Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) garner increasing attention globally for both their usefulness as indicators of human waste and their potency as emerging organic toxicants. Three ...decades of rapid increase in PPCP study combined with an increasing number of PPCPs on the global market have created an opportunity (1) to review trends in diversity of compounds, sewage treatment techniques (STTs), and ecosystems investigated as well as (2) to identify knowledge gaps in the literature. We conducted a quantitative evidence synthesis of 6517 abstracts from primary articles in the environmental PPCP literature by examining relative abundance of specific PPCP classes, STTs, and ecosystem types. Our results demonstrate that non-prescription drugs and antibiotics dominated PPCP abstracts, appearing in 51% and 39% of reviewed abstracts, respectively, in comparison to hormones (18%), prescription drugs (18%), fragrances (0.3%), and antioxidants (0.0%), which can all elicit physiological and ecological responses even at low concentrations. References to centralized STTs (e.g., activated sludge, 37%) were more frequent than decentralized STTs (e.g., septic, 2%), despite decentralized STTs being common and frequently high impact sources of sewage pollution worldwide. Freshwater lotic systems (63%) were more prevalent than freshwater lentic (24%) and terrestrial (20%) systems. This discrepancy is notable because the longer residence times of lentic and terrestrial systems may enable PPCPs to concentrate and thus increase risk of biological consequences. These results highlight distinct opportunities to address knowledge gaps in the environmental PPCP literature, including underrepresented compounds (e.g., fragrances), sewage treatment techniques (e.g., septic systems), and ecosystem types (e.g., lakes).
Health care delivery is increasingly influenced by the emerging concepts of precision health and the learning health care system. Although not synonymous with precision health, genomics is a key ...enabler of individualized care. Delivering patient-centered, genomics-informed care based on individual-level data in the current national landscape of health care delivery is a daunting challenge. Problems to overcome include data generation, analysis, storage, and transfer; knowledge management and representation for patients and providers at the point of care; process management; and outcomes definition, collection, and analysis. Development, testing, and implementation of a genomics-informed program requires multidisciplinary collaboration and building the concepts of precision health into a multilevel implementation framework. Using the principles of a learning health care system provides a promising solution. This article describes the implementation of population-based genomic medicine in an integrated learning health care system-a working example of a precision health program.
From determining the optical properties of simple molecular crystals to establishing the preferred handedness in highly complex vertebrates, molecular chirality profoundly influences the structural, ...mechanical and optical properties of both synthetic and biological matter on macroscopic length scales. In soft materials such as amphiphilic lipids and liquid crystals, the competition between local chiral interactions and global constraints imposed by the geometry of the self-assembled structures leads to frustration and the assembly of unique materials. An example of particular interest is smectic liquid crystals, where the two-dimensional layered geometry cannot support twist and chirality is consequently expelled to the edges in a manner analogous to the expulsion of a magnetic field from superconductors. Here we demonstrate a consequence of this geometric frustration that leads to a new design principle for the assembly of chiral molecules. Using a model system of colloidal membranes, we show that molecular chirality can control the interfacial tension, an important property of multi-component mixtures. This suggests an analogy between chiral twist, which is expelled to the edges of two-dimensional membranes, and amphiphilic surfactants, which are expelled to oil-water interfaces. As with surfactants, chiral control of interfacial tension drives the formation of many polymorphic assemblages such as twisted ribbons with linear and circular topologies, starfish membranes, and double and triple helices. Tuning molecular chirality in situ allows dynamical control of line tension, which powers polymorphic transitions between various chiral structures. These findings outline a general strategy for the assembly of reconfigurable chiral materials that can easily be moved, stretched, attached to one another and transformed between multiple conformational states, thus allowing precise assembly and nanosculpting of highly dynamical and designable materials with complex topologies.
We present a DNA library preparation method that has allowed us to reconstruct a high-coverage (30×) genome sequence of a Denisovan, an extinct relative of Neandertals. The quality of this genome ...allows a direct estimation of Denisovan heterozygosity indicating that genetic diversity in these archaic hominins was extremely low. It also allows tentative dating of the specimen on the basis of "missing evolution" in its genome, detailed measurements of Denisovan and Neandertal admixture into present-day human populations, and the generation of a near-complete catalog of genetic changes that swept to high frequency in modern humans since their divergence from Denisovans.
