The nuclear ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer ITS region is widely used as a DNA metabarcoding marker to characterize the diversity and composition of fungal communities. In amplicon ...pyrosequencing studies of fungal diversity, one of the spacers ITS1 or ITS2 of the ITS region is normally used. In this methodological study we evaluate the usability of ITS1 vs. ITS2 as a DNA metabarcoding marker for fungi. We analyse three data sets: two comprising ITS1 and ITS2 sequences of known taxonomic affiliations and a third comprising ITS1 and ITS2 environmental amplicon pyrosequencing data. Clustering analyses of sequences with known taxonomy using the bioinformatics pipeline ClustEx revealed that a 97% similarity cut‐off represent a reasonable threshold for estimating the number of known species in the data sets for both ITS1 and ITS2. However, no single threshold value worked well for all fungi at the same time within the curated UNITE database, and we found that the Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) concept is not easily translated into the level of species because many species are distributed over several clusters. Clustering analyses of the 134 692 ITS1 and ITS2 pyrosequences using a 97% similarity cut‐off revealed a high similarity between the two data sets when it comes to taxonomic coverage. Although some groups are under‐ or unrepresented in the two data sets due to, e.g. primer mismatches, our results indicate that ITS1 and ITS2 to a large extent yield similar results when used as DNA metabarcodes for fungi.
The liver is both an immunologically complex and a privileged organ. The innate immune system is a central player, in which the complement system emerges as a pivotal part of liver homeostasis, ...immune responses, and crosstalk with other effector systems in both innate and adaptive immunity. The liver produces the majority of the complement proteins and is the home of important immune cells such as Kupffer cells. Liver immune responses are delicately tuned between tolerance to many antigens flowing in from the alimentary tract, a tolerance that likely makes the liver less prone to rejection than other solid organ transplants, and reaction to local injury, systemic inflammation, and regeneration. Notably, complement is a double‐edged sword as activation is detrimental by inducing inflammatory tissue damage in, for example, ischemia–reperfusion injury and transplant rejection yet is beneficial for liver tissue regeneration. Therapeutic complement inhibition is rapidly developing for routine clinical treatment of several diseases. In the liver, targeted inhibition of damaged tissue may be a rational and promising approach to avoid further tissue destruction and simultaneously preserve beneficial effects of complement in areas of proliferation. Here, we argue that complement is a key system to manipulate in the liver in several clinical settings, including liver injury and regeneration after major surgery and preservation of the organ during transplantation.
Epitaxially grown, high quality semiconductor InSb nanowires are emerging material systems for the development of high performance nanoelectronics and quantum information processing and communication ...devices and for the studies of new physical phenomena in solid state systems. Here, we report on measurements of a superconductor–normal conductor–superconductor junction device fabricated from an InSb nanowire with aluminum-based superconducting contacts. The measurements show a proximity-induced supercurrent flowing through the InSb nanowire segment with a critical current tunable by a gate in the current bias configuration and multiple Andreev reflection characteristics in the voltage bias configuration. The temperature dependence and the magnetic field dependence of the critical current and the multiple Andreev reflection characteristics of the junction are also studied. Furthermore, we extract the excess current from the measurements and study its temperature and magnetic field dependences. The successful observation of the superconductivity in the InSb nanowire-based Josephson junction device indicates that InSb nanowires provide an excellent material system for creating and observing novel physical phenomena such as Majorana fermions in solid-state systems.
Abstract
The Rosetta mission provided detailed observations of the growth of a cavity in the solar wind around comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. As the comet approached the Sun, the plasma of cometary ...origin grew enough in density and size to present an obstacle to the solar wind. Our results demonstrate how the initial slight perturbations of the solar wind prefigure the formation of a solar wind cavity, with a particular interest placed on the discontinuity (solar wind cavity boundary) passing over the spacecraft. The slowing down and heating of the solar wind can be followed and understood in terms of single particle motion. We propose a simple geometric illustration that accounts for the observations, and shows how a cometary magnetosphere is seeded from the gradual steepening of an initially slight solar wind perturbation. A perspective is given concerning the difference between the diamagnetic cavity and the solar wind cavity.
