5,445 research outputs found
Paircomp, FamilyRelationsII and Cartwheel: tools for interspecific sequence comparison
BACKGROUND: Comparative sequence analysis is an effective and increasingly common way to identify cis-regulatory regions in animal genomes. RESULTS: We describe three tools for comparative analysis of pairs of BAC-sized genomic regions. Paircomp is a tool that does windowed (ungapped) comparisons of two sequences and reports all matches above a set threshold. FamilyRelationsII is a graphical viewer for comparisons that enables interactive exploration of several different kinds of comparisons. Cartwheel is a Web site and compute-cluster management system used to execute and store comparisons for display by FamilyRelationsII. These tools are specialized for the discovery of cis-regulatory regions in animal genomes. All tools and their source code are freely available at . CONCLUSION: These tools have been shown to effectively identify regulatory regions in echinoderms, mammals, and nematodes
Spectropolarimetric observations of the transiting planetary system of the K dwarf HD 189733
With a Jupiter-mass planet orbiting at a distance of only 0.031 AU, the
active K2 dwarf HD 189733 is a potential candidate in which to study the
magnetospheric interactions of a cool star with its recently-discovered
close-orbiting giant planet. We decided to explore the strength and topology of
the large-scale magnetosphere of HD 189733, as a future benchmark for
quantitative studies for models of the star/planet magnetic interactions. To
this end, we used ESPaDOnS, the new generation spectropolarimeter at the
Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6m telescope, to look for Zeeman circular polarisation
signatures in the line profiles of HD 189733 in 2006 June and August. Zeeman
signatures in the line profiles of HD 189733 are clearly detected in all
spectra, demonstrating that a field is indeed present at the surface of the
star. The Zeeman signatures are not modulated with the planet's orbital period
but apparently vary with the stellar rotation cycle. The reconstructed
large-scale magnetic field, whose strength reaches a few tens of G, is
significantly more complex than that of the Sun; it involves in particular a
significant toroidal component and contributions from magnetic multipoles of
order up to 5. The CaII H & K lines clearly feature core emission, whose
intensity is apparently varying mostly with rotation phase. Our data suggest
that the photosphere and magnetic field of HD 189733 are sheared by a
significant amount of differential rotation. Our initial study confirms that HD
189733 is an optimal target for investigating activity enhancements induced by
closely orbiting planets. More data are needed, densely covering both the
orbital and rotation cycles, to investigate whether and how much the planet
contributes to the overall activity level of HD 189733.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 12 page
Promoting the achievement of looked after children and young people in the London Borough of Hounslow
As of March 2016, there were 70,440 children and young people in care in England. The number of looked after children has continued to increase steadily over the last eight years. Sixty per cent of these children are in care because of abuse or neglect and three-quarters are placed in foster care arrangements. Children and young people who are in or have experienced care remain one of the lowest performing groups in terms of educational outcomes. Last year, 14% of looked after children achieved five or more A*âC GCSEs or equivalent, including English and mathematics. As a consequence, they also experience poorer employment and health outcomes after leaving school compared to their peers. They are over-represented amongst the offender population and those who experience homelessness. However, research is emerging to show that children and young people in care can have very positive experiences of school and are supported effectively to reach their full potential academically and socially. The purpose of this report is to share practice in selected Hounslow schools and colleges that is contributing to improved outcomes and school experiences for children and young people in care. In July 2015, the Hounslow Virtual School (VS) collaborated with UCL Institute of Education to run their Promoting the Achievement of Looked After Children (PALAC) programme with seven schools in the local authority (LA). This report presents an account of the programme, including the activities undertaken by the participants and the outcomes of the programme to date for students in care and staff in the participating schools
39 âReal worldâ tolerability, ease of use, patient satisfaction and reported adherence in CF adults commencing ColobreatheÂź
Baby-Led Weaning: The Evidence to Date
Purpose of ReviewInfants are traditionally introduced to solid foods using spoon-feeding of specially prepared infant foods.Recent FindingsHowever, over the last 10â15 years, an alternative approach termed âbaby-led weaningâ has grown in popularity. This approach involves allowing infants to self-feed family foods, encouraging the infant to set the pace and intake of the meal. Proponents of the approach believe it promotes healthy eating behaviour and weight gain trajectories, and evidence is starting to build surrounding the method. This review brings together all empirical evidence to date examining behaviours associated with the approach, its outcomes and confounding factors.SummaryOverall, although there is limited evidence suggesting that a baby-led approach may encourage positive outcomes, limitations of the data leave these conclusions weak. Further research is needed, particularly to explore pathways to impact and understand the approach in different contexts and populations
