Physical and Genetic Structure of the Maize Genome Reflects Its Complex Evolutionary History

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereal crops and a model for the study of genetics, evolution, and domestication. To better understand maize genome organization and to build a framework for genome sequencing, we constructed a sequence-ready fingerprinted contig-based physical map that covers 93.5% of the genome, of which 86.1% is aligned to the genetic map. The fingerprinted contig map contains 25,908 genic markers that enabled us to align nearly 73% of the anchored maize genome to the rice genome. The distribution pattern of expressed sequence tags correlates to that of recombination. In collinear regions, 1 kb in rice corresponds to an average of 3.2 kb in maize, yet maize has a 6-fold genome size expansion. This can be explained by the fact that most rice regions correspond to two regions in maize as a result of its recent polyploid origin. Inversions account for the majority of chromosome structural variations during subsequent maize diploidization. We also find clear evidence of ancient genome duplication predating the divergence of the progenitors of maize and rice. Reconstructing the paleoethnobotany of the maize genome indicates that the progenitors of modern maize contained ten chromosomes

The Electronics and Data Acquisition System of the DarkSide Dark Matter Search

It is generally inferred from astronomical measurements that Dark Matter (DM) comprises approximately 27\% of the energy-density of the universe. If DM is a subatomic particle, a possible candidate is a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP), and the DarkSide-50 (DS) experiment is a direct search for evidence of WIMP-nuclear collisions. DS is located underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy, and consists of three active, embedded components; an outer water veto (CTF), a liquid scintillator veto (LSV), and a liquid argon (LAr) time projection chamber (TPC). This paper describes the data acquisition and electronic systems of the DS detectors, designed to detect the residual ionization from such collisions

Recurrent gain of function mutation in calcium channel CACNA1H causes early-onset hypertension with primary aldosteronism

Many Mendelian traits are likely unrecognized owing to absence of traditional segregation patterns in families due to causation by de novo mutations, incomplete penetrance, and/or variable expressivity. Genome-level sequencing can overcome these complications. Extreme childhood phenotypes are promising candidates for new Mendelian traits. One example is early onset hypertension, a rare form of a global cause of morbidity and mortality. We performed exome sequencing of 40 unrelated subjects with hypertension due to primary aldosteronism by age 10. Five subjects (12.5%) shared the identical, previously unidentified, heterozygous CACNA1H(M1549V) mutation. Two mutations were demonstrated to be de novo events, and all mutations occurred independently. CACNA1H encodes a voltage-gated calcium channel (CaV3.2) expressed in adrenal glomerulosa. CACNA1H(M1549V) showed drastically impaired channel inactivation and activation at more hyperpolarized potentials, producing increased intracellular Ca(2+), the signal for aldosterone production. This mutation explains disease pathogenesis and provides new insight into mechanisms mediating aldosterone production and hypertension

DarkSide-50, a background free experiment for dark matter searches

The existence of dark matter is inferred from gravitational effects, but its nature remains a deep mystery. One possibility, motivated by considerations in elementary particle physics, is that dark matter consists of elementary particles, such as the hypothesized Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), with mass ~ 100 GeV and cross-section ~ 10−47 cm2, that can be gravitationally trapped inside our galaxy and revealed by their scattering on nuclei. It should be possible to detect WIMPs directly, as the orbital motion of the WIMPs composing the dark matter halo pervading the galaxy should result in WIMP-nucleus collisions of sufficient energy to be observable in the laboratory. The DarkSide-50 experiment is a direct WIMP search using a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr-TPC) with an active mass of 50 kg with a high sensitivity and an ultra-low background detector

The Electronics and Data Acquisition System of the DarkSide Dark Matter Search

It is generally inferred from astronomical measurements th at Dark Matter (DM) comprises approximately 27% of the energy-dens ity of the universe. If DM is a subatomic particle, a possible candidate is a Weakl y Interacting Mas- sive Particle (WIMP), and the DarkSide-50 (DS) experiment i s a direct search for evidence of WIMP-nuclear collisions. DS is located undergr ound at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy, and consists of thr ee active, embedded components; an outer water veto (CTF), a liquid scintillato r veto (LSV), and a liquid argon (LAr) time projection chamber (TPC). This pap er describes the data acquisition and electronic systems of the DS detectors , designed to detect the residual ionization from

First Results from the DarkSide-50 Dark Matter Experiment at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso

We report the first results of DarkSide-50, a direct search for dark matter operating in the un- derground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) and searching for the rare nuclear recoils possibly induced by weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). The dark matter detector is a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber with a ( 46.4 0.7 ) kg active mass, operated inside a 30 t or- ganic liquid scintillator neutron veto, which is in turn installed at the center of a 1 kt water Cherenkov veto for the residual flux of cosmic rays. We report here the null results of a dark matter search for a ( 1422 67 ) kg d exposure with an atmospheric argon fill. This is the most sensitive dark matter search performed with an argon target, corresponding to a 90% CL upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section of 6.1 1

Corporate Lobbying in Antidumping Cases: Looking into the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act

antidumping, lobbying, protection, Byrd amendment,

Vaginal discharge among the primary school students and detection of the affection factors

Large gravitational wave interferometric detectors, like Virgo and LIGO, demonstrated the capability to reach their design sensitivity, but to transform these machines into an effective observational instrument for gravitational wave astronomy a large improvement in sensitivity is required. Advanced detectors in the near future and third-generation observatories in more than one decade will open the possibility to perform gravitational wave astronomical observations from the Earth. An overview of the possible science reaches and the technological progress needed to realize a third-generation observatory are discussed in this paper. The status of the project Einstein Telescope (ET), a design study of a third-generation gravitational wave observatory, will be reported