The blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) genome reveals a species-specific accumulation of LTR retrotransposons

Transposable elements are mobile genetic elements that have the ability to move around the genome, and as such can be a source of genome variability. Transposable elements (TEs) are ubiquitous and many are found within a wide variety of life. Based on their characteristics we can annotate TEs within the host genome and classify them into specific TE types and families. The increasing number of available high-quality genome references in recent years provides an excellent resource that will enhance the understanding of the role of recently active TEs on genetic variation and phenotypic evolution. Here we showcase this through a high-quality TE annotation of the Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), as our chromosome resolution reference genome allowed the reconstruction of difficult-to-assemble regions. We have the ability to distinguish species-specific and non-specific TEs. We investigate how these TE categories are distributed along the genome and evaluate their correlation with four genomic features: recombination rate, gene coverage, CpG island coverage and GC coverage. We found a marked difference between species-specific and non-specific TEs. While species-specific TEs were negatively correlated with both GC content and recombination rate, the correlation with recombination rate disappeared and turned positive for GC content when considering non-specific TEs

Tratamiento de agua residual de microbiología usando películas delgadas de TiO2

(Eng) Microbiology cell-staining wastewater was treated by UV/TiO 2 thin films photocatalysis. A simple method of applying gravity sedimentation over grass-type substrate was used for the preparation of the films. The use of Na4 P2 O7, microwaves, and ultrasounds were studied for decreasing the TiO2 grain sizes on the films. It was established that the best method for reducing grain size resulted from a combination of Na4P2O7 (0.01M) and microwave radiation (700 W, 20 min). The Films were characterized by several microscopic and spectroscopic methods. Anatase phase (gap energy of 3.2 eV) and grain sizes averaging 83 nm were achieved. Photocatalysis tests using TiO2-film showed 99.5 % of decolorization, 79 % TOC abatement, and total microbial inactivation after 14 h of treatment. No bacteria re–growth was found 48 h after the treatment was completed.(Spa) La fotocatálisis con UV/TiO2usando películas delgadas fue empleada para el tratamiento de agua residual de microbiología. Se empleó un método simple de sedimentación por gravedad sobre sustrato de vidrio para la preparación de las películas. El uso de Na4P2O7, microondas y ultrasonido fue estudiado para la disminución de los granos de TiO2 en las películas. Se estableció que el mejor método para disminuir los agregados resultó de una combinación de Na4P2O7(0.01M) y radiación de microondas (700 W, 20 min). Las películas fueron caracterizadas por métodos microscópicos y espectroscópicos. Se obtuvo la fase anatasa (brecha de energía de 3.2 e.V) y tamaños de grano de 83nm. Los ensayos fotocatalíticos utilizando las películas de TiO2generaron un 99.5% de decoloración, 79% de remoción de COT y una inactivación microbiana total luego de 14 h de tratamiento. No se encontró reactivación microbiana luego de 48 h de finalizado el tratamiento

Mechanisms of Psychological Distress following War in the Former Yugoslavia: The Role of Interpersonal Sensitivity

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.This study was funded by a grant from the European Commission, contract number INCO-CT-2004-509176. AN was supported by a Clinical Early Career Research Fellowship (113295) and a Project Grant (104288

A systematic review on the effects of Echinacea supplementation on cytokine levels: Is there a role in COVID-19?

COVID-19 is the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Cytokine storm appears to be a factor in COVID-19 mortality. Echinacea species have been used historically for immune modulation. A previous rapid review suggested that Echinacea supplementation may decrease the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in cytokine storm. The objective of the present systematic review was to identify all research that has assessed changes in levels of cytokines relevant to cytokine storm in response to administration of Echinacea supplementation. The following databases were searched: Medline (Ovid), AMED (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), EMBASE (Ovid). Title and abstract screening, full text screening, and data extraction were completed in duplicate using a piloted extraction template. Risk of bias assessment was completed. Qualitative analysis was used to assess for trends in cytokine level changes. The search identified 279 unique publications. After full text screening, 105 studies met criteria for inclusion including 13 human studies, 24 animal studies, and 71 in vitro or ex vivo studies. The data suggest that Echinacea supplementation may be associated with a decrease in the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and TNF, as well as an increase in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. The risk of bias in the included studies was generally high. While there is currently no substantive research on the therapeutic effects of Echinacea in the management of either cytokine storm or COVID-19, the present evidence related to the herb's impact on cytokine levels suggests that further research may be warranted in the form of a clinical trial involving patients with COVID-19

Ferromagnetism in Ga1-xMnxP: evidence for inter-Mn exchange mediated by localized holes within a detached impurity band

We demonstrate that in ferromagnetic Ga1-xMnxP exchange is mediated by holes localized in a Mn-derived band. For x<0.06, infrared absorption and photoconductivity spectra indicate the presence of a Mn impurity band which is not merged with the valence band. At temperatures above TC (<65 K) electrical transport is dominated by excitation across this energy gap while nearest neighbor hopping dominates below TC. Magnetization measurements reveal a moment of 3.5 Bohr magnetons per substitutional Mn, while the large anomalous Hall signal unambiguously demonstrates that the ferromagnetism is carrier-mediated.Comment: Equation 1 correcte