High regulatory gene use in sea urchin embryogenesis: Implications for bilaterian development and evolution
A global scan of transcription factor usage in the sea urchin embryo was carried out in the context of the Strongylocentrotus purpuratus genome sequencing project, and results from six individual studies are here considered. Transcript prevalence data were obtained for over 280 regulatory genes encoding sequence-specific transcription factors of every known family, but excluding genes encoding zinc finger proteins. This is a statistically inclusive proxy for the total âregulomeâ of the sea urchin genome. Close to 80% of the regulome is expressed at significant levels by the late gastrula stage. Most regulatory genes must be used repeatedly for different functions as development progresses. An evolutionary implication is that animal complexity at the stage when the regulome first evolved was far simpler than even the last common bilaterian ancestor, and is thus of deep antiquity
Faraday Rotation of Extended Emission as a Probe of the Large-Scale Galactic Magnetic Field
The Galactic magnetic field is an integral constituent of the interstellar
medium (ISM), and knowledge of its structure is crucial to understanding
Galactic dynamics. The Rotation Measures (RM) of extragalactic (EG) sources
have been the basis of comprehensive Galactic magnetic field models. Polarised
extended emission (XE) is also seen along lines of sight through the Galactic
disk, and also displays the effects of Faraday rotation. Our aim is to
investigate and understand the relationship between EG and XE RMs near the
Galactic plane, and to determine how the XE RMs, a hitherto unused resource,
can be used as a probe of the large-scale Galactic magnetic field. We used
polarisation data from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS), observed near
1420 MHz with the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) Synthesis
Telescope. We calculated RMs from a linear fit to the polarisation angles as a
function of wavelength squared in four frequency channels, for both the EG
sources and the XE. Across the CGPS area, , the RMs of the XE closely track the RMs of the EG
sources, with XE RMs about half the value of EG-source RMs. The exceptions are
places where large local HII complexes heavily depolarise more distant
emission. We conclude that there is valuable information in the XE RM dataset.
The factor of 2 between the two types of RM values is close to that expected
from a Burn slab model of the ISM. This result indicates that, at least in the
outer Galaxy, the EG and XE sources are likely probing similar depths, and that
the Faraday rotating medium and the synchrotron emitting medium have similar
variation with galactocentric distance.Comment: Accepted to Galaxies, March 22, 201
Information sharing and credit : firm-level evidence from transition countries
We investigate whether information sharing among banks has affected credit market performance in the transition countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, using a large sample of firm-level data. Our estimates show that information sharing is associated with improved availability and lower cost of credit to firms. This correlation is stronger for opaque firms than transparent ones and stronger in countries with weak legal environments than in those with strong legal environments. In cross-sectional estimates, we control for variation in country-level aggregate variables that may affect credit, by examining the differential impact of information sharing across firm types. In panel estimates, we also control for the presence of unobserved heterogeneity at the firm level, as well as for changes in macroeconomic variables and the legal environment
The well-aligned orbit of WASP-84b: evidence for disc migration
We report the sky-projected orbital obliquity (spin-orbit angle) of WASP-84b,
a 0.70- planet in a 8.52-day orbit around a G9V/K0V star, to be
. We obtain a true obliquity of from a measurement of the inclination of the stellar spin axis with
respect to the sky plane. Due to the young age and the weak tidal forcing of
the system, we suggest that the orbit of WASP-84b is unlikely to have both
realigned and circularised from the misaligned and/or eccentric orbit likely to
have arisen from high-eccentricity migration. Therefore we conclude that the
planet probably migrated via interaction with the protoplanetary disc. This
would make it the first short-orbit, giant planet to have been shown to have
migrated via this pathway. Further, we argue that the distribution of
obliquities for planets orbiting cool stars ( < 6250 K) suggests
that high-eccentricity migration is an important pathway for the formation of
short-orbit, giant planets.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, submitted to ApJ
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