GeneDB--an annotation database for pathogens.

GeneDB (http://www.genedb.org) is a genome database for prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathogens and closely related organisms. The resource provides a portal to genome sequence and annotation data, which is primarily generated by the Pathogen Genomics group at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. It combines data from completed and ongoing genome projects with curated annotation, which is readily accessible from a web based resource. The development of the database in recent years has focused on providing database-driven annotation tools and pipelines, as well as catering for increasingly frequent assembly updates. The website has been significantly redesigned to take advantage of current web technologies, and improve usability. The current release stores 41 data sets, of which 17 are manually curated and maintained by biologists, who review and incorporate data from the scientific literature, as well as other sources. GeneDB is primarily a production and annotation database for the genomes of predominantly pathogenic organisms

ENIGMA-anxiety working group : Rationale for and organization of large-scale neuroimaging studies of anxiety disorders

Altres ajuts: Anxiety Disorders Research Network European College of Neuropsychopharmacology; Claude Leon Postdoctoral Fellowship; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation, 44541416-TRR58); EU7th Frame Work Marie Curie Actions International Staff Exchange Scheme grant 'European and South African Research Network in Anxiety Disorders' (EUSARNAD); Geestkracht programme of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, 10-000-1002); Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) program within the National Institute of Mental Health under the Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP, MH002781); National Institute of Mental Health under the Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP, ZIA-MH-002782); SA Medical Research Council; U.S. National Institutes of Health grants (P01 AG026572, P01 AG055367, P41 EB015922, R01 AG060610, R56 AG058854, RF1 AG051710, U54 EB020403).Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and disabling but seem particularly tractable to investigation with translational neuroscience methodologies. Neuroimaging has informed our understanding of the neurobiology of anxiety disorders, but research has been limited by small sample sizes and low statistical power, as well as heterogenous imaging methodology. The ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group has brought together researchers from around the world, in a harmonized and coordinated effort to address these challenges and generate more robust and reproducible findings. This paper elaborates on the concepts and methods informing the work of the working group to date, and describes the initial approach of the four subgroups studying generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia. At present, the ENIGMA-Anxiety database contains information about more than 100 unique samples, from 16 countries and 59 institutes. Future directions include examining additional imaging modalities, integrating imaging and genetic data, and collaborating with other ENIGMA working groups. The ENIGMA consortium creates synergy at the intersection of global mental health and clinical neuroscience, and the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group extends the promise of this approach to neuroimaging research on anxiety disorders

New nanoporous materials with optimized pore structure for olefin / paraffin separation through adsorption

