Ten days of photometric data were obtained during the commissioning phase of the Kepler mission, including data for the previously known giant transiting exoplanet HAT-P-7b. The data for HAT-P-7b ...show a smooth rise and fall of light from the planet as it orbits its star, punctuated by a drop of 130 ± 11 parts per million in flux when the planet passes behind its star. We interpret this as the phase variation of the dayside thermal emission plus reflected light from the planet as it orbits its star and is occulted. The depth of the occultation is similar in photometric precision to the detection of a transiting Earth-size planet for which the mission was designed.
Experimental evidence shows that breaking-up sedentary behavior is positively associated with positive mental health outcomes. However, whether sedentary breaks influence mood in everyday life is ...largely unknown. Moreover, it is unclear which break patterns are most beneficial to enhance mood.
To investigate the degree to which sedentary break patterns influence mood dimensions in everyday life, we conducted an Ecological Momentary Assessment study in 92 university employees over 5 d. We continuously measured physical behavior (physical activity and sedentary behavior) objectively via accelerometers and assessed mood 10 times a day on smartphone diaries. We defined distinct break patterns, such as variations in frequency (number of breaks), duration (length of breaks), intensity (metabolic equivalent), and context (home or work) and used multilevel modeling to analyze the within-subject effects of sedentary break patterns on mood.
Break intensity was positively associated with subsequent valence (P < 0.01), energetic arousal (P < 0.01), and calmness (P < 0.05). Break frequency was positively associated with subsequent valence and energetic arousal (all P's < 0.01), but break duration was not associated with mood. Exploratory analyses indicated that breaking-up sedentary behavior was more beneficial at home than at work.
These ecologically valid findings suggest breaking-up sedentary behavior as a promising strategy to enhance mood in everyday life. In particular, breaking-up sedentary behavior frequently and intensively, for example, by walking instead of standing, may be most beneficial. We call for future studies to substantiate these accounts and to identify both practical and optimal break patterns among different samples. This evidence informs official public health recommendations aiming to "minimize sedentary time in everyday life."
Aim
Inadequate intestinal blood flow may contribute to anastomotic leakage accounting for substantial morbidity and mortality in colorectal surgery. Precise intraoperative assessment of ...microperfusion may have an impact on the surgeon0s intraoperative management and leakage rate.
Method
In this single center observational study we implemented and integrated intraoperative indocyanin green (ICG) based microperfusion assessment of anastomosis with Pinpoint Perfusion Imaging in a series of consecutive rectal cancer patients who underwent laparoscopic anterior and lower anterior resection with primary anastomosis during a 5‐months period.
Results
We could demonstrate the feasibility and safety of intraoperative fluorescence angiography for colorectal microperfusion assessment. Technology implementation was immediately successful. No adverse effects have been documented related to fluorescent dye. Microperfusion angiography of the colon succeeded in all cases and assessment of perfusion imaging influenced surgical decision making in 28% of the patients, of which all patients showed primary healing of the anastomosis. We found a leakage rate of 6% with one leakage of a coloanal anastomosis in all patients.
Conclusion
Fluorescence angiography is an accurate tool for assessing microperfusion and is most likely associated with improved outcomes with regard to anastomotic healing.
The chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan versican is important for embryonic development and several human disorders. The versican V1 splice isoform is widely expressed and cleaved by ADAMTS proteases at ...a well-characterized site, Glu441-Ala442. Since ADAMTS proteases cleave the homologous proteoglycan aggrecan at multiple sites, we hypothesized that additional cleavage sites existed within versican. We report a quantitative label-free approach that ranks abundance of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-identified semi-tryptic peptides after versican digestion by ADAMTS1, ADAMTS4 and ADAMTS5 to identify site-specific cleavages. Recombinant purified versican V1 constructs were digested with the recombinant full-length proteases, using catalytically inactive mutant proteases in control digests. Semi-tryptic peptide abundance ratios determined by LC-MS/MS in ADAMTS:control digests were compared to the mean of all identified peptides to obtain a z-score by which outlier peptides were ranked, using semi-tryptic peptides identifying Glu441 -Ala442 cleavage as the benchmark. Tryptic peptides with higher abundance in control digests supported cleavage site identification. We identified several novel cleavage sites supporting the ADAMTS1/4/5 cleavage site preference for a P1-Glu residue in proteoglycan substrates. Digestion of proteins in vitro and application of this z-score approach is potentially widely applicable for mapping protease cleavage sites using label-free proteomics.
Versican abundance and turnover are relevant to the pathogenesis of several human disorders. Versican is cleaved by A Disintegrin-like And Metalloprotease with Thrombospondin type 1 motifs (ADAMTS) family members at Glu441-Ala442, generating a bioactive proteoform called versikine, but additional cleavage sites and the site-specificity of individual ADAMTS proteases is unexplored. Here, we used a label-free proteomics strategy to identify versican cleavage sites for 3 ADAMTS proteases, applying a novel z-score-based statistical approach to compare the protease digests of versican to controls (digests with inactive protease) using the known protease cleavage site as a benchmark. We identified 21 novel cleavage sites that had a comparable z-score to the benchmark. Given the functional significance of versikine, they represent potentially significant cleavages and helped to refine a substrate site preference for each protease.The z-score approach is potentially widely applicable for discovery of site-specific cleavages within an purified protein or small ensemble of proteins using any protease.
