Large-scale analysis of human alternative protein isoforms: pattern classification and correlation with subcellular localization signals

We investigated human alternative protein isoforms of >2600 genes based on full-length cDNA clones and SwissProt. We classified the isoforms and examined their co-occurrence for each gene. Further, we investigated potential relationships between these changes and differential subcellular localization. The two most abundant patterns were the one with different C-terminal regions and the one with an internal insertion, which together account for 43% of the total. Although changes of the N-terminal region are less common than those of the C-terminal region, extension of the C-terminal region is much less common than that of the N-terminal region, probably because of the difficulty of removing stop codons in one isoform. We also found that there are some frequently used combinations of co-occurrence in alternative isoforms. We interpret this as evidence that there is some structural relationship which produces a repertoire of isoformal patterns. Finally, many terminal changes are predicted to cause differential subcellular localization, especially in targeting either peroxisomes or mitochondria. Our study sheds new light on the enrichment of the human proteome through alternative splicing and related events. Our database of alternative protein isoforms is available through the internet

CD-ROM multimedia como método de ayuda a la enseñanza teórica de un DSP

En este documento se presenta un libro electrónico interactivo realizado en el Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica de la Escuela Superior de Ingenieros de Sevilla. El material didáctico servirá de complemento a las tradicionales lecciones magistrales asociadas a la asignatura “Complemento de Sistemas Electrónicos Digitales”, obligatoria de tercer curso de Ingeniero de Telecomunicación

Microarray evidence for off target effects in tick RNA interference experiments, and the lack of strong correlation between DSRNA and antibody phenotypes in tick In vitro treatments for vaccine candidate screening

No abstract availabl

Three decades of nucleic acid aptamer technologies: Lessons learned, progress and opportunities on aptamer development

Aptamers are short single-stranded nucleic acid sequences capable of binding to target molecules in a way similar to antibodies. Due to various advantages such as prolonged shelf life, low batch to batch variation, low/no immunogenicity, freedom to incorporate chemical modification for enhanced stability and targeting capacity, aptamers quickly found their potential in diverse applications ranging from therapy, drug delivery, diagnosis, and functional genomics to bio-sensing. Aptamers are generated by a process called SELEX. However, the current overall success rate of SELEX is far from being satisfactory, and still presents a major obstacle for aptamer-based research and application. The need for an efficient selection strategy consisting of defined procedures to deal with a wide variety of targets is significantly important. In this work, by analyzing key aspects of SELEX including initial library design, target preparation, PCR optimization, and single strand DNA separation, we provide a comprehensive analysis of individual steps to facilitate researchers intending to develop personalized protocols to address many of the obstacles in SELEX. In addition, this review provides suggestions and opinions for future aptamer development procedures to address the concerns on key SELEX steps, and post-SELEX modifications

Genética Molecular e Citogenética

XXXII Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia, Foz do Iguaçu, 2018. Tema: Desafios e perspectivas para a Zoologia na América LatinaCaderno de Resumos de Trabalhos da Área temática Genética Molecular e Citogenética, do XXXII Congresso Brasileiro de ZoologiaSociedade Brasileira de Zoologia (SBZ) e Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (Unila

Characterisation of AMS H35 HV-CMOS monolithic active pixel sensor prototypes for HEP applications

Monolithic active pixel sensors produced in High Voltage CMOS (HV-CMOS) technology are being considered for High Energy Physics applications due to the ease of production and the reduced costs. Such technology is especially appealing when large areas to be covered and material budget are concerned. This is the case of the outermost pixel layers of the future ATLAS tracking detector for the HL-LHC. For experiments at hadron colliders, radiation hardness is a key requirement which is not fulfilled by standard CMOS sensor designs that collect charge by diffusion. This issue has been addressed by depleted active pixel sensors in which electronics are embedded into a large deep implantation ensuring uniform charge collection by drift. Very first small prototypes of hybrid depleted active pixel sensors have already shown a radiation hardness compatible with the ATLAS requirements. Nevertheless, to compete with the present hybrid solutions a further reduction in costs achievable by a fully monolithic design is desirable. The H35DEMO is a large electrode full reticle demonstrator chip produced in AMS 350 nm HV-CMOS technology by the collaboration of Karlsruher Institut f\"ur Technologie (KIT), Institut de F\'isica d'Altes Energies (IFAE), University of Liverpool and University of Geneva. It includes two large monolithic pixel matrices which can be operated standalone. One of these two matrices has been characterised at beam test before and after irradiation with protons and neutrons. Results demonstrated the feasibility of producing radiation hard large area fully monolithic pixel sensors in HV-CMOS technology. H35DEMO chips with a substrate resistivity of 200$\Omega$ cm irradiated with neutrons showed a radiation hardness up to a fluence of $10^{15}$n$_{eq}$cm$^{-2}$ with a hit efficiency of about 99% and a noise occupancy lower than $10^{-6}$ hits in a LHC bunch crossing of 25ns at 150V