Ziel dieser Arbeit war es zeolitische Imidazolat‐ und Metall‐Carboxylat‐Netzwerke auf ihr Potential als neuartige Adsorbentien hin zu untersuchen. Anwendung sollten die Materialien in der Trennung kurzkettiger Olefin/Paraffin‐Gemische finden, da hier ein großes Einsparpotential für die Industrie liegt. Zunächst wurde eine Auswahl an Materialien anhand der Netzwerk‐Geometrie erstellt und die Auswahl mit Ergebnissen aus der Literatur gestützt. So wurden ZIF‐4, ‐8, ‐9, ‐11, ‐67, ‐71 und ein ZIF‐Netzwerk mit zni‐Struktur und Zn‐, Mg‐, Co‐, Ni‐ und Ni/Co‐CPO‐27 und MIL‐53 ausgesucht. Hauptkriterien hierbei waren eine große Oberfläche und ein großes Potential bei der Adsorption unterschiedlicher Gase. Als Messgase kamen Ethan, Ethen, Propan, Propen, Butan und 1‐Buten zum Einsatz. Sämtliche Materialien konnten phasenrein synthetisiert werden. Einzig ZIF‐9 zeigte in den Diffraktogrammen einen Strukturverlust nach der Aktivierung. Die Ergebnisse der Infrarotspektroskopie und der Thermogravimetrie wiesen auf Reste von Triethylamin in ZIF‐67 hin. Bei Stickstoffsorptionsmessungen konnten 1844 und 1507 m²/g große Oberflächen für ZIF‐8 und MIL‐53 nachgewiesen werden. An allen synthetisierten Materialien wurden Reinstoffisothermen von Ethan, Ethen, Propan und Propen bei 20 °C im Druckbereich bis 1 bar aufgenommen. An ZIF‐8 wurden unter denselben Bedingungen zudem Isothermen von n‐Butan und 1‐Buten gemessen. An ZIF‐8 und MIL‐53 wurden zusätzlich noch Isothermen im Bereich von 10 bis 50 °C bzw. 10 bis 30 °C aufgenommen. Für ZIF‐8 wurde die isostere Adsorptionswärme ermittelt. Aus den Messungen der Reinstoffisothermen ergab sich für alle ZIFs eine höhere Affinität für das Ethan als das Ethen. Mit Ausnahme von ZIF‐11 und ZIF‐9 war bei allen ZIFs die Affinität für Propan höher als für das Propen. Die CPOs weisen für alle Messgase eine ungünstige Affinität für das Olefin auf. MIL‐53 hat eine günstige Affinität für die gemessenen Paraffine. ZIF‐zni schnitt allgemein schlecht ab, weil es nur geringe Mengen an Adsorptiv aufnahm. Für ZIF‐8 ergab sich für die C 2 ‐ und C 3 ‐Kohlenwasserstoffe eine Adsorbat‐Adsorbat‐Wechselwirkung die den Adsorptionsvorgang begünstigt. Für MIL‐53 ist derselbe Effekt für C 2 ‐Kohlenwasserstoffe zu verzeichnen. Durch die Ergebnisse aus Charakterisierung und der Messung der Reinstoffisothermen wurde die Auswahl der Materialien weiter eingegrenzt. Für ZIF‐zni ergab sich eine kleine BET‐Oberfläche und aus den Reinstoffisothermenmessungen eine geringe Adsorptionsfähigkeit für die Messgase. Für Alle CPO‐Materialien ergab sich eine, für den Trennprozess ungeeignete, höhere Affinität für das Olefin. Mg‐CPO‐27 zeigte die größte Adsorptionskapazität und wurde als Vertreter der CPOs gewählt, welcher den anderen Materialgruppen gegenübergestellt werden sollte. So wurden die Durchbruchskurven‐Messungen von Ethan/Ethen‐Gemischen an ZIF‐4, ‐11, ‐67 und ‐71, MIL‐53 und Mg‐CPO‐27 durchgeführt. Hieraus ergaben sich besonders für ZIF‐4 überraschend gute Ergebnisse im Hinblick auf die Reinigung von Olefinen. Die Reinstoffisothermen an ZIF‐8 und MIL‐53 und die Durchbruchskurven an ZIF‐4 hoben sich im Vergleich besonders hervor. Deshalb wurden hieran noch detaillierte Messungen mit Temperatur‐ und Konzentrationsvariation durchgeführt. Mit abnehmender Temperatur ließ sich eine bessere thermodynamische Trennleistung erzielen. Eine geringere Konzentration des Paraffins führte zu stärkeren diffusiven Effekten aufgrund der kleineren Konzentrationsgeschwindigkeit und geringeren treibenden Kraft. Die Ergebnisse für ZIF‐4 zur Konzentrationsvariation des Ethans/Ethen‐Gemisches wurden mithilfe der hodographischen Auftragung detailliert untersucht. Die Ergebnisse hierbei bestätigten die Abhängigkeit der Diffusion von der Feedzusammensetzung. Für das vielversprechende Adsorbens ZIF‐4 wurden Mehrkomponenten‐Isothermen für ein 1:1‐Ethan/Ethen‐Gemisch erstellt. Hierfür wurden an die Messdaten der Reinstoffisothermen das Langmuir‐Modell gefittet und mittels IAST‐Methode die Mehrkomponentenisothermen berechnet. Die