Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases have become a major global environmental problem with important public health, economic, and political consequences. The etiologic agents of most emerging ...infectious diseases are zoonotic, and anthropogenic environmental changes that affect wildlife communities are increasingly implicated in disease emergence and spread. Although increased disease incidence has been correlated with biodiversity loss for several zoonoses, experimental tests in these systems are lacking. We manipulated small-mammal biodiversity by removing non-reservoir species in replicated field plots in Panama, where zoonotic hantaviruses are endemic. Both infection prevalence of hantaviruses in wild reservoir (rodent) populations and reservoir population density increased where small-mammal species diversity was reduced. Regardless of other variables that affect the prevalence of directly transmitted infections in natural communities, high biodiversity is important in reducing transmission of zoonotic pathogens among wildlife hosts. Our results have wide applications in both conservation biology and infectious disease management.
Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) were compared for analyzing microcystins in water. ELISA results of microcystin‐LR spiked into ...raw water samples were close to the spike concentrations, but method variability was ±25%. However, ELISA‐derived microcystin‐LA concentrations were two to three times higher than the spike concentrations obtained using the kit‐provided microcystin‐LR standards, indicating the need for variant‐appropriate ELISA standards. LC/MS/MS results agreed with spike concentrations for all variants in reagent water, but matrix suppression was observed in some raw waters. In bench‐scale studies, ozonated microcystins generated low‐level positive responses by ELISA and a protein phosphatase inhibition assay, even though microcystins were not detected by LC/MS/MS. These findings indicate that ELISA results—particularly in treated water—should be interpreted with caution because of the possibility of false‐positives, relatively high variability, and differential detection of some variants.
Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by increased cancer incidence, cell cycle checkpoint defects, and ionizing radiation sensitivity. We have isolated ...the gene encoding p95, a member of the hMre11/hRad50 double-strand break repair complex. The
p95 gene mapped to 8q21.3, the region that contains the
NBS locus, and p95 was absent from NBS cells established from NBS patients. p95 deficiency in these cells completely abrogates the formation of hMre11/hRad50 ionizing radiation-induced foci. Comparison of the
p95 cDNA to the
NBS1 cDNA indicated that the
p95 gene and
NBS1 are identical. The implication of hMre11/hRad50/p95 protein complex in NBS reveals a direct molecular link between DSB repair and cell cycle checkpoint functions.
Alterations in lipid metabolism have the potential to be markers as well as drivers of pathobiology of acute critical illness. Here, we took advantage of the temporal precision offered by trauma as a ...common cause of critical illness to identify the dynamic patterns in the circulating lipidome in critically ill humans. The major findings include an early loss of all classes of circulating lipids followed by a delayed and selective lipogenesis in patients destined to remain critically ill. The previously reported survival benefit of early thawed plasma administration was associated with preserved lipid levels that related to favorable changes in coagulation and inflammation biomarkers in causal modelling. Phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) were elevated in patients with persistent critical illness and PE levels were prognostic for worse outcomes not only in trauma but also severe COVID-19 patients. Here we show selective rise in systemic PE as a common prognostic feature of critical illness.
Accurate transmission of genetic material relies on the coupling of chromosomes to spindle microtubules by kinetochores. These linkages are regulated by the conserved Aurora B/Ipl1 kinase to ensure ...that sister chromatids are properly attached to spindle microtubules. Kinetochore-microtubule attachments require the essential Ndc80 complex, which contains two globular ends linked by large coiled-coil domains. In this study, we isolated a novel ndc80 mutant in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that contains mutations in the coiled-coil domain. This ndc80 mutant accumulates erroneous kinetochore-microtubule attachments, resulting in misalignment of kinetochores on the mitotic spindle. Genetic analyses with suppressors of the ndc80 mutant and in vitro cross-linking experiments suggest that the kinetochore misalignment in vivo stems from a defect in the ability of the Ndc80 complex to stably fold at a hinge in the coiled coil. Previous studies proposed that the Ndc80 complex can exist in multiple conformations: elongated during metaphase and bent during anaphase. However, the distinct functions of individual conformations in vivo are unknown. Here, our analysis revealed a tightly folded conformation of the Ndc80 complex that is likely required early in mitosis. This conformation is mediated by a direct, intracomplex interaction and involves a greater degree of folding than the bent form of the complex at anaphase. Furthermore, our results suggest that this conformation is functionally important in vivo for efficient error correction by Aurora B/Ipl1 and, consequently, to ensure proper kinetochore alignment early in mitosis.
