924 research outputs found
An evaluation of the brain distribution of [11C]GSK1034702, a muscarinic-1 (M1) positive allosteric modulator in the living human brain using positron emission tomography
A 2017 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity
We present the results of our eighth annual horizon scan of emerging issues likely to affect global biological diversity, the environment, and conservation efforts in the future. The potential effects of these novel issues might not yet be fully recognized or understood by the global conservation community, and the issues can be regarded as both opportunities and risks. A diverse international team with collective expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, and conservation research, practice, and policy reviewed 100 potential issues and identified 15 that qualified as emerging, with potential substantial global effects. These issues include new developments in energy storage and fuel production, sand extraction, potential solutions to combat coral bleaching and invasive marine species, and blockchain technology.Cambridge Conservation Initiative, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Arcadia, Natural Environment Research Council (Grant ID: NE/N014472/1
Carotid Plaque Age Is a Feature of Plaque Stability Inversely Related to Levels of Plasma Insulin
C-declination curve (a result of the atomic bomb tests in the
1950s and 1960s) to determine the average biological age of carotid
plaques.C
content by accelerator mass spectrometry. The average plaque age (i.e.
formation time) was 9.6±3.3 years. All but two plaques had formed
within 5–15 years before surgery. Plaque age was not associated with
the chronological ages of the patients but was inversely related to plasma
insulin levels (p = 0.0014). Most plaques were
echo-lucent rather than echo-rich (2.24±0.97, range 1–5).
However, plaques in the lowest tercile of plaque age (most recently formed)
were characterized by further instability with a higher content of lipids
and macrophages (67.8±12.4 vs. 50.4±6.2,
p = 0.00005; 57.6±26.1 vs. 39.8±25.7,
p<0.0005, respectively), less collagen (45.3±6.1 vs.
51.1±9.8, p<0.05), and fewer smooth muscle cells (130±31
vs. 141±21, p<0.05) than plaques in the highest tercile.
Microarray analysis of plaques in the lowest tercile also showed increased
activity of genes involved in immune responses and oxidative
phosphorylation.C, can improve our understanding of carotid
plaque stability and therefore risk for clinical complications. Our results
also suggest that levels of plasma insulin might be involved in determining
carotid plaque age
Bryozoans are Major Modern Builders of South Atlantic Oddly Shaped Reefs
Supplementary information accompanies this paper at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27961-6.In major modern reef regions, either in the Indo-Pacific or the Caribbean, scleractinian corals are
described as the main reef framework builders, often associated with crustose coralline algae. We
used underwater cores to investigate Late Holocene reef growth and characterise the main framework
builders in the Abrolhos Shelf, the largest and richest modern tropical reef complex in the South
Western Atlantic, a scientifically underexplored reef province. Rather than a typical coralgal reef,
our results show a complex framework building system dominated by bryozoans. Bryozoans were
major components in all cores and age intervals (2,000 yrs BP), accounting for up to 44% of the reef
framework, while crustose coralline algae and coral accounted for less than 28 and 23%, respectively.
Reef accretion rates varied from 2.7 to 0.9 mm yr−1, which are similar to typical coralgal reefs.
Bryozoan functional groups encompassed 20 taxa and Celleporaria atlantica (Busk, 1884) dominated
the framework at all cores. While the prevalent mesotrophic conditions may have driven suspensionfeeders’
dominance over photoautotrophs and mixotrophs, we propose that a combination of historical
factors with the low storm-disturbance regime of the tropical South Atlantic also contributed to the
region’s low diversity, and underlies the unique mushroom shape of the Abrolhos pinnacles.We thank CNPq/FAPES-Sisbiota/PELD, CAPES/IODP, CAPES/Ciências do Mar, and ANP/Brasoil for long
term project funding. We also thank ICMBio for research permits and field logistic support, and Conservation
International for providing and authorizing the use of the IKONOS image. JMW and JCB are International
Visiting Researcher at UFES and JBRJ, supported by the Science Without Borders program. Zá Cajueiro
provided invaluable field support and Ronaldo Francini, Carlos Janovitch and Lucio Engler helped in the drilling
operations. This is a contribution from the Rede Abrolhos (abrolhos.org)
Molecular markers of anti-malarial drug resistance in Central, West and East African children with severe malaria.