Gemischtisothermen von Ethan und Ethen passten zu den Messergebnissen der Durchbruchskurve.The aim of this work was to investigate the potential of zeolitic imidazolate and metal carboxylate networks as novel adsorbents. The materials were to be applied in the separation of short‐chain olefin/paraffin mixtures, since there is a major potential for savings for the industry. Firstly, a selection of materials based on the network geometry and supported with results from the literature was carried out. Thus ZIF‐4, ‐8, ‐9, ‐11, ‐67, ‐71 and a ZIF network with zni structure and Zn‐, Mg‐, Co‐, Ni‐ and Ni/Co‐CPO‐27 and MIL‐ 53 were selected. A large surface area and a great potential in the adsorption of different gases were the main criteria. Ethane, ethene, propane, propene, butane and 1‐butene were employed as measuring gases. It was possible to synthesize all materials in a pure phase. Only for ZIF‐9 a structural loss after the activation could be seen in the diffraction pattern. The results of the infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetry indicated residues of triethylamine in ZIF‐67. By means of nitrogen sorption measurements, surface areas of 1844 and 1507 m²/g were measured for ZIF‐8 and MIL‐53, respectively. Isotherms of ethane, ethene, propane and propene were recorded at 20 °C for all synthesized materials in the pressure range up to 1 bar. Additionally, isotherms of n‐butane and 1‐butene were measured under the same conditions on ZIF 8. Furthermore, isotherms were recorded in the range from 10 to 50 °C on ZIF‐8 and 10 to 30 °C on MIL‐53. The isosteric heat of adsorption was determined for ZIF‐8. The measurements of the isotherms resulted in a higher affinity of all ZIF materials for the ethane than for the ethene. Except for ZIF‐11 and ZIF‐9, the ZIF materials showed a higher affinity for propane than for propene. The CPOs possessed an unfavorable affinity for the olefin for all measuring gases. MIL‐53 has a favorable affinity for the measured paraffins. ZIF‐zni performed poorly, because it absorbed only small amounts of adsorptive. On ZIF‐8, an adsorbate‐adsorbate interaction was found for the C2‐ and C3‐hydrocarbons, which promotes the adsorption process. The same effect was found for MIL‐53 and C2‐hydrocarbons. The selection of the materials was further limited by the results of the characterization and the measurement of the isotherms. ZIF‐zni is characterized by a small BET surface area and a low adsorption capacity for the measuring gases. For all CPO materials, a higher affinity for the olefin was obtained, which is undesirable for the separation process. Mg‐CPO‐27 showed the largest adsorption capacity and thus was chosen as the representative of the CPO for the comparison to the other material groups. Hence, breakthrough curve measurements of ethane/ethene mixtures were performed on ZIF‐4, ‐11, ‐67 and ‐71, MIL‐53 and Mg‐CPO‐27. It is worth mentioning that especially for ZIF‐4 good results for the purification of olefins could be obtained. The isotherms of ZIF 8 and MIL 53 and the breakthrough curves of ZIF 4 were particularly prominent. Therefore, detailed measurements with a variation of the temperature and concentration were carried out. A better thermodynamic separation performance could be obtained when decreasing the temperature. A lower concentration of paraffin resulted in greater diffusive effects due to the lower concentration drift velocity and lower driving force. The results on ZIF‐4 for the variation of the concentration of the ethane/ethene mixture were investigated in detail using the hodographic plot. The results confirm the dependence of the diffusion on the feed composition. For the promising adsorbent ZIF‐4 multicomponent isotherms of a 1:1 ethane/ethene mixture have been compiled. For this purpose, the Langmuir model was fitted to the measurement data of the isotherms and the multicomponent isotherms were calculated by means of the IAST method. The mixed gas isotherms of ethane and ethene were in line with the results of the breakthrough curve