Display omitted
•Versican proteolysis is biomedically significant, but few cleavage sites are known.•A novel z-score-based label-free proteomics method was used to define new cleavages.•Cleavage of two versican constructs by three ADAMTS proteases was tested.•A well-characterized versican cleavage site at Glu441-Ala442 was the benchmark.•Novel cleavage sites for ADAMTS1, ADAMTS4 and ADAMTS5 were identified.
This study shows that the guardians behind underaged accounts are successful at picking stocks. Moreover, they tend to channel their best trades through the accounts of children, especially when they ...trade just before major earnings announcements, large price changes, and takeover announcements. Building on these results, we argue that the proportion of total trading activity through underaged accounts (labeled BABYPIN) should serve as an effective proxy for the probability of information trading in a stock. Consistent with this claim, we show that investors demand a higher return for holding stocks with a greater likelihood of private information, proxied by BABYPIN.
Recently, attention has been drawn towards black carbon aerosols as a short-term climate warming mitigation candidate. However the global and regional impacts of the direct, indirect and semi-direct ...aerosol effects are highly uncertain, due to the complex nature of aerosol evolution and the way that mixed, aged aerosols interact with clouds and radiation. A detailed aerosol microphysical scheme, MATRIX, embedded within the GISS climate model is used in this study to present a quantitative assessment of the impact of microphysical processes involving black carbon, such as emission size distributions and optical properties on aerosol cloud activation and radiative effects. Our best estimate for net direct and indirect aerosol radiative flux change between 1750 and 2000 is −0.56 W/m2. However, the direct and indirect aerosol effects are quite sensitive to the black and organic carbon size distribution and consequential mixing state. The net radiative flux change can vary between −0.32 to −0.75 W/m2 depending on these carbonaceous particle properties at emission. Taking into account internally mixed black carbon particles let us simulate correct aerosol absorption. Absorption of black carbon aerosols is amplified by sulfate and nitrate coatings and, even more strongly, by organic coatings. Black carbon mitigation scenarios generally showed reduced radiative fluxeswhen sources with a large proportion of black carbon, such as diesel, are reduced; however reducing sources with a larger organic carbon component as well, such as bio-fuels, does not necessarily lead to a reduction in positive radiative flux.
Force generation by groups of migrating bacteria Sabass, Benedikt; Koch, Matthias D.; Liu, Guannan ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
07/2017, Letnik:
114, Številka:
28
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
From colony formation in bacteria to wound healing and embryonic development in multicellular organisms, groups of living cells must often move collectively. Although considerable study has probed ...the biophysical mechanisms of how eukaryotic cells generate forces during migration, little such study has been devoted to bacteria, in particular with regard to the question of how bacteria generate and coordinate forces during collective motion. This question is addressed here using traction force microscopy. We study two distinct motility mechanisms of Myxococcus xanthus, namely, twitching and gliding. For twitching, powered by type-IV pilus retraction, we find that individual cells exert local traction in small hotspots with forces on the order of 50 pN. Twitching bacterial groups also produce traction hotspots, but with forces around 100 pN that fluctuate rapidly on timescales of <1.5 min. Gliding, the second motility mechanism, is driven by lateral transport of substrate adhesions. When cells are isolated, gliding produces low average traction on the order of 1 Pa. However, traction is amplified approximately fivefold in groups. Advancing protrusions of gliding cells push, on average, in the direction of motion. Together, these results show that the forces generated during twitching and gliding have complementary characters, and both forces have higher values when cells are in groups.
To evaluate the accuracy of refractive prediction of 4 intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation formulas in eyes with axial length (AL) greater than 25.0 mm and to propose a method of optimizing AL ...to improve the accuracy.
Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA, and Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Case series.
Refractive prediction errors with the Holladay 1, Haigis, SRK/T, and Hoffer Q formulas were evaluated in consecutive cases. Eyes were randomized to a group used to develop the method of optimizing AL by back-calculation or a group used for validation. Further validation was performed in 2 additional data sets.
The optimized AL values were highly correlated with the IOLMaster AL (R(2) from 0.960 to 0.976). In the validating group, the method of optimizing AL significantly reduced the mean numerical errors for IOLs greater than 5.00 diopters (D) from +0.27 to +0.68 D to -0.10 to -0.02 D and for IOLs of 5.00 D or less from +1.13 to +1.87 D to -0.21 to +0.01 D, respectively (all P<.05). In 2 additional validation data sets, this method significantly reduced the percentage of eyes that would be left hyperopic.
The proposed method of optimizing AL significantly reduced the percentage of long eyes with a hyperopic outcome. Updated optimizing AL formulas by combining all eyes from the 2 study centers are proposed.
No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
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