BACKGROUND: The Plasmodium falciparum multidrug resistance 1 (PfMDR1), P. falciparum Ca(2+)-ATPase (PfATP6) and Kelch-13 propeller domain (PfK13) loci are molecular markers of parasite susceptibility to anti-malarial drugs. Their frequency distributions were determined in the isolates collected from children with severe malaria originating from three African countries. METHODS: Samples from 287 children with severe malaria [(Gabon: n = 114); (Ghana: n = 89); (Kenya: n = 84)] were genotyped for pfmdr1, pfatp6 and pfk13 loci by DNA sequencing and assessing pfmdr1 copy number variation (CNV) by real-time PCR. RESULTS: Pfmdr1-N86Y mutation was detected in 48, 10 and 10% in Lambaréné, Kumasi and Kisumu, respectively. At codon 184, the prevalence of the mutation was 73% in Lambaréné, 63% in Kumasi and 49% Kisumu. The S1034C and N1042D variants were absent at all three sites, while the frequency of the D1246Y mutation was 1, 3 and 13% in Lambaréné, Kumasi and Kisumu, respectively. Isolates with two pfmdr1 gene copy number predominantly harboured the N86Y wild-type allele and were mostly found in Kumasi (10%) (P < 0.0001). Among the main pfmdr1 haplotypes (NFD, NYD and YFD), NYD was associated with highest parasitaemia (P = 0.04). At the pfatp6 locus, H243Y and A623E mutations were observed at very low frequency at all three sites. The prevalence of the pfatp6 E431K variant was 6, 18 and 17% in Lambaréné, Kumasi and Kisumu, respectively. The L263E and S769N mutations were absent in all isolates. The pfk13 variants associated with artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia were not observed. Eleven novel substitutions in the pfk13 locus occurring at low frequency were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Artemisinins are still highly efficacious in large malaria-endemic regions though declining efficacy has occurred in Southeast Asia. The return of chloroquine-sensitive strains following the removal of drug pressure is observed. However, selection of wild-type alleles in the multidrug-resistance gene and the increased gene copy number is associated with reduced lumefantrine sensitivity. This study indicates a need to constantly monitor drug resistance to artemisinin in field isolates from malaria-endemic countries
Precision measurement of the top quark mass from dilepton events at CDF II
We report a measurement of the top quark mass, M_t, in the dilepton decay
channel of
using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb^{-1} of p\bar{p} collisions collected
with the CDF II detector. We apply a method that convolutes a leading-order
matrix element with detector resolution functions to form event-by-event
likelihoods; we have enhanced the leading-order description to describe the
effects of initial-state radiation. The joint likelihood is the product of the
likelihoods from 78 candidate events in this sample, which yields a measurement
of M_{t} = 164.5 \pm 3.9(\textrm{stat.}) \pm 3.9(\textrm{syst.})
\mathrm{GeV}/c^2, the most precise measurement of M_t in the dilepton channel.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, version includes changes made prior to
publication by journa
Measurement of the Ratios of Branching Fractions B(Bs -> Ds pi pi pi) / B(Bd -> Dd pi pi pi) and B(Bs -> Ds pi) / B(Bd -> Dd pi)
Using 355 pb^-1 of data collected by the CDF II detector in \ppbar collisions
at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron, we study the fully
reconstructed hadronic decays B -> D pi and B -> D pi pi pi. We present the
first measurement of the ratio of branching fractions B(Bs -> Ds pi pi pi) /
B(Bd -> Dd pi pi pi) = 1.05 pm 0.10 (stat) pm 0.22 (syst). We also update our
measurement of B(Bs -> Ds pi) / B(Bd -> Dd pi) to 1.13 pm 0.08 (stat) pm 0.23
(syst) improving the statistical uncertainty by more than a factor of two. We
find B(Bs -> Ds pi) = [3.8 pm 0.3 (stat) pm 1.3 (syst)] \times 10^{-3} and B(Bs
-> Ds pi pi pi) = [8.4 pm 0.8 (stat) pm 3.2 (syst)] \times 10^{-3}.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Cross Section Measurements of High- Dilepton Final-State Processes Using a Global Fitting Method
We present a new method for studying high- dilepton events
(, , ) and simultaneously
extracting the production cross sections of , , and p\bar{p} \to \ztt at a center-of-mass energy of TeV. We perform a likelihood fit to the dilepton data in a parameter
space defined by the missing transverse energy and the number of jets in the
event. Our results, which use of data recorded with the CDF
II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, are pb, pb, and
\sigma(\ztt) =291^{+50}_{-46} pb.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, to be submitted to PRD-R
Measurement of the Lambda_b Lifetime in Lambda_b --> J/psi Lambda0 in p-pbar Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We report a measurement of the Lambda_b lifetime in the exclusive decay
Lambda_b --> J/psi Lambda0 in p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV using an
integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb^{-1} of data collected by the CDF II detector
at the Fermilab Tevatron. Using fully reconstructed decays, we measure
tau(Lambda_b) = 1.593 ^{+0.083}_{-0.078} (stat.) +- 0.033 (syst.) ps. This is
the single most precise measurement of tau(Lambda_b) and is 3.2 sigma higher
than the current world average.Comment: 7 Pages, 2 Figures, 1 Table. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Analysis of the Quantum Numbers of the X(3872) Particle
We present an analysis of angular distributions and correlations of the
X(3872) particle in the exclusive decay mode X(3872)->J/psi pi+ pi- with
J/psi->mu+ mu-. We use 780 pb -1 of data from ppbar collisions at sqrt{s} =
1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We derive
constraints on spin, parity, and charge conjugation parity of the X(3872)
particle by comparing measured angular distributions of the decay products with
predictions for different JPC hypotheses. The assignments JPC = 1++ and 2-+ are
the only ones consistent with the data.Comment: update to journal versio
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