This study applied Illumina high-throughput sequencing to explore the microbial communities and functions in anaerobic digestion sludge (ADS) from two wastewater treatment plants based on a ...metagenomic view. Taxonomic analysis using SILVA SSU database indicated that
Proteobacteria
(9.52–13.50 %),
Bacteroidetes
(7.18 %–10.65 %) and
Firmicutes
(7.53 %–9.46 %) were the most abundant phyla in the ADS. Differences of microbial communities between the two types of ADS were identified. Genera of
Methanosaeta
and
Methanosarcina
were the major methanogens. Functional analysis by SEED subsystems showed that the basic metabolic functions of metagenomes in the four ADS samples had no significant difference among them, but they were different from other microbial communities from activated sludge, human faeces, ocean and soil. Abundances of genes in methanogenesis pathway were also quantified using a methanogenesis genes database extracted from KEGG. Results showed that acetotrophic was the major methanogenic pathway in the anaerobic sludge digestion.
This study introduced a novel but simple method to continuously measure footstrike patterns in runners using inexpensive force sensors. Two force sensing resistors were firmly affixed at the heel and ...second toe of both insoles to collect the time signal of foot contact. A total of 109 healthy young adults (42 males and 67 females) were recruited in this study. They ran on an instrumented treadmill at 0°, +10°, and -10° inclinations and attempted rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot landings using real time visual biofeedback. Intra-step strike index and onset time difference between two force sensors were measured and analyzed with univariate linear regression. We analyzed 25,655 footfalls and found that onset time difference between two sensors explained 80-84% of variation in the prediction model of strike index (R-squared = 0.799-0.836, p<0.001). However, the time windows to detect footstrike patterns on different surface inclinations were not consistent. These findings may allow laboratory-based gait retraining to be implemented in natural running environments to aid in both injury prevention and performance enhancement.
We have conducted a study of the relationship between tropical cyclone (TC) and extreme rain events using GPCP and TRMM rainfall data ; and storm track data for July through November (JASON) in the ...North Atlantic (NAT) and the western North Pacific (WNP). Extreme rain events are defined in terms of percentile rainrate, and TC-gain by rainfall associated with a named TC. Results show that climatologically, 8% of rain events and 17% of the total rain amount in NAT are accounted by TCs, compared to 9% of rain events, and 21% of rain amount in WN.P. The fractional contribution of accumulated TC-rain to total rain, Omega, increases nearly linearly as a function of rainrate. Extending the analyses using GPCP pentad data for 1979-2005, and for the post-SSM/I period (1988-2005), we find that while there is no significant trend in the total JASON rainfall over NAT or WNP there is a positive significant trend in heavy rain over both basins for the 1979-2005 period, but not for the post-SSM/I period. Trend analyses of Omega for bout periods indicate that TCs have been feeding increasingly more to rainfall extremes in NAT, where the expansion of the warm pool area can explain slightly more than 50% of the change in observed trend in total TC rainfall. In. WNP, trend signals for Omega are mixed, and the loner term relationship between TC rain and warm pool area is strongly influenced by interannual and interdecadal variability.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: While anticancer immunotherapies have traditionally focused on activation of the immune system, there is recent interest in disinhibition of the natural antitumor immune ...response by targeting immune checkpoints such as cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte associated antigen‐4 (CTLA‐4) and programmed death‐1 (PD‐1). One humanized monoclonal antibody against PD‐1, pembrolizumab, was recently approved for treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma. Methods: We report exacerbation of myasthenia gravis (MG) after treatment with pembrolizumab and provide a brief literature review. Results: We describe a 75‐year‐old man with stable MG who experienced myasthenic crisis in the setting of pembrolizumab treatment. A concurrent azathioprine taper was a possible although unlikely contributor given the short time interval between taper and exacerbation. Conclusions: As long‐term data become available regarding the adverse immune effects of novel checkpoint inhibitors, clinicians should be mindful of their risks/benefits and of possible autoimmune disease exacerbation. Muscle Nerve 54: 157–161, 2016
Chromosomal aneuploidy is the major reason why couples opt for prenatal diagnosis. Current methods for definitive diagnosis rely on invasive procedures, such as chorionic villus sampling and ...amniocentesis, and are associated with a risk of fetal miscarriage. Fetal DNA has been found in maternal plasma but exists as a minor fraction among a high background of maternal DNA. Hence, quantitative perturbations caused by an aneuploid chromosome in the fetal genome to the overall representation of sequences from that chromosome in maternal plasma would be small. Even with highly precise single molecule counting methods such as digital PCR, a large number of DNA molecules and hence maternal plasma volume would need to be analyzed to achieve the necessary analytical precision. Here we reasoned that instead of using approaches that target specific gene loci, the use of a locus-independent method would greatly increase the number of target molecules from the aneuploid chromosome that could be analyzed within the same fixed volume of plasma. Hence, we used massively parallel genomic sequencing to quantify maternal plasma DNA sequences for the noninvasive prenatal detection of fetal trisomy 21. Twenty-eight first and second trimester maternal plasma samples were tested. All 14 trisomy 21 fetuses and 14 euploid fetuses were correctly identified. Massively parallel plasma DNA sequencing represents a new approach that is potentially applicable to all pregnancies for the noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies.