The kinematics and dynamics of young stellar populations enable us to test theories of star formation. With this aim, we continue our analysis of the SDSS-III/APOGEE IN-SYNC survey, a high-resolution ...near-infrared spectroscopic survey of young clusters. We focus on the Orion A star-forming region, for which IN-SYNC obtained spectra of ∼2700 stars. In Paper IV we used these data to study the young stellar population. Here we study the kinematic properties through radial velocities (vr). The young stellar population remains kinematically associated with the molecular gas, following a gradient along the filament. However, near the center of the region, the vr distribution is slightly blueshifted and asymmetric; we suggest that this population, which is older, is slightly in the foreground. We find evidence for kinematic subclustering, detecting statistically significant groupings of colocated stars with coherent motions. These are mostly in the lower-density regions of the cloud, while the ONC radial velocities are smoothly distributed, consistent with it being an older, more dynamically evolved cluster. The velocity dispersion varies along the filament. The ONC appears virialized, or just slightly supervirial, consistent with an old dynamical age. Here there is also some evidence for ongoing expansion, from a vr-extinction correlation. In the southern filament, is ∼2-3 times larger than virial in the L1641N region, where we infer a superposition along the line of sight of stellar subpopulations, detached from the gas. In contrast, decreases toward L1641S, where the population is again in agreement with a virial state.
A deadly coral disease outbreak has been devastating the Florida Reef Tract since 2014. This disease, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), affects at least 22 coral species causing the ...progressive destruction of tissue. The etiological agents responsible for SCTLD are unidentified, but pathogenic bacteria are suspected. Virulence screens of 400 isolates identified four potentially pathogenic strains of
Vibrio
spp. subsequently identified as
V. coralliilyticus
. Strains of this species are known coral pathogens; however, cultures were unable to consistently elicit tissue loss, suggesting an opportunistic role. Using an improved immunoassay, the VcpA
RapidTest
, a toxic zinc-metalloprotease produced by
V. coralliilyticus
was detected on 22.3% of diseased
Montastraea cavernosa
(
n
= 67) and 23.5% of diseased
Orbicella faveolata
(
n
= 24). VcpA
+
corals had significantly higher mortality rates and faster disease progression. For VcpA
–
fragments, 21.6% and 33.3% of
M. cavernosa
and
O. faveolata
, respectively, died within 21 d of observation, while 100% of similarly sized VcpA
+
fragments of both species died during the same period. Further physiological and genomic analysis found no apparent differences between the Atlantic
V. coralliilyticus
strains cultured here and pathogens from the Indo-Pacific but highlighted the diversity among strains and their immense genetic potential. In all,
V. coralliilyticus
may be causing coinfections that exacerbate existing SCTLD lesions, which could contribute to the intraspecific differences observed between colonies. This study describes potential coinfections contributing to SCTLD virulence as well as diagnostic tools capable of tracking the pathogen involved, which are important contributions to the management and understanding of SCTLD.
ABSTRACT We present the results of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey APOGEE INfrared Spectroscopy of Young Nebulous Clusters program (IN-SYNC) survey of the Orion A molecular cloud. This survey obtained ...high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy of about 2700 young pre-main-sequence stars on a field of view. We have measured accurate stellar parameters ( , , ) and extinctions and placed the sources in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram (HRD). We have also extracted radial velocities for the kinematic characterization of the population. We compare our measurements with literature results to assess the performance and accuracy of the survey. Source extinction shows evidence for dust grains that are larger than those in the diffuse interstellar medium: we estimate an average RV = 5.5 in the region. Importantly, we find a clear correlation between HRD inferred ages and spectroscopic surface-gravity-inferred ages and between extinction and disk presence; this strongly suggests a real spread of ages larger than a few Myr. Focusing on the young population around NGC 1980/ Ori, which has previously been suggested to be a separate, foreground, older cluster, we confirm its older (∼5 Myr) age and low AV, but considering that its radial velocity distribution is indistinguishable from Orion A's population, we suggest that NGC 1980 is part of Orion A's star formation activity. Based on their stellar parameters and kinematic properties, we identify 383 new candidate members of Orion A, most of which are diskless sources in areas of the region poorly studied by previous works.