When an artificial biomaterial (e.g., a stent or implantable pump) is exposed to blood, plasma proteins immediately adhere to the surface, creating a new interface between the biomaterial and the ...blood. The recognition proteins within the complement and contact activation/coagulation cascade systems of the blood will be bound to, or inserted into, this protein film and generate different mediators that will activate polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes, as well as platelets. Under clinical conditions, the ultimate outcome of these processes may be thrombotic and inflammatory reactions, and consequently the composition and conformation of the proteins in the initial layer formed on the surface will to a large extent determine the outcome of a treatment involving the biomaterial, affecting both the functionality of the material and the patient's life quality. This review presents models of biomaterial-induced activation processes and describes various strategies to attenuate potential adverse reactions by conjugating bioactive molecules to surfaces or by introducing nanostructures.
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We have quantified the O+ transports in the plasma sheet and lobes (−20 < XGSM<−10RE) and their dependencies on geomagnetic activity, Kp, using Cluster data. We found that they have similar behavior ...as the polar region O+ outflow as well as the O+ fluxes in the plasma mantle and high‐latitude dayside magnetosheath, in their response to geomagnetic activity. The sum of the total O+ fluxes in the lobes, plasma sheet, plasma mantle, and high‐latitude magnetosheath equals the O+ outflow above the polar regions for any geomagnetic condition. It can be argued that there are no hidden O+ populations for Cluster, in the sense that there are no significant amounts of O+ with energies outside the energy range of the ion spectrometer, Composition Distribution Function, and/or below the spacecraft potential. Therefore, we have obtained a complete picture of the O+ circulation (and escape) in the outer magnetosphere and its dependence on geomagnetic activity.
Plain Language Summary
It is known that the upper atmosphere (mainly protons and oxygen ions O+) is affected by the solar wind input into the magnetosphere and as a consequence leave Earth's gravity and continue further out into the magnetosphere. A large fraction of the O+ is known to escape into the solar wind and never return, others reach the plasma sheet and are returning toward Earth. Therefore, there is a circulation (and loss) of atmospheric constituents in (from) the magnetosphere. In this study we have quantified the O+ transports in the plasma sheet and the magnetotail lobes and how they are modulated with geomagnetic activity. Together with earlier studies of O+ flows in other magnetospheric regions, we can see that the total O++ content in the outer magnetosphere equals the observed O+ outflow from the upper atmosphere for any geomagnetic condition. In summary, we have obtained a complete picture of the O+ circulation (and escape) in the outer magnetosphere and its dependence on geomagnetic activity.
Key Points
Quantifications of the O+ total fluxes in the plasma sheet and lobes as functions of Kp are provided
The outer magnetosphere O+ budget is consistent with the polar region O+ outflow for all geomagnetic conditions
There are no hidden O+ populations in the outer magnetosphere as seen by the Cluster spacecraft
Background
Chronic pain after groin hernia repair is a significant problem, and it is unclear whether or not lightweight meshes help. This national register‐based study investigated whether patients ...who underwent open anterior mesh inguinal hernia repair with lightweight mesh had less chronic pain than those who had hernia repair with heavyweight mesh.
Methods
All patients registered in the Swedish Hernia Register between September 2012 and October 2016 were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing patient‐reported outcome measures 1 year after surgery. The present study examined open anterior repair with mesh sutured in place with non‐absorbable sutures in male patients only. The primary endpoint, chronic pain, was defined as pain present in the past week that could not be ignored and interfered with concentration (on chores) and daily activities.
Results
In total, 23 259 male patients provided data for analysis (response rate 70·6 per cent). Rates of chronic pain after repairs using regular polypropylene lightweight mesh, composite (poliglecaprone‐25) polypropylene lightweight mesh and polypropylene heavyweight mesh were 15·8, 15·6 and 16·2 per cent respectively. Adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis showed no significant differences between regular (odds ratio (OR) 0·98, 95 per cent c.i. 0·90 to 1·06) or composite (OR 0·95, 0·86 to 1·04) lightweight mesh versus heavyweight mesh. The most striking risk factor for chronic pain was young age; 19·4 per cent of patients aged less than 50 years experienced pain 1 year after hernia repair (OR 1·43, 1·29 to 1·60).
Conclusion
Patient‐reported chronic pain 1 year after open mesh repair of inguinal hernia was common, particularly in young men. The risk of developing chronic pain was not influenced by the type of mesh.
Antecedentes
El dolor crónico tras la reparación de la hernia inguinal es un problema significativo y no se conoce con claridad si la utilización de mallas ligeras lo disminuye o no. Este estudio basado en un registro nacional, analizó si los pacientes sometidos a reparación de una hernia inguinal con malla anterior por vía abierta (open anterior mesh, OAM) tenían menos dolor crónico con mallas ligeras que pesadas.
