving more and sitting less will benefit nearly everyone. Individuals performing the least physical activity benefit most by even modest increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Additional benefits occur with more physical activity. Both aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity are beneficial. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition, provides information and guidance on the types and amounts of physical activity that provide substantial health benefits. Health professionals and policy makers should facilitate awareness of the guidelines and promote the health benefits of physical activity and support efforts to implement programs, practices, and policies to facilitate increased physical activity and to improve the health of the US population.
TOPSIS is a multiple criteria method to identify solutions from a finite set of alternativesbased upon simultaneous minimization of distance from an ideal point and maximization of distance from a ...nadir point. TOPSIS can incorporate relative weights of criterion importance. This paper reviews several applications of TOPSIS using different weighting schemes and different distance metrics, and compares results of different sets of weights applied to a previously used set of multiple criteria data. Comparison is also made against SMART and centroid weighting schemes. TOPSIS was not found to be more accurate, but was quite close in accuracy. Using first-order and second-order metrics were found to be quite good, but the infinite order (Tchebycheff norm, L-∞) was found to decline in accuracy.
The development of personality across the human life course may be observed from three different standpoints: the person as actor (behaving), agent (striving), and author (narrating). Evident even in ...infancy, broad differences in social action patterns foreshadow the long-term developmental elaboration of early temperament into adult dispositional traits. Research on personal strivings and other motivational constructs provides a second perspective on personality, one that becomes psychologically salient in childhood with the consolidation of an agentic self and the articulation of more-or-less stable goals. Layered over traits and goals, internalized life stories begin to emerge in adolescence and young adulthood, as the person authors a narrative identity to make meaning out of life. The review traces the development of traits, goals, and life stories from infancy through late adulthood and ends by considering their interplay at five developmental milestones: age 2, the transition to adolescence, emerging adulthood, midlife, and old age.
Tissue growth and function depend on vascularization, and vascular insufficiency or excess exacerbates many human diseases. Identification of the biological processes involved in angiogenesis will ...dictate strategies to modulate reduced or excessive vessel formation. We examine the essential role of pericytes. Their heterogeneous morphology, distribution, origins, and physiology have been described. Using double-transgenic Nestin-GFP/NG2-DsRed mice, we identified two pericyte subsets. We found that Nestin-GFP(-)/NG2-DsRed(+) (type-1) and Nestin-GFP(+)/NG2-DsRed(+) (type-2) pericytes attach to the walls of small and large blood vessels in vivo; in vitro, type-2, but not type-1, pericytes spark endothelial cells to form new vessels. Matrigel assay showed that only type-2 pericytes participate in normal angiogenesis. Moreover, when cancer cells were transplanted into Nestin-GFP/NG2-DsRed mice, type-1 pericytes did not penetrate the tumor, while type-2 pericytes were recruited during its angiogenesis. As inhibition of angiogenesis is a promising strategy in cancer therapy, type-2 pericytes may provide a cellular target susceptible to signaling and pharmacological manipulation in treating malignancy. This work also reports the potential of type-2 pericytes to improve blood perfusion in ischemic hindlimbs, indicating their potential for treating ischemic illnesses.