ABSTRACT Most field stars will have encountered the highest stellar density and hence the largest number of interactions in their birth environment. Yet the stellar dynamics during this crucial phase ...are poorly understood. Here we analyze the radial velocities measured for 152 out of 380 observed stars in the 2-6 Myr old star cluster IC 348 as part of the SDSS-III APOGEE. The radial velocity distribution of these stars is fitted with one or two Gaussians, convolved with the measurement uncertainties including binary orbital motions. Including a second Gaussian improves the fit; the high-velocity outliers that are best fit by this second component may either (1) be contaminants from the nearby Perseus OB2 association, (2) be a halo of ejected or dispersing stars from IC 348, or (3) reflect that IC 348 has not relaxed to a Gaussian velocity distribution. We measure a velocity dispersion for IC 348 of 0.72 0.07 km s−1 (or 0.64 0.08 km s−1 if two Gaussians are fitted), which implies a supervirial state, unless the gas contributes more to the gravitational potential than expected. No evidence is found for a dependence of this velocity dispersion on distance from the cluster center or stellar mass. We also find that stars with lower extinction (in the front of the cloud) tend to be redshifted compared with stars with somewhat higher extinction (toward the back of the cloud). This data suggest that the stars in IC 348 are converging along the line of sight. We show that this correlation between radial velocity and extinction is unlikely to be spuriously caused by the small cluster rotation of 0.024 0.013 km s−1 arcmin−1 or by correlations between the radial velocities of neighboring stars. This signature, if confirmed, will be the first detection of line of sight convergence in a star cluster. Possible scenarios for reconciling this convergence with IC 348's observed supervirial state include: (a) the cluster is fluctuating around a new virial equilibrium after a recent disruption due to gas expulsion or a merger event, or (b) the population we identify as IC 348 results from the chance alignment of two sub-clusters converging along the line of sight. Additional measurements of tangential and radial velocities in IC 348 will be important for clarifying the dynamics of this region and informing models of the formation and evolution of star clusters. The radial velocities analyzed in this paper have been made available online.
Carriers of the short allele of a functional 5' promoter polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene have increased anxiety-related temperamental traits, increased amygdala reactivity and elevated ...risk of depression. Here, we used multimodal neuroimaging in a large sample of healthy human subjects to elucidate neural mechanisms underlying this complex genetic association. Morphometrical analyses showed reduced gray matter volume in short-allele carriers in limbic regions critical for processing of negative emotion, particularly perigenual cingulate and amygdala. Functional analysis of those regions during perceptual processing of fearful stimuli demonstrated tight coupling as a feedback circuit implicated in the extinction of negative affect. Short-allele carriers showed relative uncoupling of this circuit. Furthermore, the magnitude of coupling inversely predicted almost 30% of variation in temperamental anxiety. These genotype-related alterations in anatomy and function of an amygdala-cingulate feedback circuit critical for emotion regulation implicate a developmental, systems-level mechanism underlying normal emotional reactivity and genetic susceptibility for depression.
The continued evolution of antibiotic resistance has increased the urgency for new antibiotic development, leading to exploration of non-traditional sources. In particular, snake venom has garnered ...attention for its potent antibacterial properties. Numerous studies describing snake venom proteomic composition as well as antibiotic efficacy have created an opportunity to synthesize relationships between venom proteomes and their antibacterial properties. Using literature reported values from peer-reviewed studies, our study generated models to predict efficacy given venom protein family composition, snake taxonomic family, bacterial Gram stain, bacterial morphology, and bacterial respiration strategy. We then applied our predictive models to untested snake species with known venom proteomic compositions. Overall, our results provide potential protein families that serve as accurate predictors of efficacy as well as promising organisms in terms of antibacterial properties of venom. The results from this study suggest potential future research trajectories for antibacterial properties in snake venom by offering hypotheses for a variety of taxa.