Métodos
A todos los pacientes incluidos en el Registro de Hernia sueco entre septiembre de 2012 y octubre de 2016 se les pidió que respondieran un cuestionario que evaluaba los resultados percibidos por el paciente un año después de la cirugía. Se incluyeron solamente los pacientes del sexo masculino en los que la OAM se fijó con suturas reabsorbibles. La variable principal (dolor crónico) se definió como la presencia de dolor que no podía obviarse y que interfería la concentración (en las tareas) y las actividades diarias durante la semana anterior a la de la encuesta.
Resultados
Respondieron a la encuesta 23.259 (tasa de respuesta 70,6%) pacientes varones tras OAM. El análisis de regresión logística múltiple con razón de oportunidades (odds ratio, OR) ajustada no demostró diferencias significativas en el dolor crónico entre las mallas ligeras de polipropileno (15,8% (OR 0,98, i.c. del 95% 0,90‐1,06)) o las mallas ligeras de polipropileno compuesto (poliglecaprona‐25) (15,6% (OR 0,95, i.c. del 9% 0,86‐1,04)) o las mallas de polipropileno pesado (16,2%). Sorprendentemente, el factor de riesgo para el dolor crónico fue la edad temprana (< 50 años) 19,3% (OR 1,43, i.c. del 95% 1,29‐1,60)).
Conclusión
El dolor crónico percibido por el paciente un año después de una reparación de una hernia inguinal abierta y con colocación de una malla fue alto, especialmente en varones jóvenes. El tipo de malla no tuvo influencia en el riesgo de aparición de dolor crónico.
This nationwide population‐based cohort study, with prospectively collected data from the Swedish Hernia Register on patient‐reported outcome measures assessed 1 year after open anterior mesh inguinal hernia repair, demonstrated no differences in chronic pain rates between different lightweight and heavyweight meshes. SHR, Swedish Hernia Register; PP, polypropylene; IPQ, Inguinal Pain Questionnaire; HWM‐PP, heavyweight PP mesh; LWM‐PP, lightweight PP mesh;
LWM‐PP/PGC, lightweight PP mesh with absorbable poliglecaprone‐25.
Light is not the answer
Editorial on Mochalov et al. 2018. Higher Ca2+‐sensitivity of arterial contraction in 1‐week‐old rats is due to a greater Rho‐kinase activity. Acta Physiol 223, e13044.
Oxidative stress plays a vital role for the adaptive responses to physical training. However, excessive oxidative stress can precipitate cellular damage, necessitating protective mechanisms to ...mitigate this effect. Glucosinolates, found predominantly in cruciferous vegetables, can be converted into isothiocyanates, known for their antioxidative properties. These compounds activate crucial antioxidant defence pathways and support mitochondrial function and protein integrity under oxidative stress, in both Nrf2-dependent and independent manners. We here administered glucosinolate-rich broccoli sprouts (GRS), in a randomized double-blinded cross-over fashion to 9 healthy subjects in combination with daily intense exercise training for 7 days. We found that exercise in combination with GRS significantly decreased the levels of carbonylated proteins in skeletal muscle and the release of myeloperoxidase into blood. Moreover, it lowered lactate accumulation during submaximal exercise, and attenuated the severe nocturnal hypoglycaemic episodes seen during the placebo condition. Furthermore, GRS in combination with exercise improved physical performance, which was unchanged in the placebo condition.
Quantum dots are model systems for quantum thermoelectric behavior because of their ability to control and measure the effects of electron-energy filtering and quantum confinement on thermoelectric ...properties. Interestingly, nonlinear thermoelectric properties of such small systems can modify the efficiency of thermoelectric power conversion. Using quantum dots embedded in semiconductor nanowires, we measure thermovoltage and thermocurrent that are strongly nonlinear in the applied thermal bias. We show that most of the observed nonlinear effects can be understood in terms of a renormalization of the quantum-dot energy levels as a function of applied thermal bias and provide a theoretical model of the nonlinear thermovoltage taking renormalization into account. Furthermore, we propose a theory that explains a possible source of the observed, pronounced renormalization effect by the melting of Kondo correlations in the mixed-valence regime. The ability to control nonlinear thermoelectric behavior expands the range in which quantum thermoelectric effects may be used for efficient energy conversion.
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