Photoelectron Angular Distributions for Two-photon Ionization of Helium by Ultrashort Extreme Ultraviolet Free Electron Laser Pulses

Phase-shift differences and amplitude ratios of the outgoing $s$ and $d$ continuum wave packets generated by two-photon ionization of helium atoms are determined from the photoelectron angular distributions obtained using velocity map imaging. Helium atoms are ionized with ultrashort extreme-ultraviolet free-electron laser pulses with a photon energy of 20.3, 21.3, 23.0, and 24.3 eV, produced by the SPring-8 Compact SASE Source test accelerator. The measured values of the phase-shift differences are distinct from scattering phase-shift differences when the photon energy is tuned to an excited level or Rydberg manifold. The difference stems from the competition between resonant and non-resonant paths in two-photon ionization by ultrashort pulses. Since the competition can be controlled in principle by the pulse shape, the present results illustrate a new way to tailor the continuum wave packet.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 3 figure

guide to clinicians

Funding This work received an unrestricted grant from GSK Portugal and was supported by Sociedade Portuguesa de Ginecologia (SPG).Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. In this context, biomarkers could be considered as indicators of either infection or dysregulated host response or response to treatment and/or aid clinicians to prognosticate patient risk. More than 250 biomarkers have been identified and evaluated over the last few decades, but no biomarker accurately differentiates between sepsis and sepsis-like syndrome. Published data support the use of biomarkers for pathogen identification, clinical diagnosis, and optimization of antibiotic treatment. In this narrative review, we highlight how clinicians could improve the use of pathogen-specific and of the most used host-response biomarkers, procalcitonin and C-reactive protein, to improve the clinical care of patients with sepsis. Biomarker kinetics are more useful than single values in predicting sepsis, when making the diagnosis and assessing the response to antibiotic therapy. Finally, integrated biomarker-guided algorithms may hold promise to improve both the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis. Herein, we provide current data on the clinical utility of pathogen-specific and host-response biomarkers, offer guidance on how to optimize their use, and propose the needs for future research.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

ISOL@: an Italian SOLAnaceae genomics resource

BACKGROUND: Present-day '-omics' technologies produce overwhelming amounts of data which include genome sequences, information on gene expression (transcripts and proteins) and on cell metabolic status. These data represent multiple aspects of a biological system and need to be investigated as a whole to shed light on the mechanisms which underpin the system functionality.The gathering and convergence of data generated by high-throughput technologies, the effective integration of different data-sources and the analysis of the information content based on comparative approaches are key methods for meaningful biological interpretations.In the frame of the International Solanaceae Genome Project, we propose here ISOLA, an Italian SOLAnaceae genomics resource. RESULTS: ISOLA (available at http://biosrv.cab.unina.it/isola) represents a trial platform and it is conceived as a multi-level computational environment.ISOLA currently consists of two main levels: the genome and the expression level. The cornerstone of the genome level is represented by the Solanum lycopersicum genome draft sequences generated by the International Tomato Genome Sequencing Consortium. Instead, the basic element of the expression level is the transcriptome information from different Solanaceae species, mainly in the form of species-specific comprehensive collections of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs).The cross-talk between the genome and the expression levels is based on data source sharing and on tools that enhance data quality, that extract information content from the levels' under parts and produce value-added biological knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: ISOLA is the result of a bioinformatics effort that addresses the challenges of the post-genomics era. It is designed to exploit '-omics' data based on effective integration to acquire biological knowledge and to approach a systems biology view. Beyond providing experimental biologists with a preliminary annotation of the tomato genome, this effort aims to produce a trial computational environment where different aspects and details are maintained as they are relevant for the analysis of the organization, the functionality and the evolution of the Solanaceae family

Digital image based elasto-tomography; proof of concept studies for surface based mechanical property reconstruction

Digital Image-based Elasto-Tomography (DIET) is a novel method of determining the distribution of elastic properties within the breast. Using an array of calibrated digital cameras and in inverse reconstruction algorithm, DIET allows reconstruction of the internal elastic stiffness distribution of the breast using only motions at the breast surface. This reconstructed stiffness should clearly show carcinoma based on their high elastic property contrast with healthy tissue. Proof of concept studies are presented for both the callibration of the digital imaging system and the inverse reconstruction algorithm. The reconstruction algorithm identified high stiffness tumors in the majority of test cases, even with the addition of random noise based on expected calibration accuracy

Recent and old duplications in crustaceans "Internal Transcribed Spacer 1" : structural and phylogenetic implications

Internal Transcribed Spacer structures are important in preserving accessibility to specific enzymes for the maturation of rRNAs. ITS1 sequences reported in the literature in Crustaceans range between 182 and 820 bp and are characterized by the absence of repeats or the presence of only a limited number of microsatellites. Here, we sequenced ITS1 for a range of shrimp families (infraorder Caridea) and show that most taxa have much larger ITS1 sequences. We find a high number of microsatellites in Alpheus hebes and Crangon crangon and we report repeat units in Pandalidae, Palaemonidae and mainly in Alpheidae species. Up to four repeats were found in A. vanderbilti (1915 bp), A. rostratus (1635 bp) and A. lottini (1625 bp). In general, four helices were found in ITS1. Repeat units led to extra hairpins and loops. No conserved positions occurred except in helix 4. Three clades were defined in A. lottini for the first time. We estimated the ITS1 divergence rate for the three clades of A. lottini collected in French Polynesia using existing calibrations of substitution rates. Rates of sequence evolution are largely influenced by repeat units, which likely evolve separately. By comparison with COI marker, we estimated the divergence rate of the whole ITS1 sequence to range from 0.5 to 1.4% Pmy and between 0.12 and 0.5% for the 3' end of ITS1 located outside the repeat units. Given the degree of identity between repeats, we suggest that a duplication event recently occurred in A. floridanus (98% identity) whereas an ancient duplication happened in A. sulcatus (50% identity) early at the origination of the group Alpheidae, approximately 50 mya ago. In conclusion, our results highlight an over representation of shorter ITS1 sequences in public repositories, and underlines the importance to further understand patterns of molecular evolution of this functionally important gene