In this study, we find from analyses of projections of 14 CMIP5 models a robust, canonical global response in rainfall characteristics to a warming climate. Under a scenario of 1% increase per year ...of CO2 emission, the model ensemble projects globally more heavy precipitation (+7 ± 2.4%K−1), less moderate precipitation (−2.5 ± 0.6%K−1), more light precipitation (+1.8 ± 1.3%K−1), and increased length of dry (no‐rain) periods (+4.7 ± 2.1%K−1). Regionally, a majority of the models project a consistent response with more heavy precipitation over climatologically wet regions of the deep tropics, especially the equatorial Pacific Ocean and the Asian monsoon regions, and more dry periods over the land areas of the subtropics and the tropical marginal convective zones. Our results suggest that increased CO2 emissions induce a global adjustment in circulation and moisture availability manifested in basic changes in global precipitation characteristics, including increasing risks of severe floods and droughts in preferred geographic locations worldwide.
Key Points
A canonical rainfall response is found in CMIP‐5 models
increased floods and droughts under global warming are connected
Changing rainfall types are more sensitive than total rainfall
Large amounts of new data on the natural history and treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection have become available since 2005. These include long-term follow-up studies in large ...community-based cohorts or asymptomatic subjects with chronic HBV infection, further studies on the role of HBV genotype/naturally occurring HBV mutations, treatment of drug resistance and new therapies. In addition, Pegylated interferon α2a, entecavir and telbivudine have been approved globally. To update HBV management guidelines, relevant new data were reviewed and assessed by experts from the region, and the significance of the reported findings were discussed and debated. The earlier “Asian-Pacific consensus statement on the management of chronic hepatitis B” was revised accordingly. The key terms used in the statement were also defined. The new guidelines include general management, special indications for liver biopsy in patients with persistently normal alanine aminotransferase, time to start or stop drug therapy, choice of drug to initiate therapy, when and how to monitor the patients during and after stopping drug therapy. Recommendations on the therapy of patients in special circumstances, including women in childbearing age, patients with antiviral drug resistance, concurrent viral infection, hepatic decompensation, patients receiving immune-suppressive medications or chemotherapy and patients in the setting of liver transplantation, are also included.
While dromedary camels are the immediate animal source of MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, the evolutionary origin of MERS-CoV remains obscure. We analyzed 219 camel and human MERS-CoV genome ...sequences available in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 5 and 214 strains belong to clade A and B, respectively, with clade A further divided into lineage A1 (3 human strains) and lineage A2 (2 camel strains), and clade B divided into B1 to B6 (each containing both human and camel strains). Recombination analysis showed potential recombination events in five strains from dromedaries in Saudi Arabia, with recombination between lineage B5 and B3 in four strains, and between lineage B3 and B4 in one strain. The spike protein showed the highest number of amino acid substitutions, especially between A2 and other lineages, and contained positively selected codons. Notably, codon 1020 was positively selected among B and B5 strains, and can distinguish between clade A (Q1020) and B (R1020/H1020) strains, suggesting that this residue may play a role in the evolution of S protein during divergence of different lineages. The time of the most recent common ancestor of all MERS-CoV was dated to approximately 2010. The implications on the role of camels in the evolution of MERS-CoV are discussed.
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