50 research outputs found
Isotopic Composition of Light Nuclei in Cosmic Rays: Results from AMS-01
The variety of isotopes in cosmic rays allows us to study different aspects
of the processes that cosmic rays undergo between the time they are produced
and the time of their arrival in the heliosphere. In this paper we present
measurements of the isotopic ratios 2H/4He, 3He/4He, 6Li/7Li, 7Be/(9Be+10Be)
and 10B/11B in the range 0.2-1.4 GeV of kinetic energy per nucleon. The
measurements are based on the data collected by the Alpha Magnetic
Spectrometer, AMS-01, during the STS-91 flight in 1998 June.Comment: To appear in ApJ. 12 pages, 11 figures, 6 table
Relative Composition and Energy Spectra of Light Nuclei in Cosmic Rays: Results from AMS-01
Measurement of the chemical and isotopic composition of cosmic rays is essential for the precise understanding of their propagation in the galaxy. While the model parameters are mainly determined using the B/C ratio, the study of extended sets of ratios can provide stronger constraints on the propagation models. In this paper, the relative abundances of light-nuclei lithium, beryllium, boron, and carbon are presented. The secondary-to-primary ratios Li/C, Be/C, and B/C have been measured in the kinetic energy range 0.35-45 GeV nucleon[superscript â1]. The isotopic ratio [superscript 7]Li/[superscript 6]Li is also determined in the magnetic rigidity interval 2.5-6.3 GV. The secondary-to-secondary ratios Li/Be, Li/B, and Be/B are also reported. These measurements are based on the data collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer AMS-01 during the STS-91 space shuttle flight in 1998 June. Our experimental results are in substantial agreement with other measurements, where they exist. We describe our light-nuclei data with a diffusive-reacceleration model. A 10%-15% overproduction of Be is found in the model predictions and can be attributed to uncertainties in the production cross-section data
Genetic drivers of heterogeneity in type 2 diabetes pathophysiology.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a heterogeneous disease that develops through diverse pathophysiological processes1,2 and molecular mechanisms that are often specific to cell type3,4. Here, to characterize the genetic contribution to these processes across ancestry groups, we aggregate genome-wide association study data from 2,535,601 individuals (39.7% not of European ancestry), including 428,452 cases of T2D. We identify 1,289 independent association signals at genome-wide significance (Pâ<â5âĂâ10-8) that map to 611 loci, of which 145 loci are, to our knowledge, previously unreported. We define eight non-overlapping clusters of T2D signals that are characterized by distinct profiles of cardiometabolic trait associations. These clusters are differentially enriched for cell-type-specific regions of open chromatin, including pancreatic islets, adipocytes, endothelial cells and enteroendocrine cells. We build cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores5 in a further 279,552 individuals of diverse ancestry, including 30,288 cases of T2D, and test their association with T2D-related vascular outcomes. Cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores are associated with coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and end-stage diabetic nephropathy across ancestry groups, highlighting the importance of obesity-related processes in the development of vascular outcomes. Our findings show the value of integrating multi-ancestry genome-wide association study data with single-cell epigenomics to disentangle the aetiological heterogeneity that drives the development and progression of T2D. This might offer a route to optimize global access to genetically informed diabetes care
Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers
Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientfĂico e TecnolĂłgico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NvĂel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)
The flora and vegetation of rocky outcrops in three municipalities in the northern region of CearĂĄ, Brazil: phytosociological characterization
Veja material suplementar em <https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5915233.v2O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar a flora e a vegetação dos afloramentos rochosos isolados e
de baixa altitude (lajedos), na vegetação de Caatinga Arbustiva Aberta, que se encontram nos municĂpios de
Sobral, GroaĂras e Santa QuitĂ©ria, no estado do CearĂĄ, Brasil e propor uma classificação fitossociolĂłgica para
estas comunidades xerófilas. Foram definidas cinco åreas de coleta de dados com elevada proporção de rochas
expostas (> 80%) onde as excursĂ”es de campo decorreram em março de 2014 e 2015 (3Âș56âS e 40Âș23âW, 4Âș01âS
e 40Âș05âW, 4Âș07âS e 40Âș08âW, 4Âș09âS e 40Âș09âW e 4Âș03âS e 40Âș00âW). No estudo da vegetação aplicou-se os
métodos TWINSPAN (two-way indicator species analysis) e o clåssico sigmatista de Braun-Blanquet. As åreas
mĂnimas dos inventĂĄrios fitossociolĂłgicos variaram de 8 a 16 m2. Foram coletadas as espĂ©cies vegetais que
crescem em fissuras, fendas e ilhas de vegetação que se encontram em afloramentos rochosos. Foram registradas
88 espĂ©cies, distribuĂdas em 59 gĂȘneros e 30 famĂlias botĂąnicas. Fabaceae foi a famĂlia que se destacou em riqueza
especĂfica (20 spp.), seguida por Poaceae (dez spp.), Euphorbiaceae (sete spp.) e Convolvulaceae (seis spp.).
Quanto ao endemismo foram registradas, em vegetação rupestre, 19 espĂ©cies endĂȘmicas para o Brasil. Na anĂĄlise
fitossociológica da vegetação propÎs-se estudar a comunidade de Pilosocereus gounellei (FA.C.Weber) Byles &
Rowley e Encholirium spectabile Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f. e a de Crateva tapia L. e Combretum leprosum Martinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Synonymous but not the same: the causes and consequences of codon bias
Despite their name, synonymous mutations have significant consequences for cellular processes in all taxa. As a result, an understanding of codon bias is central to fields as diverse as molecular evolution and biotechnology. Although recent advances in sequencing and synthetic biology have helped resolve longstanding questions about codon bias, they have also uncovered striking patterns that suggest new hypotheses about protein synthesis. Ongoing work to quantify the dynamics of initiation and elongation is as important for understanding natural synonymous variation as it is for designing transgenes in applied contexts