4,268 research outputs found
Dispersion Measures and Analysis for Factorial Directional Data with Replicates
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147059/1/rssc02643.pd
A Shotgun Proteomic Method for the Identification of Membrane-Embedded Proteins and Peptides
Integral membrane proteins perform crucial cellular functions and are the targets for the majority of pharmaceutical agents. However, the hydrophobic nature of their membrane-embedded domains makes them difficult to work with. Here, we describe a shotgun proteomic method for the high-throughput analysis of the membrane-embedded transmembrane domains of integral membrane proteins which extends the depth of coverage of the membrane proteome
Variation in the cortical area map of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J inbred mice predicts strain identity
BACKGROUND: Recent discoveries suggest that arealization of the mammalian cortical sheet develops in a manner consonant with principles established for embryonic patterning of the body. Signaling centers release morphogens that determine regional growth and tissue identity by regulating regional expression of transcription factors. Research on mouse cortex has identified several candidate morphogens that affect anteroposterior or mediolateral cortical regionalization as well as mitogenesis. Inbred strains of laboratory mice can be exploited to study cortical area map formation if there are significant phenotypic differences with which to correlate gene polymorphism or expression data. Here we describe differences in the cortical area map of two commonly used inbred strains of laboratory mice, C57BL/6J and DBA/2J. Complete cortical hemispheres from adult mice were dissected and stained for the cytochrome oxidase enzyme in order to measure histochemically defined cortical areas. RESULTS: C57BL/6J has the larger neocortex, relatively larger primary visual cortex (V1), but relatively smaller posterior medial barrel subfield of the primary somatosensory cortex (PMBSF). The sample of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice can be discriminated with 90% accuracy on the basis of these three size dimensions. CONCLUSION: C57BL/6J and DBA/2J have markedly different cortical area maps, suggesting that inbred strains harbor enough phenotypic variation to encourage a forward genetic approach to understanding cortical development, complementing other approaches
Structure of the Golgi and Distribution of Reporter Molecules at 20°C Reveals the Complexity of the Exit Compartments
Incubating cells at 20°C blocks transport out of the Golgi complex and amplifies the exit compartments. We have used the 20°C block, followed by EM tomography and serial section reconstruction, to study the structure of Golgi exit sites in NRK cells. The dominant feature of Golgi structure in temperature-blocked cells is the presence of large bulging domains on the three trans-most cisternae. These domains extend laterally from the stack and are continuous with “cisternal” domains that maintain normal thickness and alignment with the other stacked Golgi cisternae. The bulging domains do not resemble the perpendicularly extending tubules associated with the trans-cisternae of control cells. Such tubules are completely absent in temperature-blocked cells. The three cisternae with bulging domains can be identified as trans by their association with specialized ER and the presence of clathrin-coated buds on the trans-most cisterna only. Immunogold labeling and immunoblots show a significant degradation of a medial- and a trans-Golgi marker with no evidence for their redistribution within the Golgi or to other organelles. These data suggest that exit from the Golgi occurs directly from three trans-cisternae and that specialized ER plays a significant role in trans-Golgi function
A Preliminary Survey of Interprofessional Education
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153603/1/jddj002203372006704tb04096x.pd
Meningococcal Disease in Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection: A Review of Cases Reported Through Active Surveillance in the United States, 2000-2008.
BackgroundAlthough human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is an established risk factor for several bacterial infections, the association between HIV infection and meningococcal disease remains unclear.MethodsExpanded chart reviews were completed on persons with meningococcal disease and HIV infection reported from 2000 through 2008 from 9 US sites participating in an active population-based surveillance system for meningococcal disease. The incidence of meningococcal disease among patients meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) surveillance criteria was estimated using data from the National HIV Surveillance System for the participating sites.ResultsThirty-three cases of meningococcal disease in individuals with HIV infection were reported from participating sites, representing 2.0% of all reported meningococcal disease cases. Most (75.8%) persons with HIV infection were adult males aged 25 to 64 years old. Among all meningococcal disease cases aged 25 to 64 years old, case fatality ratios were similar among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected persons (13.3% vs 10.6%; P = .6). The cumulative, mean incidence of meningococcal disease among patients aged 25 to 64 years old with HIV infection ever classified as AIDS was 3.5 cases per 100000 person years (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1-5.6), compared with 0.3 cases per 100000 person years (95% CI, 0.3-0.3) for persons of the same age group not reported to have AIDS (relative risk = 12.9; 95% CI, 7.9-20.9).ConclusionsIndividuals with HIV infection meeting the AIDS surveillance case definition have a higher incidence of meningococcal disease compared with the general adult population
Herschel SPIRE-FTS Observations of Excited CO and [CI] in the Antennae (NGC 4038/39): Warm and Cold Molecular Gas
We present Herschel SPIRE-FTS observations of the Antennae (NGC 4038/39), a
well studied, nearby ( Mpc) ongoing merger between two gas rich spiral
galaxies. We detect 5 CO transitions ( to ), both [CI]
transitions and the [NII] transition across the entire system, which
we supplement with ground based observations of the CO , and
transitions, and Herschel PACS observations of [CII] and [OI].
