BCL46 and other genomic alterations in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)

This study reports on the frequency and disease association pattern of a number of gene rearrangements in a large panel of lymphoid tumours (n = 94). We detected the t(11;14) translocation, involving rearrangement of the BCL - 1 locus, in 60% of mantle cell lymphomas. The BCL - 2 gene, located at band 18q21, was rearranged in 42% of follicle centre lymphomas (FCL) and in 15% of diffuse large B-cell (DLBC) lymphomas. In this study, 80% of the c-MYC rearrangements were detected in aggressive diffuse lymphoma subsets but, interestingly, 9% of FCL showed involvement of t(8q24) translocation. In our study, rearrangements of the BCL-6 gene at band 3q27 were found in 31% of DLBC lymphomas. Interestingly, 50% of the BCL-6 rearrangement positive lymphoma cases had coexisting gene rearrangements involving all of the aforementioned gene loci. The molecular dissection of these genes will improve our understanding of the genesis of the diverse clinicopathological subtypes

Importance of the secondary genepool in barley genetics and breeding. II. Disease resistance, agronomic performance and quality

In this second paper on the use of secondary genepools in barley improvement, we describe the characterisation of leaf rust resistant recombinant lines (RLs) derived from Hordeum vulgare × H. bulbosum crosses. Twelve RLs were inoculated with leaf rust and the early stages of disease development were observed. Several RLs showed complete resistance to the pathogen, but others had a high level of partial resistance, which may be durable. Some of these RLs and others were tested in yield trials to determine the effects of introgressed chromatin from H. bulbosum on yield and quality. We conclude that there are no major adverse effects that cannot be overcome through normal breeding technique

COVID-19: 20 countries’ higher education intra-period digital pedagogy responses

The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created significant challenges for the global higher education community. Through a desktop analysis leveraging university and government sources where possible, we provide a timely map of the intra-period higher education responses to COVID-19 across 20 countries. We found that the responses by higher education providers have been diverse from having no response through to social isolation strategies on campus and rapid curriculum redevelopment for fully online offerings. We provide in our discussion a typology of the types of responses currently undertaken and assess the agility of higher education in preparing for the pandemic. We believe there are significant opportunities to learn from the pedagogical developments of other universities, in order to strengthen our collective response to COVID-19 now and into the future

A Bayesian Approach to Calibrating Period-Luminosity Relations of RR Lyrae Stars in the Mid-Infrared

A Bayesian approach to calibrating period-luminosity (PL) relations has substantial benefits over generic least-squares fits. In particular, the Bayesian approach takes into account the full prior distribution of the model parameters, such as the a priori distances, and refits these parameters as part of the process of settling on the most highly-constrained final fit. Additionally, the Bayesian approach can naturally ingest data from multiple wavebands and simultaneously fit the parameters of PL relations for each waveband in a procedure that constrains the parameter posterior distributions so as to minimize the scatter of the final fits appropriately in all wavebands. Here we describe the generalized approach to Bayesian model fitting and then specialize to a detailed description of applying Bayesian linear model fitting to the mid-infrared PL relations of RR Lyrae variable stars. For this example application we quantify the improvement afforded by using a Bayesian model fit. We also compare distances previously predicted in our example application to recently published parallax distances measured with the Hubble Space Telescope and find their agreement to be a vindication of our methodology. Our intent with this article is to spread awareness of the benefits and applicability of this Bayesian approach and encourage future PL relation investigations to consider employing this powerful analysis method.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science. Following a presentation at the conference The Fundamental Cosmic Distance Scale: State of the Art and the Gaia Perspective, Naples, May 201

Beam Test Results of the BTeV Silicon Pixel Detector

The results of the BTeV silicon pixel detector beam test carried out at Fermilab in 1999-2000 are reported. The pixel detector spatial resolution has been studied as a function of track inclination, sensor bias, and readout threshold.Comment: 8 pages of text, 8 figures, Proceedings paper of Pixel 2000: International Workshop on Semiconductor Pixel Detectors for Particles and X-Rays, Genova, June 5-8, 200