Trehalose, an mTOR Independent Autophagy Inducer, Alleviates Human Podocyte Injury after Puromycin Aminonucleoside Treatment

published_or_final_versio

Gene expression drives the evolution of dominance.

Dominance is a fundamental concept in molecular genetics and has implications for understanding patterns of genetic variation, evolution, and complex traits. However, despite its importance, the degree of dominance in natural populations is poorly quantified. Here, we leverage multiple mating systems in natural populations of Arabidopsis to co-estimate the distribution of fitness effects and dominance coefficients of new amino acid changing mutations. We find that more deleterious mutations are more likely to be recessive than less deleterious mutations. Further, this pattern holds across gene categories, but varies with the connectivity and expression patterns of genes. Our work argues that dominance arises as a consequence of the functional importance of genes and their optimal expression levels

Geometric Mixing, Peristalsis, and the Geometric Phase of the Stomach

Mixing fluid in a container at low Reynolds number - in an inertialess environment - is not a trivial task. Reciprocating motions merely lead to cycles of mixing and unmixing, so continuous rotation, as used in many technological applications, would appear to be necessary. However, there is another solution: movement of the walls in a cyclical fashion to introduce a geometric phase. We show using journal-bearing flow as a model that such geometric mixing is a general tool for using deformable boundaries that return to the same position to mix fluid at low Reynolds number. We then simulate a biological example: we show that mixing in the stomach functions because of the "belly phase": peristaltic movement of the walls in a cyclical fashion introduces a geometric phase that avoids unmixing.Comment: Revised, published versio

Ears of the Armadillo: Global Health Research and Neglected Diseases in Texas

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have\ud been recently identified as significant public\ud health problems in Texas and elsewhere in\ud the American South. A one-day forum on the\ud landscape of research and development and\ud the hidden burden of NTDs in Texas\ud explored the next steps to coordinate advocacy,\ud public health, and research into a\ud cogent health policy framework for the\ud American NTDs. It also highlighted how\ud U.S.-funded global health research can serve\ud to combat these health disparities in the\ud United States, in addition to benefiting\ud communities abroad

Toward optimal implementation of cancer prevention and control programs in public health: A study protocol on mis-implementation

Abstract Background Much of the cancer burden in the USA is preventable, through application of existing knowledge. State-level funders and public health practitioners are in ideal positions to affect programs and policies related to cancer control. Mis-implementation refers to ending effective programs and policies prematurely or continuing ineffective ones. Greater attention to mis-implementation should lead to use of effective interventions and more efficient expenditure of resources, which in the long term, will lead to more positive cancer outcomes. Methods This is a three-phase study that takes a comprehensive approach, leading to the elucidation of tactics for addressing mis-implementation. Phase 1: We assess the extent to which mis-implementation is occurring among state cancer control programs in public health. This initial phase will involve a survey of 800 practitioners representing all states. The programs represented will span the full continuum of cancer control, from primary prevention to survivorship. Phase 2: Using data from phase 1 to identify organizations in which mis-implementation is particularly high or low, the team will conduct eight comparative case studies to get a richer understanding of mis-implementation and to understand contextual differences. These case studies will highlight lessons learned about mis-implementation and identify hypothesized drivers. Phase 3: Agent-based modeling will be used to identify dynamic interactions between individual capacity, organizational capacity, use of evidence, funding, and external factors driving mis-implementation. The team will then translate and disseminate findings from phases 1 to 3 to practitioners and practice-related stakeholders to support the reduction of mis-implementation. Discussion This study is innovative and significant because it will (1) be the first to refine and further develop reliable and valid measures of mis-implementation of public health programs; (2) bring together a strong, transdisciplinary team with significant expertise in practice-based research; (3) use agent-based modeling to address cancer control implementation; and (4) use a participatory, evidence-based, stakeholder-driven approach that will identify key leverage points for addressing mis-implementation among state public health programs. This research is expected to provide replicable computational simulation models that can identify leverage points and public health system dynamics to reduce mis-implementation in cancer control and may be of interest to other health areas

Turnip mosaic potyvirus probably first spread to Eurasian brassica crops from wild orchids about 1000 years ago

Turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV) is probably the most widespread and damaging virus that infects cultivated brassicas worldwide. Previous work has indicated that the virus originated in western Eurasia, with all of its closest relatives being viruses of monocotyledonous plants. Here we report that we have identified a sister lineage of TuMV-like potyviruses (TuMV-OM) from European orchids. The isolates of TuMV-OM form a monophyletic sister lineage to the brassica-infecting TuMVs (TuMV-BIs), and are nested within a clade of monocotyledon-infecting viruses. Extensive host-range tests showed that all of the TuMV-OMs are biologically similar to, but distinct from, TuMV-BIs and do not readily infect brassicas. We conclude that it is more likely that TuMV evolved from a TuMV-OM-like ancestor than the reverse. We did Bayesian coalescent analyses using a combination of novel and published sequence data from four TuMV genes [helper component-proteinase protein (HC-Pro), protein 3(P3), nuclear inclusion b protein (NIb), and coat protein (CP)]. Three genes (HC-Pro, P3, and NIb), but not the CP gene, gave results indicating that the TuMV-BI viruses diverged from TuMV-OMs around 1000 years ago. Only 150 years later, the four lineages of the present global population of TuMV-BIs diverged from one another. These dates are congruent with historical records of the spread of agriculture in Western Europe. From about 1200 years ago, there was a warming of the climate, and agriculture and the human population of the region greatly increased. Farming replaced woodlands, fostering viruses and aphid vectors that could invade the crops, which included several brassica cultivars and weeds. Later, starting 500 years ago, inter-continental maritime trade probably spread the TuMV-BIs to the remainder of the world