Higher intron loss rate in Arabidopsis thaliana than A. lyrata is consistent with stronger selection for a smaller genome

The number of introns varies considerably among different organisms. This can be explained by the differences in the rates of intron gain and loss. Two factors that are likely to influence these rates are selection for or against introns and the mutation rate that generates the novel intron or the intronless copy. Although it has been speculated that stronger selection for a compact genome might result in a higher rate of intron loss and a lower rate of intron gain, clear evidence is lacking, and the role of selection in determining these rates has not been established. Here, we studied the gain and loss of introns in the two closely related species Arabidopsis thaliana and A. lyrata as it was recently shown that A. thaliana has been undergoing a faster genome reduction driven by selection. We found that A. thaliana has lost six times more introns than A. lyrata since the divergence of the two species but gained very few introns. We suggest that stronger selection for genome reduction probably resulted in the much higher intron loss rate in A. thaliana, although further analysis is required as we could not find evidence that the loss rate increased in A. thaliana as opposed to having decreased in A. lyrata compared with the rate in the common ancestor. We also examined the pattern of the intron gains and losses to better understand the mechanisms by which they occur. Microsimilarity was detected between the splice sites of several gained and lost introns, suggesting that nonhomologous end joining repair of double-strand breaks might be a common pathway not only for intron gain but also for intron loss

Les virus de l'artichaut. I.Mise en évidence de 3 virus dans les cultures françaises d'artichaut

Trois virus ont été isolés de l’artichaut dans les cultures de l’Ouest et du Sud-Est de la France : - Le virus latent de l’artichaut (ALV) appartenant au groupe des Potyvirus. Ce virus ne provoque pas de symptômes sur des artichauts de semis infectés mécaniquement ou par pucerons ; il peut néanmoins affecter la vigueur et la production des plantes. Les plantes régénérées sont rapidement recontaminées dans les conditions naturelles. - Le virus de la mosaïque du concombre (CMV), décrit pour la première fois sur artichaut induit sur cette espèce une mosaïque déformante et un rabougrissement. Les souches isolées en Bretagne et en Provence appartiennent au groupe symptomatologique B et sérologique To-Rs. - Un virus à particules isométriques de 28-30 nm qui pourrait s’apparenter au virus du flétrissement de la fève (BBwv) selon certains critères biologiques et ultra structuraux, mais qui n’a cependant pu être transmis par plusieurs espèces de pucerons. Les résultats ne permettent pas de relier ce virus aux autres virus isométriques décrits chez l’artichaut.Three viruses were isolated from artichoke plants cultivated in West and South-East France. Artichoke latent virus (ALV) belongs to the potyvirus group. This virus did not provoke symptoms on artichoke seedlings infected mechanically or by aphids ; nevertheless it did affect vigour and yield. Recontamination of healthy plants in natural conditions appeared to occur rapidly. Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was recorded for the first time from artichoke, inducing mosaic with deformation and stunting. The strains isolated so for in Brittany and Provence belonged to the symptomatological group B and serological group TO-RS. A virus with isometric particles 28-30 nm was found, with some relationships to broad bean wilt virus (BBWV) according to some biological and ultrastructural criteria but which could not be transmitted by several species of aphids. The results obtained do not allow the identification of this virus with any of the isometric viruses found in artichoke

Bayesian Multiresolution Algorithm For Pet Reconstruction

We introduce a spatially non-homogeneous adaptive image model and multiresolution reconstruction algorithm for Bayesian tomographic reconstruction. In contrast to existing approaches, the proposed image model is formulated in a multiresolution wavelet domain and relies on training data to incorporate the expected characteristics of typical reconstructions. The actual tomographic reconstruction is performed in the space domain to simplify enforcement of the positivity constraint. We apply the proposed algorithm to simulated data and to data acquired using the IndyPET dedicated research scanner. Our experimental results indicate that our algorithm can improve reconstruction quality over fixed resolution Bayesian methods. 1 INTRODUCTION One of the major challenges in Bayesian tomographic reconstruction is the design of edge-preserving prior models. Existing prior models are largely based on spatially homogeneous Markov random field (MRF) implementations. A disadvantage of such models is..

Bayesian multiresolution algorithm for PET reconstruction

We introduce a spatially non-homogeneous adaptive image model and multiresolution reconstruction algorithm for Bayesian tomographic reconstruction. In contrast to existing approaches, the proposed image model is formulated in a multiresolution wavelet domain and relies on training data to incorporate the expected characteristics of typical reconstructions. The actual tomographic reconstruction is performed in the space domain to simplify enforcement of the positivity constraint. We apply the proposed algorithm to simulated data and to data acquired using the IndyPET dedicated research scanner. Our experimental results indicate that our algorithm can improve reconstruction quality over fixed resolution Bayesian methods.