2,029 research outputs found
Multistate product traceforward investigation to link imported romaine lettuce to a US cyclosporiasis outbreak – Nebraska, Texas, and Florida, June–August 2013
During June–August 2013, 25 US states reported 631 cyclosporiasis cases including Nebraska and Iowa where a regional investigation implicated common-source imported salad mix served in two chain restaurants. At least two common-origin growing fields were likely sources of contaminated romaine lettuce. Using producer- and distributor-provided data, we conducted a grower-specific traceforward investigation to reveal exposures of ill US residents elsewhere who reported symptom onset during 11 June–1 July 2013, the time period established in the Nebraska and Iowa investigation. Romaine lettuce shipped on 2–6 June from one of these Mexico-origin growing fields likely caused cyclosporiasis in 78 persons reporting illness onsets from 11 June to 1 July in Nebraska, Texas, and Florida. Nationwide, 97% (314/324) of persons confirmed with cyclosporiasis with symptom onset from 11 June to 1 July 2013 resided in 11 central and eastern US states receiving approximately two-thirds of romaine lettuce from this field. This grower’s production practices should be investigated to determine potential sources of contamination and to develop recommendations to prevent future illnesses
OPTN recruitment to a Golgi-proximal compartment regulates immune signalling and cytokine secretion
Optineurin (OPTN) is a multifunctional protein involved in autophagy, secretion as well as NF-κB and IRF3 signalling and OPTN mutations are associated with several human diseases. Here we show that, in response to viral RNA, OPTN translocates to foci in the perinuclear region, where it negatively regulates NF-κB and IRF3 signalling pathways and downstream pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion. These OPTN foci consist of a tight cluster of small membrane vesicles, which are positive for ATG9A. Disease mutations linked to POAG cause aberrant foci formation in the absence of stimuli, which correlates with the ability of OPTN to inhibit signalling. Using proximity labelling proteomics, we identify the LUBAC complex, CYLD and TBK1 as part of the OPTN interactome and show that these proteins are recruited to this OPTN-positive perinuclear compartment. Our work uncovers a crucial role for OPTN in dampening NF-κB and IRF3 signalling through the sequestration of LUBAC and other positive regulators in this viral RNA-induced compartment leading to altered pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion
The uptake of selenium by perennial ryegrass in soils of different organic matter contents receiving sheep excreta
Background and Aims
The intake of selenium, an essential element for animals and humans, in ruminants is largely determined by selenium concentration in ingested forages, which take up selenium mainly from soil. Ruminant excreta is a common source of organic fertilizer, which provides both nutrients and organic matter. This study aims to unentangle the unclear effect of applying different types of ruminant excreta in soils of different organic matter contents on selenium uptake by forage.
Methods
Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) was grown in soils of different organic matter contents. Urine and/or feces collected from sheep fed with organic or inorganic mineral supplements, including selenium, were applied to the soils. The selenium in the collected samples were analyzed using ICP-MS. The associated biogeochemical reactions were scrutinized by wet chemistry.
Results
The application of urine and/or feces resulted in either the same or lower selenium concentrations in perennial ryegrass. The excreta type did not affect total selenium accumulation in grass grown in low organic matter soil, whereas in high organic matter soil, feces resulted in significantly lower total selenium accumulation than urine, which was attributed to a possible interaction of selenium sorption in soil and microbial reduction of Se.