Chapter Genomes

In the last decade, the rise of affordable affordable high-throughput sequencing technologies has led to rapid advances across the biological sciences. At the time of writing, annotated reference genomes are available within most clades of eukaryotic pathogens, and including un-annotated sequences over 550 genomes are available in total. This This has greatly facilitated studies in many areas of parasitology. In addition, the volume of functional genomics data, including analysis of differential differential transcription and DNA-protein interactions, has increased exponentially. With this unprecedented increase in publicly available data, tools to search and compare datasets are also becoming ever more important. A number of database resources are available, and access to these has become fundamental for a majority of research groups. This This chapter discusses the current state of genomics research for a number of eukaryotic parasites, discussing the genome and functional genomics resources available at the time of writing and highlighting functionally important or unique aspects of the genome for each group. In addition publicly accessible database resources pertaining to eukaryotic parasites are also discussed

Chapter Genomes

In the last decade, the rise of affordable affordable high-throughput sequencing technologies has led to rapid advances across the biological sciences. At the time of writing, annotated reference genomes are available within most clades of eukaryotic pathogens, and including un-annotated sequences over 550 genomes are available in total. This This has greatly facilitated studies in many areas of parasitology. In addition, the volume of functional genomics data, including analysis of differential differential transcription and DNA-protein interactions, has increased exponentially. With this unprecedented increase in publicly available data, tools to search and compare datasets are also becoming ever more important. A number of database resources are available, and access to these has become fundamental for a majority of research groups. This This chapter discusses the current state of genomics research for a number of eukaryotic parasites, discussing the genome and functional genomics resources available at the time of writing and highlighting functionally important or unique aspects of the genome for each group. In addition publicly accessible database resources pertaining to eukaryotic parasites are also discussed

Mucosal CD8+ T cell responses induced by an MCMV based vaccine vector confer protection against influenza challenge.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a ubiquitous β-herpesvirus that establishes life-long latent infection in a high percentage of the population worldwide. CMV induces the strongest and most durable CD8+ T cell response known in human clinical medicine. Due to its unique properties, the virus represents a promising candidate vaccine vector for the induction of persistent cellular immunity. To take advantage of this, we constructed a recombinant murine CMV (MCMV) expressing an MHC-I restricted epitope from influenza A virus (IAV) H1N1 within the immediate early 2 (ie2) gene. Only mice that were immunized intranasally (i.n.) were capable of controlling IAV infection, despite the greater potency of the intraperitoneally (i.p.) vaccination in inducing a systemic IAV-specific CD8+ T cell response. The protective capacity of the i.n. immunization was associated with its ability to induce IAV-specific tissue-resident memory CD8+ T (CD8TRM) cells in the lungs. Our data demonstrate that the protective effect exerted by the i.n. immunization was critically mediated by antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. CD8TRM cells promoted the induction of IFNγ and chemokines that facilitate the recruitment of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells to the lungs. Overall, our results showed that locally applied MCMV vectors could induce mucosal immunity at sites of entry, providing superior immune protection against respiratory infections

From the exposome to mechanistic understanding of chemical-induced adverse effects

The exposome encompasses an individual's exposure to exogenous chemicals, as well as endogenous chemicals that are produced or altered in response to external stressors. While the exposome concept has been established for human health, its principles can be extended to include broader ecological issues. The assessment of exposure is tightly interlinked with hazard assessment. Here, we explore if mechanistic understanding of the causal links between exposure and adverse effects on human health and the environment can be improved by integrating the exposome approach with the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept that structures and organizes the sequence of biological events from an initial molecular interaction of a chemical with a biological target to an adverse outcome. Complementing exposome research with the AOP concept may facilitate a mechanistic understanding of stress-induced adverse effects, examine the relative contributions from various components of the exposome, determine the primary risk drivers in complex mixtures, and promote an integrative assessment of chemical risks for both human and environmental health