This study assessed the efficiencies of removing constituents of emerging concern (CECs) with ozone and ozone in combination with hydrogen peroxide in a bench-scale flow-through system designed to ...predict full-scale removals. Five CECs were selected for evaluation: atrazine, caffeine, carbamazepine, primidone, and tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate. Two modeling compounds, 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin, were used to establish benchscale operating conditions that mimicked previous pilot- and demonstration-scale removals. The study demonstrated that CEC removal efficiencies in bench-scale systems are generally consistent with removals in full-scale systems. Thus, the bench-scale system can be used to predict full-scale removals. Additionally, bench-scale results showed that CEC removal efficiencies were generally higher in State Project water (SPW) than in Colorado River water (CRW) or the SPW/CRW blend. These results were likely a consequence of the rapid formation of hydroxyl radicals in SPW.
Peanut root-knot nematode Meloidogyne arenaria (Neal) Chitwood or Ma is an increasingly common pest in the southern United States where crops such as peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and soybean Glycine ...max (L.) Merr. are grown. Four soybean plant introductions (PIs) are highly resistant to the peanut root-knot nematode. To determine if PI 594403, PI 594427C, and PI 594651B contain useful resistance genes from those previously characterized in PI 200538, populations developed from the PIs crossed to PI 200538 were tested for Ma response. Highly galled and highly resistant F2 plants were observed in each population. In two of the three populations, the highly galled F2 plants produced progeny that sustained significantly greater galling (P < 0.001) than those derived from highly resistant F2 plants. While the F2–derived progeny from the third population had more variability than was observed in the other crosses, progeny means of the lines were significantly different (P < 0.05). Individual F2–derived lines from highly galled or resistant F2 plants within all of the populations were significantly different from each other or from the parents. Thus, it is evident that these PIs likely contain unique resistance genes that, when combined with PI 200538–derived Ma resistance, could improve the level of Ma resistance in soybean cultivars.
Free cortisol in the urine (UFC) is frequently measured in clinical research to assess whether inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) cause suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Thirteen ...healthy male subjects received single inhaled doses (of molar equivalence) of fluticasone propionate (FP), triamcinolone acetonide (TAA), budesonide (BUD), and placebo in this single blind, randomized, cross-over study. UFC output was measured using four commercial immunoassays in samples collected in 12-h aliquots over 24 h. The cortisol production rate was assessed from the outputs of cortisol metabolites. UFC showed a 100% increase over placebo levels in the Abbott TDX assay after the administration of BUD. The other assays detected variable suppression (ranging from 29–61% suppression for FP, 30–62% suppression for TAA, and 25% suppression to 100% stimulation for BUD). Suppression was more pronounced in the first 12 h after TAA and in the second 12 h after FP. Similar suppression was found in each 12-h period after BUD. UFC estimation based on immunoassays after ICS may be an unreliable surrogate marker of adrenal suppression. Many of the published studies describing or comparing the safety of different ICS should be reevaluated, and some should be interpreted with caution.
Age of Information: An Introduction and Survey Yates, Roy D.; Sun, Yin; Brown, D. Richard ...
IEEE journal on selected areas in communications,
05/2021, Volume:
39, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We summarize recent contributions in the broad area of age of information (AoI). In particular, we describe the current state of the art in the design and optimization of low-latency cyberphysical ...systems and applications in which sources send time-stamped status updates to interested recipients. These applications desire status updates at the recipients to be as timely as possible; however, this is typically constrained by limited system resources. We describe AoI timeliness metrics and present general methods of AoI evaluation analysis that are applicable to a wide variety of sources and systems. Starting from elementary single-server queues, we apply these AoI methods to a range of increasingly complex systems, including energy harvesting sensors transmitting over noisy channels, parallel server systems, queueing networks, and various single-hop and multi-hop wireless networks. We also explore how update age is related to MMSE methods of sampling, estimation and control of stochastic processes. The paper concludes with a review of efforts to employ age optimization in cyberphysical applications.
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