Expression of membrane-associated proteins within single emulsion cell facsimiles

MreB is a structural membrane-associated protein which is one of the key components of the bacterial cytoskeleton. Although it plays an important role in shape maintenance of rod-like bacteria, the understanding of its mechanism of action is still not fully understood. This study shows how segmented flow and microdroplet technology can be used as a new tool for biological in vitro investigation of this protein. In this paper, we demonstrate cell-free expression in a single emulsion system to express red fluorescence protein (RFP) and MreB linked RFP (MreB–RFP). We follow the aggregation and localisation of the fusion protein MreB–RFP in this artificial cell-like environment. The expression of MreB–RFP in single emulsion droplets leads to the formation of micrometer-scale protein patches distributed at the water/oil interface

Symbolic Powers of Monomial Ideals

We investigate symbolic and regular powers of monomial ideals. For a square-free monomial ideal $I$ in $k[x_0, \ldots, x_n]$ we show $I^{t(m+e-1)-e+r)}$ is a subset of $M^{(t-1)(e-1)+r-1}(I^{(m)})^t$ for all positive integers $m$, $t$ and $r$, where $e$ is the big-height of $I$ and $M = (x_0, \ldots, x_n)$. This captures two conjectures ($r=1$ and $r=e$): one of Harbourne-Huneke and one of Bocci-Cooper-Harbourne. We also introduce the symbolic polyhedron of a monomial ideal and use this to explore symbolic powers of non-square-free monomial ideals.Comment: 15 pages. Fixed typ

Motivation as a predictor of outcomes in school-based humanistic counselling

Recent years have seen a growth in the provision of counselling within UK secondary schools, and research indicates that it is associated with significant reductions in psychological distress. However, little is known about the moderators and mediators of positive therapeutic benefit. In the field of adult mental health, motivation has been found to be one of the strongest predictors of therapeutic outcomes, and it was hypothesised that this may also be a predictor of outcomes for young people in school-based counselling services. To assess the relationship between young people’s motivation for counselling and its effectiveness within a secondary school setting. Eighty-one young people (12 - 17 years old) who attended school-based humanistic counselling services in Scotland. Clients completed a measure of motivation for counselling at the commencement of their therapeutic work and a measure of psychological wellbeing at the commencement and termination of counselling. Motivation for counselling was not found to be significantly related to outcomes. The results indicate that the association between motivation and outcomes may be weaker in young people as compared with adults. However, a number of design factors may also account for the non-significant findings: insufficient participants, marginal reliability of the motivation measure and social desirability effects

Distribution of Common Raccoons and Coyotes During Quail Nesting Season

Mammalian predation of quail and their eggs is a problem to many producers of quail particularly considering that abundance of common meso-predators, such as coyotes (Canis latrans) and common raccoons (Procyon lotor), is increasing. Predator removal programs are often not cost effective in increasing quail numbers but habitat management may be appropriate. There is a need for detailed knowledge of the habitat preferences and foraging patterns of these predators so producers of quail may limit predation of quail through management decisions and habitat manipulation. We placed GPS collars on 5 coyotes and 11 raccoons at Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, Fisher County, Texas during the nesting season of northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). The location of each animal was recorded at 5-min intervals for 35–42 consecutive nights. Habitat use and selectivity was calculated by Chi-square test of proportional use and availability of ecological sites both within the minimum convex polygon area used by each animal and throughout the ranch and adjacent 3-km buffer zone. Distribution of marked animals relative to roads, water, and quail feeders was compared to an equal number of randomly generated locations. Coyotes preferentially hunted in grassland which is prime nesting habitat for northern bobwhites. Coyotes were not deterred from accessing grassland with high concentrations of low growing plains prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha). The nocturnal paths taken by coyotes over 1 month effectively covered virtually all the grassland habitat within their home range which increases the probability of locating nesting quail. Coyotes used ranch roads for travel but had little attraction to quail feeders and water sources. Raccoons favored areas of heavy cover such as riparian woodland and boulder strewn hillsides. Female raccoons had small home ranges and remained within thick cover. They rarely entered the more open habitats where quail nest and did not use ranch roads or seek out quail feeders which were mainly in grassland areas, nor did they encounter cactus-dominated grassland areas. Male raccoons had more expansive home ranges than females; they favored riparian strips and rocky hills as travel corridors but also ventured into more open habitats. They strongly avoided cactus-dominated areas but used grassland where scattered shrubs provided additional cover. Male raccoons within these areas used ranch roads for ease of travel and certain individuals frequently visited quail feeding stations. The tortuous nocturnal foraging path followed by raccoons provided efficient search patterns for locating scattered resources such as quail nests. Raccoons are generally considered to be more problematic predators of quail nests than coyotes. Where coyotes are less of a threat to quail than raccoons, tolerating the presence of coyotes may protect quail through competitive exclusion of raccoons from grasslands by the larger predator. Similarly, cactus in grasslands is seen as a problem for grazing livestock and a hindrance to quail hunters, but leaving some areas dominated by cactus may provide quail with valuable nesting refugia inaccessible to raccoons. The success of supplemental feed programs for quail should be balanced against the problem of altering the distribution of raccoons so they spend more time in quail nesting habitat and are more likely to discover quail nests. Placing feeders in areas where cover for predators is limited is advisable, as is targeted predator removal at quail feeding stations

