Two new families (Acari: Alicorhagiidae and Platyhelminthes: Prorhynchidae) reported for the Hungarian fauna From leaf litter in the Bükk Mountains

Two new members of the Hungarian fauna are reported, both of them were collected in beech forest leaf litter in the Bükk Mountains, North-East Hungary: Alicorhagia fragilis Berlese, 1910 (Arthropoda: Arachnida: Acari: Sarcopti-formes: Endeostigmata: Alicorhagiidae) and Geocentrophora baltica (Kennel, 1883) (Platyhelminthes: Rhabditophora: Trepaxonemata: Amplimatricata: 'Lecithoepitheliata': Prorhynchida: Prorhynchidae). The families Alicorhagiidae and Prorhynchidae both represent new taxa in the fauna of the country

Autism Spectrum Disorder and mental health problems: patterns of difficulties and longitudinal trajectories in a population-based twin sample

There is increasing concern regarding additional psychiatric problems that co-occur with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as reflected in recent changes to diagnostic schemes. However, there remains little research with population-based samples across childhood. We report on additional problems, as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, in a population-based sample of 135 twins with ASD, 55 non-ASD co-twins, and 144 comparison twins low in ASD traits. Frequencies, associated demographic factors, and changes in mental health difficulties from age 4 to 13 years are presented. Our data confirm the high rates of additional difficulties reported in previous studies, and suggest that the profile, associated risk factors and longitudinal course of additional difficulties in ASD may differ from those in typically-developing populations

Comparison of [(11)C]choline positron emission tomography with T2- and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for delineating malignant intraprostatic lesions

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of ¹¹C-choline (CHOL) positron emission tomography (PET) with the combination of T2-weighted (T2W) and diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for delineating malignant intraprostatic lesions (IPLs) for guiding focal therapies and to investigate factors predicting the accuracy of CHOL-PET. Methods and Materials: This study included 21 patients who underwent CHOL-PET and T2W-/DW-MRI prior to radical prostatectomy. Two observers manually delineated IPL contours for each scan, and automatic IPL contours were generated on CHOL-PET based on varying proportions of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV). IPLs identified on prostatectomy specimens defined the reference standard contours. The imaging-based contours were compared with the reference standard contours using Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), sensitivity and specificity. Factors that could potentially predict the DSC of the best contouring method were analyzed using linear models. Results: The best automatic contouring method, SUV60, had similar correlations (DSC 0.59) with the manual PET contours (DSC 0.52, P=0.127) and significantly better correlations than the manual MRI contours (DSC 0.37, P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity values were 72% and 71% for SUV60; 53% and 86% for PET manual contouring; and 28% and 92% for MRI manual contouring. The tumor volume and transition zone pattern could independently predict the accuracy of CHOL-PET. Conclusions: CHOL-PET is superior to the combination of T2W- and DW-MRI for delineating IPLs. The accuracy of CHOL-PET is insufficient for gland-sparing focal therapies, 3 however may be accurate enough for focal boost therapies. The transition zone pattern is a new classification that may predict for how well CHOL-PET delineates IPLs.Joe H. Chang, Daryl Lim Joon, Ian D. Davis, Sze Ting Lee, Chee-Yan Hiew, Stephen Esler, Sylvia J. Gong, Morikatsu Wada, David Clouston, Richard O'Sullivan, Yin P. Goh, Damien Bolton, Andrew M. Scott, Vincent Kho

Increasing prevalence of a fluoroquinolone resistance mutation amongst Campylobacter jejuni isolates from four human infectious intestinal disease studies in the United Kingdom

Background: Campylobacter jejuni is the most common bacterial cause of human infectious intestinal disease. Methods: We genome sequenced 601 human C. jejuni isolates, obtained from two large prospective studies of infectious intestinal disease (IID1 [isolates from 1993–1996; n = 293] and IID2 [isolates from 2008–2009; n = 93]), the INTEGRATE project [isolates from 2016–2017; n = 52] and the ENIGMA project [isolates from 2017; n = 163]. Results: There was a significant increase in the prevalence of the T86I mutation conferring resistance to fluoroquinolone between each of the three later studies (IID2, INTEGRATE and ENIGMA) and IID1. Although the distribution of major multilocus sequence types (STs) was similar between the studies, there were changes in both the abundance of minority STs associated with the T86I mutation, and the abundance of clones within single STs associated with the T86I mutation. Discussion: Four population-based studies of community diarrhoea over a 25 year period revealed an increase over time in the prevalence of the T86I amongst isolates of C. jejuni associated with human gastrointestinal disease in the UK. Although associated with many STs, much of the increase is due to the expansion of clones associated with the resistance mutation

