A real-time PCR method for quantification of the total and major variant strains of the Deformed wing virus

Funding: ELB was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) EASTBIO Doctoral Training Partnership (http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk) [grant number BB/J01446X/1] and an Eastern Association Regional Studentship (EARS) and The Morley Agricultural Foundation awarded to ASB. CRC was supported by a KTN BBSRC CASE studentship (BB/M503526/1) (http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk), part-funded by the Scottish Beekeeping Association (https://www.scottishbeekeepers.org.uk/) and the Animal Health - Disease Prevention, Scottish Government awarded to ASB CRC. This project received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 613960 (SMARTBEES) (http://www.smartbees-fp7.eu/) awarded to ASB. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Mr W. Thrale, Mr Z. Blackmore, Mr J. Quinlan, and Mr J. Palombo for sample collection from the South East of England and Margie Ramsey for Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve sample collection.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Consumer Research Needs from the Food and Drug Administration on Front-of-Package Nutritional Labeling

Americans have increasingly busy lifestyles and desire quick and nutritious food choices. To provide consumers with at-a-glance nutrition information, many food manufacturers have introduced front-of-package (FOP) nutritional labeling systems. The purpose of this review is to reach out to the marketing and public policy discipline by identifying research needs on FOP systems not only to aid decision making for federal agencies, but also to help advance research on this important topic. We describe the many FOP systems, the FDA\u27s regulatory background and approach to FOP systems, recent experimental research and gaps in knowledge, and research needs on FOP nutrition labeling

How Do Consumers Use Nutrition Labels on Food Products in the United States?

This study examined how consumers use food labels in the United States. Based on the results from the cluster analysis, eight nutrition label questions from the Health and Diet Survey fell into 2 categories of label usage: for shopping or for dietary decisions. Survey respondents reported equal or more consideration of nutrition-label information for dietary choices than for shopping decisions in 2008 compared with prior survey years. Female consumers, frequent label users, well-educated, consumers aged 50 to 59, or consumers with any health issues were significantly more likely to use food labels for all kinds of purposes than their corresponding counterparts

A role for glycosaminoglycans in the development of collagen fibrils

AbstractExtensive data on the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composition and the collagen fibril diameter distribution have been collected for a diverse range of connective tissues. It is shown that tissues with the smallest diameter collagen fibrils (mass-average diameter < 60 nm) have high concentrations of hyaluronic acid and that tissues with the largest diameter collagen fibrils (mass-average diameter ∼200 nm) have high concentrations of dermatan sulphate. It is suggested that the lateral growth of fibrils beyond a diameter of about 60 nm is inhibited by the presence of an excess of hyaluronic acid but that this inhibitory effect may be removed by an increasing concentration of chondroitin sulphate and/or dermatan sulphate. It is also postulated that high concentrations of chondroitin sulphate will inhibit fibril growth beyond a mass-average diameter of ∼150 nm. Such an inhibition may in turn be removed by an increasing concentration of dermatan sulphate such that it becomes the dominant GAG present in the tissue

A Cognitive Ethology Study of First- and Third-Person Perspectives

The present investigation was funded by a grant awarded to AK by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada. The funders had no role in study design, data collection, and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Unexpected selective gas adsorption on a 'non-porous' metal organic framework

A metal organic framework Cu(tpt)BF 4· 3 4 H 2O was synthesized as a potential carbon capture material, with the aim being to exploit the Lewis base interaction of the incorporated ligand functionalities with acidic gas. The material displays high thermal stability but an exceptionally low surface area; however, this contrasts starkly with its ability to capture carbon dioxide, demonstrating significant activated diffusion within the framework. The full characterization of the material shows a robust structure, where the CO 2 sorption is 120% greater than current industrial methods using liquid amine solutions; the thermal energy required for sorbent regeneration is reduced by 65%, indicating the true industrial potential of the synthesized material

Calibration Uncertainty for Advanced LIGO's First and Second Observing Runs

Calibration of the Advanced LIGO detectors is the quantification of the detectors' response to gravitational waves. Gravitational waves incident on the detectors cause phase shifts in the interferometer laser light which are read out as intensity fluctuations at the detector output. Understanding this detector response to gravitational waves is crucial to producing accurate and precise gravitational wave strain data. Estimates of binary black hole and neutron star parameters and tests of general relativity require well-calibrated data, as miscalibrations will lead to biased results. We describe the method of producing calibration uncertainty estimates for both LIGO detectors in the first and second observing runs.Comment: 15 pages, 21 figures, LIGO DCC P160013

Meteor Trail Advection Observed During the 1998 Leonid Shower

Sodium resonance lidar observations of meteor trails are reported from the 1998 Leonid shower experimental at the Starfire Optical Range Kirtland Air Force Base, NM (35.0º N, 106.5º W ). The lidar was operating in a spatially scanning mode that allowed tracking for up to one half-hour. Three trails are presented here whose motion allowed inference of radial as well as vector wind components and apparent diffusivities. The winds are derived independently using the narrow linewidth sodium (Na) resonance Doppler lidar technique and are compared with the tracking results

Induction of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Antigen 4 (Ctla-4) Restricts Clonal Expansion of Helper T Cells

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4 plays an essential role in immunologic homeostasis. How this negative regulator of T cell activation executes its functions has remained controversial. We now provide evidence that CTLA-4 mediates a cell-intrinsic counterbalance to restrict the clonal expansion of proliferating CD4+ T cells. The regulation of CTLA-4 expression and function ensures that, after ∼3 cell divisions of expansion, most progeny will succumb to either proliferative arrest or death over the ensuing three cell divisions. The quantitative precision of the counterbalance hinges on the graded, time-independent induction of CTLA-4 expression during the first three cell divisions. In contrast to the limits imposed on unpolarized cells, T helper type 1 (Th1) and Th2 effector progeny may be rescued from proliferative arrest by interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-4 signaling, respectively, allowing appropriately stimulated progeny to proceed to the stage of tissue homing. These results suggest that the cell-autonomous regulation of CTLA-4 induction may be a central checkpoint of clonal expansion of CD4+ T cells, allowing temporally and spatially restricted growth of progeny to be dictated by the nature of the threat posed to the host