Conclusion
This one-time excreta application did not increase, but further decrease in some treatments, selenium concentration and accumulation in the perennial ryegrass. Consequently, to increase ruminant selenium intake, supplementing selenium directly to animals is more recommended than applying animal manure to soil, which might drive selenium reduction and decrease selenium uptake by grass
Ground--state energies and widths of He and Li
We extract energies and widths of the ground states of He and Li from
recent single--level R--matrix fits to the spectra of the H)He and the He)Li reactions. The widths
obtained differ significantly from the formal R--matrix values but they are
close to those measured as full widths at half maxima of the spectra in various
experiments. The energies are somewhat lower than those given by usual
estimates of the peak positions. The extracted values are close to the
S--matrix poles calculated previously from the multi--term analyses of the
N-He elastic scattering data.Comment: 3 pages, no figures, uses revtex.sty, accepted for publication in
PRC, uuencoded postscript and tex-files available at
ftp://is1.kph.tuwien.ac.at/pub/ohu/fwidth.u
FACT - Long-term Monitoring of Bright TeV-Blazars
Since October 2011, the First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope (FACT) is operated
successfully on the Canary Island of La Palma. Apart from the proof of
principle for the use of G-APDs in Cherenkov telescopes, the major goal of the
project is the dedicated long-term monitoring of a small sample of bright TeV
blazars. The unique properties of G-APDs permit stable observations also during
strong moon light. Thus a superior sampling density is provided on time scales
at which the blazar variability amplitudes are expected to be largest, as
exemplified by the spectacular variations of Mrk 501 observed in June 2012.
While still in commissioning, FACT monitored bright blazars like Mrk 421 and
Mrk 501 during the past 1.5 years so far. Preliminary results including the Mrk
501 flare from June 2012 will be presented.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, presented at the 33rd ICRC (2013
FACT - Monitoring Blazars at Very High Energies
The First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope (FACT) was built on the Canary Island of
La Palma in October 2011 as a proof of principle for silicon based photosensors
in Cherenkov Astronomy. The scientific goal of the project is to study the
variability of active galatic nuclei (AGN) at TeV energies. Observing a small
sample of TeV blazars whenever possible, an unbiased data sample is collected.
This allows to study the variability of the selected objects on timescales from
hours to years. Results from the first three years of monitoring will be
presented. To provide quick flare alerts to the community and trigger
multi-wavelength observations, a quick look analysis has been installed on-site
providing results publicly online within the same night. In summer 2014,
several flare alerts were issued. Results of the quick look analysis are
summarized.Comment: 2014 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C14102.
Myosin VI in PC12 cells plays important roles in cell migration and proliferation but not in catecholamine secretion
Myosin VI (MVI) is the only known myosin walking towards minus end of actin filaments and is believed to play distinct role(s) than other myosins. We addressed a role of this unique motor in secretory PC12 cells, derived from rat adrenal medulla pheochromocytoma using cell lines with reduced MVI synthesis (produced by means of siRNA). Decrease of MVI expression caused severe changes in cell size and morphology, and profound defects in actin cytoskeleton organization and Golgi structure. Also, significant inhibition of cell migration as well as cell proliferation was observed. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that MVI-deficient cells were arrested in G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle but did not undergo increased senescence as compared with control cells. Also, neither polyploidy nor aneuploidy were detected. Surprisingly, no significant effect on noradrenaline secretion was observed. These data indicate that in PC12 cells MVI is involved in cell migration and proliferation but is not crucial for stimulation-dependent catecholamine release
Mirror Position Determination for the Alignment of Cherenkov Telescopes
Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) need imaging optics with
large apertures to map the faint Cherenkov light emitted in extensive air
showers onto their image sensors. Segmented reflectors fulfill these needs
using mass produced and light weight mirror facets. However, as the overall
image is the sum of the individual mirror facet images, alignment is important.
Here we present a method to determine the mirror facet positions on a segmented
reflector in a very direct way. Our method reconstructs the mirror facet
positions from photographs and a laser distance meter measurement which goes
from the center of the image sensor plane to the center of each mirror facet.
We use our method to both align the mirror facet positions and to feed the
measured positions into our IACT simulation. We demonstrate our implementation
on the 4 m First Geiger-mode Avalanche Cherenkov Telescope (FACT).Comment: 11 figures, small ray tracing performance simulation, and
implementation demonstratio
Adaptive Evolution of the Myo6 Gene in Old World Fruit Bats (Family: Pteropodidae)
PMCID: PMC3631194This 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
- …