The Muonium Atom as a Probe of Physics beyond the Standard Model

The observed interactions between particles are not fully explained in the successful theoretical description of the standard model to date. Due to the close confinement of the bound state muonium ($M = \mu^+ e^-$) can be used as an ideal probe of quantum electrodynamics and weak interaction and also for a search for additional interactions between leptons. Of special interest is the lepton number violating process of sponteanous conversion of muonium to antimuonium.Comment: 15 pages,6 figure

Temporal changes in the gut microbiota in farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) outweigh the response to diet supplementation with macroalgae

Background: Aquaculture successfully meets global food demands for many fish species. However, aquaculture production of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is just 2.5% of total market production. For cod farming to be a viable economic venture specific challenges on how to increase growth, health and farming productivity need to be addressed. Feed ingredients play a key role here. Macroalgae (seaweeds) have been suggested as a functional feed supplement with both health and economic benefits for terrestrial farmed animals and fish. The impact of such dietary supplements to cod gut integrity and microbiota, which contribute to overall fish robustness is unknown. The objective of this study was to supplement the diet of juvenile Atlantic cod with macroalgae and determine the impacts on fish condition and growth, gut morphology and hindgut microbiota composition (16S rRNA amplicon sequencing). Fish were fed one of three diets: control (no macroalgal inclusion), 10% inclusion of either egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) or sea lettuce (Ulva rigida) macroalgae in a 12-week trial. Results: The results demonstrated there was no significant difference in fish condition, gut morphology or hindgut microbiota between the U. rigida supplemented fish group and the control group at any time-point. This trend was not observed with the A. nodosum treatment. Fish within this group were further categorised as either ‘Normal’ or ‘Lower Growth’. ‘Lower Growth’ individuals found the diet unpalatable resulting in reduced weight and condition factor combined with an altered gut morphology and microbiome relative to the other treatments. Excluding this group, our results show that the hindgut microbiota was largely driven by temporal pressures with the microbial communities becoming more similar over time irrespective of dietary treatment. The core microbiome at the final time-point consisted of the orders Vibrionales (Vibrio and Photobacterium), Bacteroidales (Bacteroidetes and Macellibacteroides) and Clostridiales (Lachnoclostridium). Conclusions: Our study indicates that U. rigida macroalgae can be supplemented at 10% inclusion levels in the diet of juvenile farmed Atlantic cod without any impact on fish condition or hindgut microbial community structure. We also conclude that 10% dietary inclusion of A. nodosum is not a suitable feed supplement in a farmed cod diet

Supplementary descriptions and DNA barcodes of two rarely encountered Trisetacus species (Eriophyoidea, Phytoptidae) associated with Tertiary relict conifers from the Mediterranean region

New records and supplementary morphological descriptions of two rarely encountered Trisetacus species from Pinaceae, T. abietis Postner 1968 and T. cedri (Nalepa 1920), are reported. Trisetacus abietis was found in Abkhazia under the needle epidermis of Abies nordmanniana (Steven) Spach, a conifer endemic to the mountainous Asian coast of the Black Sea. Trisetacus cedri was found in buds of introduced Cedrus deodara(Roxb. ex D. Don) G. Don in Abkhazia and South Africa. It is the only member of Trisetacus known from Cedrus spp. For the first time we provide sequences of two genes (COI and D1–D2 28S) of T. abietis(MN022221, MN025333) and T. cedri (MN022222, MN022223, MN025334, MN025335), along with microphotographs of the damage caused by these mites on their coniferous hosts. Sequences of D1–D2 28S of T. cedri from Abkhazian and South African populations are identical; COI sequences from different populations differ by only one synonymous substitution in a codon for asparagine. Females of T. abietis have long asymmetrical 8/7-rayed empodia, whereas males have shorter symmetrical 6/6-rayed empodia and shorter solenidia ω I. Similar sexual dimorphism in tarsal appendages was previously reported in Novophytoptus, representing an endoparasitic lineage of phytoptids on monocots. In T. cedri, a “long form” and a “short form” of both males and females were detected, suggesting a complex life cycle in this species. The evolution of Trisetacus is discussed within the broader context of the molecular phylogenies of Pinaceae and Eriophyoidea, including estimations of divergence times.The Russian Foundation for Basic Research; ZIN RAS (project АААА-А19-119020790133-6) and the Russian Science Foundation.https://www.biotaxa.org/saaam2019Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI

Determination of the Strange Quark Content of the Nucleon from a Next-to-Leading-Order QCD Analysis of Neutrino Charm Production

We present the first next-to-leading-order QCD analysis of neutrino charm production, using a sample of 6090 $\nu_\mu$- and $\bar\nu_\mu$-induced opposite-sign dimuon events observed in the CCFR detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We find that the nucleon strange quark content is suppressed with respect to the non-strange sea quarks by a factor \kappa = 0.477 \: ^{+\:0.063}_{-\:0.053}, where the error includes statistical, systematic and QCD scale uncertainties. In contrast to previous leading order analyses, we find that the strange sea $x$-dependence is similar to that of the non-strange sea, and that the measured charm quark mass, $m_c = 1.70 \pm 0.19 \:{\rm GeV/c}^2$, is larger and consistent with that determined in other processes. Further analysis finds that the difference in $x$-distributions between $xs(x)$ and $x\bar s(x)$ is small. A measurement of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $|V_{cd}|=0.232 ^{+\:0.018}_{-\:0.020}$ is also presented. uufile containing compressed postscript files of five Figures is appended at the end of the LaTeX source.Comment: Nevis R#150

Identification of clonal hematopoiesis mutations in solid tumor patients undergoing unpaired next-generation sequencing assays

Purpose: In this era of precision-based medicine, for optimal patient care, results reported from commercial next-generation sequencing (NGS) assays should adequately reflect the burden of somatic mutations in the tumor being sequenced. Here, we sought to determine the prevalence of clonal hematopoiesis leading to possible misattribution of tumor mutation calls on unpaired Foundation Medicine NGS assays. Experimental Design: This was a retrospective cohort study of individuals undergoing NGS of solid tumors from two large cancer centers. We identified and quantified mutations in genes known to be frequently altered in clonal hematopoiesis (DNMT3A, TET2, ASXL1, TP53, ATM, CHEK2, SF3B1, CBL, JAK2) that were returned to physicians on clinical Foundation Medicine reports. For a subset of patients, we explored the frequency of true clonal hematopoiesis by comparing mutations on Foundation Medicine reports with matched blood sequencing. Results: Mutations in genes that are frequently altered in clonal hematopoiesis were identified in 65% (1,139/1,757) of patients undergoing NGS. When excluding TP53, which is often mutated in solid tumors, these events were still seen in 35% (619/1,757) of patients. Utilizing paired blood specimens, we were able to confirm that 8% (18/226) of mutations reported in these genes were true clonal hematopoiesis events. The majority of DNMT3A mutations (64%, 7/11) and minority of TP53 mutations (4%, 2/50) were clonal hematopoiesis. Conclusions: Clonal hematopoiesis mutations are commonly reported on unpaired NGS testing. It is important to recognize clonal hematopoiesis as a possible cause of misattribution of mutation origin when applying NGS findings to a patient's care

Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays

Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in $b$, $c$ and light quark ($u,d,s$) events from $Z^0$ decays measured in the SLD experiment. Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of $b$ and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select $c$ quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities: $\bar{n}_{uds} = 20.21 \pm 0.10 (\rm{stat.})\pm 0.22(\rm{syst.})$, $\bar{n}_{c} = 21.28 \pm 0.46(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.41}_{-0.36}(\rm{syst.})$ $\bar{n}_{b} = 23.14 \pm 0.10(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.38}_{-0.37}(\rm{syst.})$, from which we derived the differences between the total average charged multiplicities of $c$ or $b$ quark events and light quark events: $\Delta \bar{n}_c = 1.07 \pm 0.47(\rm{stat.})^{+0.36}_{-0.30}(\rm{syst.})$ and $\Delta \bar{n}_b = 2.93 \pm 0.14(\rm{stat.})^{+0.30}_{-0.29}(\rm{syst.})$. We compared these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters