135 research outputs found
Expanded subgenomic mRNA transcriptome and coding capacity of a nidovirus
Members of the order Nidovirales express their structural protein ORFs from a nested set of 3′ subgenomic mRNAs (sg mRNAs), and for most of these ORFs, a single genomic transcription regulatory sequence (TRS) was identified. Nine TRSs were previously reported for the arterivirus Simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV). In the present study, which was facilitated by next-generation sequencing, 96 SHFV body TRSs were identified that were functional in both infected MA104 cells and macaque macrophages. The abundance of sg mRNAs produced from individual TRSs was consistent over time in the two different cell types. Most of the TRSs are located in the genomic 3′ region, but some are in the 5′ ORF1a/1b region and provide alternative sources of nonstructural proteins. Multiple functional TRSs were identified for the majority of the SHFV 3′ ORFs, and four previously identified TRSs were found not to be the predominant ones used. A third of the TRSs generated sg mRNAs with variant leader–body junction sequences. Sg mRNAs encoding E′, GP2, or ORF5a as their 5′ ORF as well as sg mRNAs encoding six previously unreported alternative frame ORFs or 14 previously unreported C-terminal ORFs of known proteins were also identified. Mutation of the start codon of two C-terminal ORFs in an infectious clone reduced virus yield. Mass spectrometry detected one previously unreported protein and suggested translation of some of the C-terminal ORFs. The results reveal the complexity of the transcriptional regulatory mechanism and expanded coding capacity for SHFV, which may also be characteristic of other nidoviruses
Cardiac pheochromocytoma involving the left main coronary artery presenting with exertional angina
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26628/1/0000169.pd
Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) for the Subaru Telescope: Overview, recent progress, and future perspectives
PFS (Prime Focus Spectrograph), a next generation facility instrument on the
8.2-meter Subaru Telescope, is a very wide-field, massively multiplexed,
optical and near-infrared spectrograph. Exploiting the Subaru prime focus, 2394
reconfigurable fibers will be distributed over the 1.3 deg field of view. The
spectrograph has been designed with 3 arms of blue, red, and near-infrared
cameras to simultaneously observe spectra from 380nm to 1260nm in one exposure
at a resolution of ~1.6-2.7A. An international collaboration is developing this
instrument under the initiative of Kavli IPMU. The project is now going into
the construction phase aiming at undertaking system integration in 2017-2018
and subsequently carrying out engineering operations in 2018-2019. This article
gives an overview of the instrument, current project status and future paths
forward.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures. Proceeding of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and
Instrumentation 201
Establishing the safety of waterbirth for mothers and babies: a cohort study with nested qualitative component: the protocol for the POOL study
Introduction Approximately 60 000 (9/100) infants are born into water annually in the UK and this is likely to increase. Case reports identified infants with water inhalation or sepsis following birth in water and there is a concern that women giving birth in water may sustain more complex perineal trauma. There have not been studies large enough to show whether waterbirth increases these poor outcomes. The POOL Study (ISRCTN13315580) plans to answer the question about the safety of waterbirths among women who are classified appropriate for midwifery-led intrapartum care.
Methods and analysis A cohort study with a nested qualitative component. Objectives will be answered using retrospective and prospective data captured in electronic National Health Service (NHS) maternity and neonatal systems. The qualitative component aims to explore factors influencing pool use and waterbirth; data will be gathered via discussion groups, interviews and case studies of maternity units.
Ethics and dissemination The protocol has been approved by NHS Wales Research Ethics Committee (18/WA/0291) the transfer of identifiable data has been approved by Health Research Authority Confidentiality Advisory Group (18CAG0153).
Study findings and innovative methodology will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conferences and events. Results will be of interest to the general public, clinical and policy stakeholders in the UK and will be disseminated accordingly
The Current Status of Prime Focus Instrument of Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph
The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is a new optical/near-infrared multi-fiber
spectrograph design for the prime focus of the 8.2m Subaru telescope. PFS will
cover 1.3 degree diameter field with 2394 fibers to complement the imaging
capability of Hyper SuprimeCam (HSC). The prime focus unit of PFS called Prime
Focus Instrument (PFI) provides the interface with the top structure of Subaru
telescope and also accommodates the optical bench in which Cobra fiber
positioners are located. In addition, the acquisition and guiding cameras
(AGCs), the optical fiber positioner system, the cable wrapper, the fiducial
fibers, illuminator, and viewer, the field element, and the telemetry system
are located inside the PFI. The mechanical structure of the PFI was designed
with special care such that its deflections sufficiently match those of the
HSC's Wide Field Corrector (WFC) so the fibers will stay on targets over the
course of the observations within the required accuracy. In this report, the
latest status of PFI development will be given including the performance of PFI
components, the setup and performance of the integration and testing equipment.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, SPIE proceedin
Primary gliosarcoma: key clinical and pathologic distinctions from glioblastoma with implications as a unique oncologic entity
This report presents the historical experience, clinical presentation, treatment, prognosis, and pathogenesis of gliosarcoma described to date in the English literature. PubMed query of term “gliosarcoma” was performed, followed by a rigorous review of cited literature. Articles selected for analysis included: (1) case reports of gliosarcoma, (2) review articles of gliosarcoma, and (3) studies of the pathogenesis or genetics of gliosarcoma in humans. Our review identified 219 cases of gliosarcoma in 34 reports and eight articles addressing the pathogenesis. Survival in larger series ranged 4–11.5 months. Features unique to gliosarcoma compared to glioblastoma (GBM) include their temporal lobe predilection, potential to appear similar to a meningioma at surgery, repeated reports of extracranial metastases, and infrequency of EGFR mutations. Published experience is limited to small case series, and the pathogenesis remains unclear. Clinical and pathologic characteristics distinct from GBM suggest that they may warrant specific treatment, separate from conventional GBM therapy
Population-Specific Responses to Interspecific Competition in the Gut Microbiota of Two Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Populations
The gut microbial community in vertebrates plays a role in nutrient digestion and absorption, development of intestine and immune systems, resistance to infection, regulation of bone mass and even host behavior and can thus impact host fitness. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) reintroduction efforts into Lake Ontario, Canada, have been unsuccessful, likely due to competition with non-native salmonids. In this study, we explored interspecific competition effects on the gut microbiota of two Atlantic salmon populations (LaHave and Sebago) resulting from four non-native salmonids. After 10 months of rearing in semi-natural stream tanks under six interspecific competition treatments, we characterized the gut microbiota of 178 Atlantic salmon by parallel sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. We found 3978 bacterial OTUs across all samples. Microbiota alpha diversity and abundance of 27 OTUs significantly differed between the two populations. Interspecific competition reduced relative abundance of potential beneficial bacteria (six genera of lactic acid bacteria) as well as 13 OTUs, but only in the LaHave population, indicating population-specific competition effects. The pattern of gut microbiota response to interspecific competition may reflect local adaptation of the host-microbiota interactions and can be used to select candidate populations for improved species reintroduction success
What are the factors associated with depressive symptoms among orphans and vulnerable children in Cambodia?
Progress with the Prime Focus Spectrograph for the Subaru Telescope: a massively multiplexed optical and near-infrared fiber spectrograph
The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is an optical/near-infrared multi-fiber
spectrograph with 2394 science fibers, which are distributed in 1.3 degree
diameter field of view at Subaru 8.2-meter telescope. The simultaneous wide
wavelength coverage from 0.38 um to 1.26 um, with the resolving power of 3000,
strengthens its ability to target three main survey programs: cosmology,
Galactic archaeology, and galaxy/AGN evolution. A medium resolution mode with
resolving power of 5000 for 0.71 um to 0.89 um also will be available by simply
exchanging dispersers. PFS takes the role for the spectroscopic part of the
Subaru Measurement of Images and Redshifts project, while Hyper Suprime-Cam
works on the imaging part. To transform the telescope plus WFC focal ratio, a
3-mm thick broad-band coated glass-molded microlens is glued to each fiber tip.
A higher transmission fiber is selected for the longest part of cable system,
while one with a better FRD performance is selected for the fiber-positioner
and fiber-slit components, given the more frequent fiber movements and tightly
curved structure. Each Fiber positioner consists of two stages of
piezo-electric rotary motors. Its engineering model has been produced and
tested. Fiber positioning will be performed iteratively by taking an image of
artificially back-illuminated fibers with the Metrology camera located in the
Cassegrain container. The camera is carefully designed so that fiber position
measurements are unaffected by small amounts of high special-frequency
inaccuracies in WFC lens surface shapes. Target light carried through the fiber
system reaches one of four identical fast-Schmidt spectrograph modules, each
with three arms. Prototype VPH gratings have been optically tested. CCD
production is complete, with standard fully-depleted CCDs for red arms and
more-challenging thinner fully-depleted CCDs with blue-optimized coating for
blue arms.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, submitted to "Ground-based and Airborne
Instrumentation for Astronomy V, Suzanne K. Ramsay, Ian S. McLean, Hideki
Takami, Editors, Proc. SPIE 9147 (2014)
- …