Molecular characterisation of viruses from Kiwifruit

In 2003 Apple stem grooving virus was discovered in Actinidia accessions from China, being held in quarantine in Auckland. Subsequent examination of kiwifruit germplasm from the same source has detected several additional viruses, including a ~300 nm rigid rod related to Ribgrass mosaic virus (Tobamovirus), a 700-750 nm flexuous virus related to Citrus leaf blotch virus (Flexiviridae) and a novel vitivirus. Currently these viruses have not been reported from commercial kiwifruit crops in New Zealand or elsewhere. The biological properties of the viruses from kiwifruit and their phylogenetic relationships with similar viruses from other plants will be described, and the possible implications for the international movement of Actinidia germplasm are discussed

Sensor Data Visualisation: A Composition-Based Approach to Support Domain Variability

International audienceIn the context of the Internet of Things, sensors are surrounding our environment. These small pieces of electronics are inserted in everyday life's elements (e.g., cars, doors, radiators, smartphones) and continuously collect information about their environment. One of the biggest challenges is to support the development of accurate monitoring dashboard to visualise such data. The one-size-fits-all paradigm does not apply in this context, as user's roles are variable and impact the way data should be visualised: a building manager does not need to work on the same data as classical users. This paper presents an approach based on model composition techniques to support the development of such monitoring dashboards, taking into account the domain variability. This variability is supported at both implementation and modelling levels. The results are validated on a case study named SmartCampus, involving sensors deployed in a real academic campus

Quantitative backscattered electron imaging of bone using a thermionic or a field emission electron source

Quantitative backscattered electron imaging is an established method to map mineral content distributions in bone and to determine the bone mineralization density distribution (BMDD). The method we applied was initially validated for a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a tungsten hairpin cathode (thermionic electron emission) under strongly defined settings of SEM parameters. For several reasons, it would be interesting to migrate the technique to a SEM with a field emission electron source (FE-SEM), which, however, would require to work with different SEM parameter settings as have been validated for DSM 962. The FE-SEM has a much better spatial resolution based on an electron source size in the order of several 100 nanometers, corresponding to an about 105 to 106 times smaller source area compared to thermionic sources. In the present work, we compare BMDD between these two types of instruments in order to further validate the methodology. We show that a transition to higher pixel resolution (1.76, 0.88, and 0.57 μm) results in shifts of the BMDD peak and BMDD width to higher values. Further the inter-device reproducibility of the mean calcium content shows a difference of up to 1 wt% Ca, while the technical variance of each device can be reduced to ±0.17 wt% Ca. Bearing in mind that shifts in calcium levels due to diseases, e.g., high turnover osteoporosis, are often in the range of 1 wt% Ca, both the bone samples of the patients as well as the control samples have to be measured on the same SEM device. Therefore, we also constructed new reference BMDD curves for adults to be used for FE-SEM data comparison

A robust SNP barcode for typing Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains

Strain-specific genomic diversity in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is an important factor in pathogenesis that may affect virulence, transmissibility, host response and emergence of drug resistance. Several systems have been proposed to classify MTBC strains into distinct lineages and families. Here, we investigate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as robust (stable) markers of genetic variation for phylogenetic analysis. We identify ~92k SNP across a global collection of 1,601 genomes. The SNP-based phylogeny is consistent with the gold-standard regions of difference (RD) classification system. Of the ~7k strain-specific SNPs identified, 62 markers are proposed to discriminate known circulating strains. This SNP-based barcode is the first to cover all main lineages, and classifies a greater number of sublineages than current alternatives. It may be used to classify clinical isolates to evaluate tools to control the disease, including therapeutics and vaccines whose effectiveness may vary by strain type

Vestibular signal processing in a subject with somatosensory deafferentation: The case of sitting posture

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The vestibular system of the inner ear provides information about head translation/rotation in space and about the orientation of the head with respect to the gravitoinertial vector. It also largely contributes to the control of posture through vestibulospinal pathways. Testing an individual severely deprived of somatosensory information below the nose, we investigated if equilibrium can be maintained while seated on the sole basis of this information.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although she was unstable, the deafferented subject (DS) was able to remain seated with the eyes closed in the absence of feet, arm and back supports. However, with the head unconsciously rotated towards the left or right shoulder, the DS's instability markedly increased. Small electrical stimulations of the vestibular apparatus produced large body tilts in the DS contrary to control subjects who did not show clear postural responses to the stimulations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of the present experiment show that in the lack of vision and somatosensory information, vestibular signal processing allows the maintenance of an active sitting posture (i.e. without back or side rests). When head orientation changes with respect to the trunk, in the absence of vision, the lack of cervical information prevents the transformation of the head-centered vestibular information into a trunk-centered frame of reference of body motion. For the normal subjects, this latter frame of reference enables proper postural adjustments through vestibular signal processing, irrespectively of the orientation of the head with respect to the trunk.</p

Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission VIII. CoRoT-7b: the first Super-Earth with measured radius

We report the discovery of very shallow (DF/F = 3.4 10-4), periodic dips in the light curve of an active V = 11.7 G9V star observed by the CoRoT satellite, which we interpret as due to the presence of a transiting companion. We describe the 3-colour CoRoT data and complementary ground-based observations that support the planetary nature of the companion. Methods. We use CoRoT color information, good angular resolution ground-based photometric observations in- and out- of transit, adaptive optics imaging, near-infrared spectroscopy and preliminary results from Radial Velocity measurements, to test the diluted eclipsing binary scenarios. The parameters of the host star are derived from optical spectra, which were then combined with the CoRoT light curve to derive parameters of the companion. We examine carefully all conceivable cases of false positives, and all tests performed support the planetary hypothesis. Blends with separation larger than 0.40 arcsec or triple systems are almost excluded with a 8 10-4 risk left. We conclude that, as far as we have been exhaustive, we have discovered a planetary companion, named CoRoT-7b, for which we derive a period of 0.853 59 +/- 3 10-5 day and a radius of Rp = 1.68 +/- 0.09 REarth. Analysis of preliminary radial velocity data yields an upper limit of 21 MEarth for the companion mass, supporting the finding. CoRoT-7b is very likely the first Super-Earth with a measured radius.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics; typos and language corrections; version sent to the printer w few upgrade

Efficacy and Safety of Intravitreal Gene Therapy for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy Treated within 6 Months of Disease Onset.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of a single intravitreal injection of rAAV2/2-ND4 in subjects with visual loss from Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). DESIGN: RESCUE is a multicenter, randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled, phase 3 clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects with the m.11778G>A mitochondrial DNA mutation and vision loss ≤6 months from onset in 1 or both eyes were included. METHODS: Each subject's right eye was randomly assigned (1:1) to treatment with rAAV2/2-ND4 (single injection of 9 × 1010 viral genomes in 90 μl) or to sham injection. The left eye received the treatment not allocated to the right eye. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary end point was the difference of the change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between rAAV2/2-ND4-treated and sham-treated eyes at week 48. Other outcome measures included contrast sensitivity, Humphrey visual field perimetry, retinal anatomic measures, and quality of life. Follow-up extended to week 96. RESULTS: Efficacy analysis included 38 subjects. Mean age was 36.8 years, and 82% were male. Mean duration of vision loss at time of treatment was 3.6 months and 3.9 months in the rAAV2/2-ND4-treated eyes and sham-treated eyes, respectively. Mean baseline logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) BCVA (standard deviation) was 1.31 (0.52) in rAAV2/2-ND4-treated eyes and 1.26 (0.62) in sham-treated eyes, with a range from -0.20 to 2.51. At week 48, the difference of the change in BCVA from baseline between rAAV2/2-ND4-treated and sham-treated eyes was -0.01 logMAR (P = 0.89); the primary end point of a -0.3 logMAR (15-letter) difference was not met. The mean BCVA for both groups deteriorated over the initial weeks, reaching the worst levels at week 24, followed by a plateau phase until week 48, and then an improvement of +10 and +9 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters equivalent from the plateau level in the rAAV2/2-ND4-treated and sham-treated eyes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: At 96 weeks after unilateral injection of rAAV2/2-ND4, LHON subjects carrying the m.11778G>A mutation treated within 6 months after vision loss achieved comparable visual outcomes in the injected and uninjected eyes

Enhanced insulin sensitivity associated with provision of mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids in skeletal muscle cells involves counter modulation of PP2A

International audienceAims/Hypothesis: Reduced skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity is a feature associated with sustained exposure to excess saturated fatty acids (SFA), whereas mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids (MUFA and PUFA) not only improve insulin sensitivity but blunt SFA-induced insulin resistance. The mechanisms by which MUFAs and PUFAs institute these favourable changes remain unclear, but may involve stimulating insulin signalling by counter-modulation/repression of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). This study investigated the effects of oleic acid (OA; a MUFA), linoleic acid (LOA; a PUFA) and palmitate (PA; a SFA) in cultured myotubes and determined whether changes in insulin signalling can be attributed to PP2A regulation. Principal Findings: We treated cultured skeletal myotubes with unsaturated and saturated fatty acids and evaluated insulin signalling, phosphorylation and methylation status of the catalytic subunit of PP2A. Unlike PA, sustained incubation of rat or human myotubes with OA or LOA significantly enhanced Akt-and ERK1/2-directed insulin signalling. This was not due to heightened upstream IRS1 or PI3K signalling nor to changes in expression of proteins involved in proximal insulin signalling, but was associated with reduced dephosphorylation/inactivation of Akt and ERK1/2. Consistent with this, PA reduced PP2Ac demethylation and tyrosine 307 phosphorylation-events associated with PP2A activation. In contrast, OA and LOA strongly opposed these PA-induced changes in PP2Ac thus exerting a repressive effect on PP2A.Conclusions/Interpretation: Beneficial gains in insulin sensitivity and the ability of unsaturated fatty acids to oppose palmitate-induced insulin resistance in muscle cells may partly be accounted for by counter-modulation of PP2A

Systematic mutation analysis of KIAA0767 and KIAA1646 in chromosome 22q-linked periodic catatonia

BACKGROUND: Periodic catatonia is a familial subtype of schizophrenia characterized by hyperkinetic and akinetic episodes, followed by a catatonic residual syndrome. The phenotype has been evaluated in two independent genome-wide linkage scans with evidence for a major locus on chromosome 15q15, and a second independent locus on chromosome 22q(tel). METHODS: In the positional and brain-expressed candidate genes KIAA0767 and KIAA1646, we searched for variants in the complete exons and adjacent splice-junctions as well as in parts of the 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions by means of a systematic mutation screening in individuals from chromosome 22q-linked pedigrees. RESULTS: The mutation scan revealed 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms, among them two rare codon variants (KIAA0767: S159I; KIAA1646: V338G). However, both were neither found segregating with the disease in the respective pedigree nor found at a significant frequency in a case-control association sample. CONCLUSION: Starting from linkage signals at chromosome22q(tel )in periodic catatonia, we screened two positional brain-expressed candidate genes for genetic variation. Our study excludes genetic variations in the coding and putative promoter regions of KIAA0767 and KIAA1646 as causative factors for periodic catatonia