Zeolite scientists, whether they are working in synthesis, catalysis, characterization or application development, use the Atlas of Zeolite Framework Types as a reference. It describes the main ...features of all of the confirmed zeolite framework structures, and gives references to the relevant primary structural literature. Since the last edition 34 more framwork types have been approved and are described in this new edition. A further new feature will be that characteristic building units will be listed for each of the framework types. Zeolites and their analogs are used as desiccants, as water softeners, as shape-selective acid catalysts, as molecular sieves, as concentrators of radioactive isotopes, as blood clotting agents, and even as additives to animal feeds. Recently, their suitability as hosts for nanometer spacing of atomic clusters has also been demonstrated. These diverse applications are a reflection of the fascinating structures of these microporous materials. Each time a new zeolite framework structure is reported, it is examined by the Structure Commission of the International Zeolite Association (IZA-SC), and if it is found to be unique and to conform to the IZA-SC's definition of a zeolite, it is assigned a 3-letter framework type code. This code is part of the official IUPAC nomenclature for microporous materials. The Atlas of Zeolite Framework Types is essentially a compilation of data for each of these confirmed framework types. These data include a stereo drawing showing the framework connectivity, features that characterize the idealized framework structure, a list of materials with this framework type, information on the type material that was used to establish the framework type, and stereo drawings of the pore openings of the type material. * Clear stereo drawings of each of the framework types * Description of the features of the framework type, allowing readers to quickly see if the framework type is suitable to their needs * References to isotypic materials, readers can quickly identify related materials and consult the appropriate reference
Growing interest in microbial contributions to human health and disease has increasingly led investigators to examine the microbiome in both healthy skin and cutaneous disorders, including acne, ...psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis. The need for common language, effective study design, and validated methods is critical for high-quality standardized research. Features, unique to skin, pose particular challenges when conducting microbiome research. This review discusses microbiome research standards and highlights important factors to consider, including clinical study design, skin sampling, sample processing, DNA sequencing, control inclusion, and data analysis.
Benchmark small variant calls are required for developing, optimizing and assessing the performance of sequencing and bioinformatics methods. Here, as part of the Genome in a Bottle (GIAB) ...Consortium, we apply a reproducible, cloud-based pipeline to integrate multiple short- and linked-read sequencing datasets and provide benchmark calls for human genomes. We generate benchmark calls for one previously analyzed GIAB sample, as well as six genomes from the Personal Genome Project. These new genomes have broad, open consent, making this a 'first of its kind' resource that is available to the community for multiple downstream applications. We produce 17% more benchmark single nucleotide variations, 176% more indels and 12% larger benchmark regions than previously published GIAB benchmarks. We demonstrate that this benchmark reliably identifies errors in existing callsets and highlight challenges in interpreting performance metrics when using benchmarks that are not perfect or comprehensive. Finally, we identify strengths and weaknesses of callsets by stratifying performance according to variant type and genome context.
Objective
To explore the role of alpha‐synuclein (αSyn) oligomers and neurofilament light chain (NFL) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as markers of early multiple system atrophy (MSA) and to contrast ...findings with Lewy body synucleinopathies.
Methods
In a discovery cohort of well‐characterized early MSA patients (n = 24) and matched healthy controls (CON, n = 14), we utilized enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay to measure NFL and protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) to detect αSyn oligomers in CSF. We confirmed findings in a separate prospectively enrolled cohort of patients with early MSA (n = 38), Parkinson disease (PD, n = 16), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB, n = 13), and CON subjects (n = 15).
Results
In the discovery cohort, NFL was markedly elevated in MSA patients, with perfect separation from CON. αSyn‐PMCA was nonreactive in all CON, whereas all MSA samples were positive. In the confirmatory cohort, NFL again perfectly separated MSA from CON, and was significantly lower in PD and DLB compared to MSA. PMCA was again nonreactive in all CON, and positive in all but 2 MSA cases. All PD and all but 2 DLB samples were also positive for αSyn aggregates but with markedly different reaction kinetics from MSA; aggregation occurred later, but maximum fluorescence was higher, allowing for perfect separation of reactive samples between MSA and Lewy body synucleinopathies.
Interpretation
NFL and αSyn oligomers in CSF faithfully differentiate early MSA not only from CON but also from Lewy body synucleinopathies. The findings support the role of these markers as diagnostic biomarkers, and have important implications for understanding pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the synucleinopathies. ANN NEUROL 2020;88:503–512
Enterprise risk management (ERM) has become an important topic in today's more complex, interrelated global business environment, replete with threats from natural, political, economic, and technical ...sources. Banks especially face financial risks, as the news makes ever more apparent in 2008. This paper demonstrates support to risk management through validation of predictive scorecards for a large bank. The bank developed a model to assess account creditworthiness. The model is validated and compared to credit bureau scores. Alternative methods of risk measurement are compared.
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