The dependence of dijet production on photon virtuality in ep collisions at HERA

The dependence of dijet production on the virtuality of the exchanged photon, Q^2, has been studied by measuring dijet cross sections in the range 0 < Q^2 < 2000 GeV^2 with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 38.6 pb^-1. Dijet cross sections were measured for jets with transverse energy E_T^jet > 7.5 and 6.5 GeV and pseudorapidities in the photon-proton centre-of-mass frame in the range -3 < eta^jet <0. The variable xg^obs, a measure of the photon momentum entering the hard process, was used to enhance the sensitivity of the measurement to the photon structure. The Q^2 dependence of the ratio of low- to high-xg^obs events was measured. Next-to-leading-order QCD predictions were found to generally underestimate the low-xg^obs contribution relative to that at high xg^obs. Monte Carlo models based on leading-logarithmic parton-showers, using a partonic structure for the photon which falls smoothly with increasing Q^2, provide a qualitative description of the data.Comment: 35 pages, 6 eps figures, submitted to Eur.Phys.J.

Generation of integration-free neural progenitor cells from cells in human urine

Human neural stem cells hold great promise for research and therapy in neural disease. We describe the generation of integration-free and expandable human neural progenitor cells (NPCs). We combined an episomal system to deliver reprogramming factors with a chemically defined culture medium to reprogram epithelial-like cells from human urine into NPCs (hUiNPCs). These transgene-free hUiNPCs can self-renew and can differentiate into multiple functional neuronal subtypes and glial cells in vitro. Although functional in vivo analysis is still needed, we report that the cells survive and differentiate upon transplant into newborn rat brain.postprin

Caractérisation hydrogéochimique des eaux des aquifères fissurés de la zone Guiglo-Duekoué (Ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire)

La zone d&#8217;&#233;tude, Guiglo-Duekou&#233;, est situ&#233;e &#224; l&#8217;Ouest de la C&#244;te d&#8217;Ivoire, entre les latitudes 7&#176;00&#8217; et 7&#176;42&#8217; Nord et les longitudes 6&#176;28&#8217; et 6&#176;50&#8217; Ouest. Cette &#233;tude vise &#224; faire une analyse hydrog&#233;ochimique les eaux souterraines de la r&#233;gion de Guiglo-Duekou&#233;. L&#8217;approche m&#233;thodologique est bas&#233;e sur la d&#233;termination des hydrofaci&#232;s &#224; partir des diagrammes de Piper et de Schoeller-Berkaloff et l&#8217;&#233;tude de la qualit&#233; des eaux qui s&#8217;est appuy&#233;e sur une analyse comparative des teneurs des param&#232;tres physico-chimiques aux normes OMS. Les r&#233;sultats de l&#8217;&#233;tude ont montr&#233; que les eaux sont bicarbonat&#233;es calciques et magn&#233;siennes (95,83%) et bicarbonat&#233;es sodi-potassiques (4,17%). Ces eaux ont des temp&#233;ratures qui varient entre 25,7 &#176;C et 28,9 &#176;C, avec une moyenne de 26,7 &#176;C. Leurs pH oscillent entre 6,51 et 7,13, avec une moyenne de 6,67. La turbidit&#233; des eaux souterraines reste tr&#232;s faible avec des valeurs qui varient entre 0,20 NTU et 1,01 NTU, pour une moyenne de 0,49 NTU. La conductivit&#233; &#233;lectrique des eaux varie entre 106 &#956;S/cm et 349 &#956;S/cm, avec une moyenne de 208,437 &#956;S/cm. La majorit&#233; des &#233;chantillons d&#8217;eau a une conductivit&#233; &#233;lectrique comprise entre 100 &#956;s/cm et 250 &#956;s/cm (68,75%). La duret&#233; des eaux est comprise entre 2,8 &#176;F et 15,40 &#176;F, avec une moyenne de 6,41 &#176;F. La qualit&#233; physico-chimique des eaux souterraines &#233;tudi&#233;es est conforme dans l&#8217;ensemble aux normes recommand&#233;es par l&#8217;OMS et ne pr&#233;sentent pas de danger majeur pour la consommation humaine. Cependant, il existe de fortes teneurs en fer (0,66 mg/L) et en mangan&#232;se (0,16 mg/L), ce qui explique l&#8217;apparence rouge&#226;tre et le go&#251;t d&#233;sagr&#233;able de ces eaux.Mots cl&#233;s: Eaux souterraines; Diagrammes d&#8217;analyses hydrochimiques; Normes de l&#8217;OMS; faci&#232;s hydrochimiques; Potabilit&#233;; R&#233;gion ouest semi-montagneus

Search for Second-Generation Scalar Leptoquarks in ppˉ\bm{p \bar{p}} Collisions at s\sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

Results on a search for pair production of second generation scalar leptoquark in $p \bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$=1.96 TeV are reported. The data analyzed were collected by the CDF detector during the 2002-2003 Tevatron Run II and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 198 pb$^{-1}$. Leptoquarks (LQ) are sought through their decay into (charged) leptons and quarks, with final state signatures represented by two muons and jets and one muon, large transverse missing energy and jets. We observe no evidence for $LQ$ production and derive 95% C.L. upper limits on the $LQ$ production cross sections as well as lower limits on their mass as a function of $\beta$, where $\beta$ is the branching fraction for $LQ \to \mu q$.Comment: 9 pages (3 author list) 5 figure