Protocol for a realist review of complex interventions to prevent adolescents from engaging in multiple risk behaviours

Objectives - Adolescent risk behaviours are a key health concern. The purpose of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of how, why, for whom, and in what circumstances complex adolescent risk behaviour prevention programmes are most successful. Methods and analysis - To understand how adolescent risk behaviour prevention programmes work in a real life context, a realist synthesis will be undertaken, operationalised in four phases. Phase one - Developing a framework to map the theoretical and conceptual landscape of adolescent risk behaviour prevention. Guided by stakeholder consultation. Phase two - Formulating initial programme theories through exploration of the literature, along with primary data from professional stakeholder interviews. Phase three - Refining programme theories through more purposeful, in depth screening of the literature, along with primary qualitative data, from young people and professionals. Data will be collected through semi structured focus groups, to explore specific elements of the emerging programme theories. Phase four - Testing programme theories through interviews with youth workers, following consultation with young people, using vignettes to explore the relationship between specific programme theories. This relatively novel method of primary and secondary data integration within a realist synthesis will provide deeper insight in to young peoples lived experience of risk behaviour prevention programmes, while maintaining transparency in the process of programme theory development. Methods and analysis Data analysis - A realist logic of analysis will be used to align data from each phase with context mechanism outcome configurations or specific elements thereof. Substantive theory will then be sought to understand and explain the findings. Ethics and dissemination - This study has been approved by the Ethics committee at Northumbria University, UK. Findings will be disseminated through knowledge exchange with stakeholders, publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations, and formal and informal reports

The effect of prednisolone on endometrial uterine NK cell concentrations and pregnancy outcome in women with reproductive failure. A retrospective cohort study

This retrospective study of prospectively collected data examines the effect of prednisolone therapy on raised uterine Natural Killer cell (uNK) concentrations and pregnancy outcomes in women with recurrent miscarriage (RM) and recurrent implantation failure (RIF) after IVF/ICSI treatment. 136 women diagnosed with RRF who had a timed midluteal endometrial biopsy taken for uNK cell analysis were included. Women with high uNK cell concentrations (n = 45) were treated with prednisolone (10 mg/day) for one month, after which a second biopsy was taken for repeat uNK cell analysis. Women for whom prednisolone caused a decrease in uNK cell concentrations continued on prednisolone until 12 weeks of pregnancy. Pregnancy outcomes (live birth, miscarriage and implantation rates) and pregnancy complications were compared for women who received prednisolone and those who did not. Results showed that the prevalence of high uNK cells was 33.1%. Prednisolone significantly decreased the uNK cell concentration (P < 0.001), however reduction to normal limits was achieved in only 48.3% of patients. There was no difference in any of the pregnancy outcomes or complications between women who had received prednisolone and those who had not. In conclusion, this study showed a relatively high prevalence of raised uNK cells in women with recurrent reproductive failure and confirmed the effect of prednisolone on reducing uNK cell concentrations. We found however no evidence for a significant beneficial effect for prednisolone therapy on pregnancy outcomes. Until the results of an adequately powered RCT become available however, these findings should be considered preliminary

There's no place like real-space:elucidating size-dependent atomic structure of nanomaterials using pair distribution function analysis

The development of new functional materials builds on an understanding of the intricate relationship between material structure and properties, and structural characterization is a crucial part of materials chemistry. However, elucidating the atomic structure of nanomaterials remains a challenge using conventional diffraction techniques due to the lack of long-range atomic order. Over the past decade, Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analysis of X-ray or neutron total scattering data has become a mature and well-established method capable of giving insight into the atomic structure in nanomaterials. Here, we review the use of PDF analysis and modelling in characterization of a range of different nanomaterials that exhibit unique atomic structure compared to the corresponding bulk materials. A brief introduction to PDF analysis and modelling is given, followed by examples of how essential structural information can be extracted from PDFs using both model-free and advanced modelling methods. We put an emphasis on how the intuitive nature of the PDF can be used for understanding important structural motifs, and on the diversity of applications of PDF analysis to nanostructure problems

Splittings for symbolic powers of edge ideals of complete graphs

In this paper we study the $s$-th symbolic powers of the edge ideals of complete graphs. In particular, we provide a criterion for finding an Eliahou-Kervaire splitting on these ideals, and use the splitting to provide a description for the graded Betti numbers. We also discuss the symbolic powers and graded Betti numbers of edge ideals of parallelizations of finite simple graphs.Comment: 16 page