Using the CO and [CI] transitions, we perform both a LTE analysis of [CI], and
a non-LTE radiative transfer analysis of CO and [CI] using the radiative
transfer code RADEX along with a Bayesian likelihood analysis. We find that
there are two components to the molecular gas: a cold ( K)
and a warm ( K) component. By comparing the warm gas mass
to previously observed values, we determine a CO abundance in the warm gas of
. If the CO abundance is the same in the warm and
cold gas phases, this abundance corresponds to a CO luminosity-to-mass
conversion factor of $\alpha_{CO} \sim 7 \ M_{\odot}{pc^{-2} \ (K \ km \
s^{-1})^{-1}}_263\mu m\sim 0.01 L_{\odot}/M_{\odot}G_0\sim 1000$. Finally, we find
that a combination of turbulent heating, due to the ongoing merger, and
supernova and stellar winds are sufficient to heat the molecular gas.Comment: 50 pages, 15 figures, 8 tables, Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
On the Morphology and Chemical Composition of the HR 4796A Debris Disk
[abridged] We present resolved images of the HR 4796A debris disk using the
Magellan adaptive optics system paired with Clio-2 and VisAO. We detect the
disk at 0.77 \microns, 0.91 \microns, 0.99 \microns, 2.15 \microns, 3.1
\microns, 3.3 \microns, and 3.8 \microns. We find that the deprojected center
of the ring is offset from the star by 4.761.6 AU and that the deprojected
eccentricity is 0.060.02, in general agreement with previous studies. We
find that the average width of the ring is 14, also comparable to
previous measurements. Such a narrow ring precludes the existence of
shepherding planets more massive than \about 4 \mj, comparable to hot-start
planets we could have detected beyond \about 60 AU in projected separation.
Combining our new scattered light data with archival HST/STIS and HST/NICMOS
data at \about 0.5-2 \microns, along with previously unpublished Spitzer/MIPS
thermal emission data and all other literature thermal data, we set out to
constrain the chemical composition of the dust grains. After testing 19
individual root compositions and more than 8,400 unique mixtures of these
compositions, we find that good fits to the scattered light alone and thermal
emission alone are discrepant, suggesting that caution should be exercised if
fitting to only one or the other. When we fit to both the scattered light and
thermal emission simultaneously, we find mediocre fits (reduced chi-square
\about 2). In general, however, we find that silicates and organics are the
most favored, and that water ice is usually not favored. These results suggest
that the common constituents of both interstellar dust and solar system comets
also may reside around HR 4796A, though improved modeling is necessary to place
better constraints on the exact chemical composition of the dust.Comment: Accepted to ApJ on October 27, 2014. 21 pages, 12 figures, 4 table
Fetal and early postnatal lead exposure measured in teeth associates with infant gut microbiota
BACKGROUND: Lead (Pb) is an environmentally ubiquitous heavy metal associated with a wide range of adverse health effects in children. Both lead exposure and the early life microbiome- which plays a critical role in human development-have been linked to similar health outcomes, but it is unclear if the adverse effects of lead are partially driven by early life gut microbiota dysbiosis. The objective of this study was to examine the association between in utero and postnatal lead levels (measured in deciduous baby teeth) and early life bacterial and fungal gut microbiota in the first year of life.
METHODS: Data from the Wayne County Health, Environment, Allergy and Asthma Longitudinal Study (WHEALS) birth cohort were analyzed. Tooth lead levels during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters and postnatally (age) were quantified using high-resolution microspatial mapping of dentin growth rings. Early life microbiota were measured in stool samples collected at approximately 1 and 6 months of age, using both 16S rRNA (bacterial) and ITS2 (fungal) sequencing. Of the 1,258 maternal-child pairs in WHEALS, 146 had data on both tooth metals and early life microbiome.
RESULTS: In utero tooth lead levels were significantly associated with gut fungal community composition at 1-month of age, where higher levels of 2nd trimester tooth lead was associated with lower abundances of Candida and Aspergillus and higher abundances of Malassezia and Saccharomyces; 3rd trimester lead was also associated with lower abundances of Candida. Though lead did not significantly associate with the overall structure of the infant gut bacterial community, it associated with the abundance of some specific bacterial taxa, including the increased abundance of Collinsella and Bilophila and a decreased abundance of Bacteroides taxa.
CONCLUSIONS: The observed associations between lead exposure and infant gut microbiota could play a role in the impact of lead on childhood development. Given the paucity of research examining these associations in humans-particularly for fungal microbiota-further investigation is needed
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