How causal inference concepts can guide research into the effects of climate on infectious diseases

A pressing question resulting from global warming is how infectious diseases will be affected by climate change. Answering this question requires research into the effects of weather on the population dynamics of transmission and infection; elucidating these effects, however, has proven difficult due to the challenges of assessing causality from the predominantly observational data available in epidemiological research. Here, we show how concepts from causal inference -- the sub-field of statistics aiming at inferring causality from data -- can guide that research. Through a series of case studies, we illustrate how such concepts can help assess study design and strategically choose a study's location, evaluate and reduce the risk of bias, and interpret the multifaceted effects of meteorological variables on transmission. More broadly, we argue that interdisciplinary approaches based on explicit causal frameworks are crucial for reliably estimating the effect of weather and accurately predicting the consequences of climate change

Magnetic Properties of Fe Doped, Co Doped, and Fe+Co Co-Doped ZnO

The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Zn0.95Co0.05O, Zn0.95Fe0.05O, and Zn0.90Fe0.05Co0.05O nanoparticles prepared by a sol-gel method are presented and discussed. X-ray diffraction and optical analysis indicated that high spin Co2+ ions substitute for the Zn2+ ions in tetrahedral sites. 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy showed the presence of isolated paramagnetic Fe3+ ions in both Fe doped and Fe+Co co-doped ZnO, however, no evidence of ferromagnetically ordered Fe3+ ions is observed. In the Zn0.95Fe0.05O sample, weak presence of ZnFe2O4 was detected as an impurity phase, whereas Zn0.90Fe0.05Co0.05O was impurity-free within detection limit in all those measurements. Results of these studies suggest that Fe and Co ions in the Fe+Co co-doped sample has a strong synergistic effect because they eliminated the presence of impurities and gave the strongest ferromagnetic signal. Possible role of charge transfer ferromagnetism involving mixed valence ions is considered as a potential mechanism in these nanoparticles. Presence of both Co2+ and Fe3+ might promote more efficient charge transfer in the co-doped Zn0.90Fe0.05Co0.05O, leading to the enhanced ferromagnetism observed in this sample. However, more evidence is necessary to confirm the role of charge transfer ferromagnetism

Assessment of virulence factors characteristic of human Escherichia coli pathotypes and antimicrobial resistance in O157:H7 and non-O157:H7 isolates from Livestock in Spain

The distribution of virulence factors (VFs) typical of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli and the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles were assessed in 780 isolates from healthy pigs, broilers, and cattle from Spain. VF distribution was broader than expected, although at low prevalence for most genes, with AMR being linked mainly to host species

Consumo de tabaco y pseudoartrosis en cirugía lumbar instrumentada: Estudio comparativo

El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar si en los pacientes fumadores de más de 20 cigarrillos al día había una incidencia más alta de pseudoartrosis que en los pacientes no fumadores. El estudio retrospectivo se efectuó en un grupo de 100 pacientes (50 fumadores y 50 no fumadores), intervenidos por problemas degenerativos del caquis mediante artrodesis instrumentada y posterolateral a nivel lumbosacro. Cincuenta y tres pacientes eran varones y 47 mujeres, con una edad media de 49+-10 años. Para determinar la incidencia de pseudoartrosis se valoraron las masas de fusión a los 6 y 24 meses de la intervención y la situación clínica del paciente. A siete de los 100 pacientes se les diagnosticó pseudoartrosis (2 no fumadores y 5 fumadores); los 93 restantes que no presentaron pseudoartrosis, 48 correspondían a pacientes no fumadores y 45 eran fumadores (p=0,24). No hemos podido demostrar la asociación entre consumo de tabaco y mayor índice de pseudoartrosis en pacientes intervenidos de artrodesis lumbosacra.The aim of this study was to determine whether smokers (more than 20 cigarettes per day) had higher rate of pseudoarthrosis than the non-smokers after lumbar fusion. A retrospective study was designed with 100 patients (50 smokers and 50 non-smokers). All the patients were operated on, by doing a posterolateral fusion with instrumentation (transpedicular fixation), due to degenerative pathology of the lumbar spine. Fifty-three patients were males and 47 were females, with an average age of 49+-10 years. To determinate pseudoarthrosis two types of evaluation were performed: Radiographic evaluation in plain radiographs at 6 and 24 months after surgery and clinical assessment. Seven out of 100 patients were diagnosed as pseudoarthrosis (2 non-smokers and 5 smokers) and, of the remaining 93 patients, 48 were non-smokers and 28 smokers (p=0.24). No evidence was found of correlation between cigarette smoking and a higher rate of pseudoarthrosis in patients with an instrumental arthrodesis of the lumbar spine