Detection of Single Ion Spectra by Coulomb Crystal Heating

The coupled motion of ions in a radiofrequency trap has been used to connect the frequency- dependent laser-induced heating of a sympathetically cooled spectroscopy ion with changes in the fluorescence of a laser-cooled control ion. This technique, sympathetic heating spectroscopy, is demonstrated using two isotopes of calcium. In the experiment, a few scattered photons from the spectroscopy ion are transformed into a large deviation from the steady-state fluorescence of the control ion. This allows us to detect an optical transition where the number of scattered photons is below our fluorescence detection limit. Possible applications of the technique to molecular ion spectroscopy are briefly discussed.Comment: 7 Pages,10 Figure

Comparisons of subunit 5A and 5B isozymes of yeast cytochrome c oxidase

Subunit 5 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CcO is essential for assembly and has two isoforms, 5A and 5B. 5A is expressed under normoxic conditions while 5B is expressed at very low oxygen tensions. As a consequence, COX5A-deleted strains (Acox5A) have no or only low levels of CcO under normoxic conditions rendering them respiratory-deficient. Previous studies reported that respiratory growth could be restored by combining Acox5A with mutations of ROX1 that encodes a repressor of COX5B expression. In these mutants 5B isozyme expression level was 30-50 % of wild type (5A isozyme) and exhibited a maximum catalytic activity up to 3-fold faster than that of 5A isozyme. To investigate the origin of this effect, we constructed a mutant strain in which COX5B replaced COX5A downstream of the COX5A promoter. This strain expressed wild type levels of the 5B isozyme, without the complication of additional effects caused by mutation ofROX1. When produced this way, the isozymes displayed no significant differences in their maximum catalytic activities or in their affinities for oxygen or cytochrome c. Hence, the elevated activity of the 5B isozyme in the rox1 mutant is not caused simply by exchange of isoforms and must arise from an additional effect that remains to be resolved

Evidence-Based Guideline on Laparoscopy in Pregnancy: Commissioned by the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE) Endorsed by the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG).

Laparoscopy is widely utilised to diagnose and treat acute and chronic, gynaecological and general surgical conditions. It has only been in recent years that laparoscopy has become an acceptable surgical alternative to open surgery in pregnancy. To date there is little clinical guidance pertaining to laparoscopic surgery in pregnancy. This is why the BSGE commissioned this guideline. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane library were searched up to February 2017 and evidence was collated and graded following the NICE-approved process. The conditions included in this guideline are laparoscopic management of acute appendicitis, acute gall bladder disease and symptomatic benign adnexal tumours in pregnancy. The intended audience for this guideline is obstetricians and gynaecologists in secondary and tertiary care, general surgeons and anaesthetists. However, only laparoscopists who have adequate laparoscopic skills and who perform complex laparoscopic surgery regularly should undertake laparoscopy in pregnant women, since much of the evidence stems from specialised centres

Genotyping-by-sequencing based genetic mapping reveals large number of epistatic interactions for stem rot resistance in groundnut

Key message Genetic mapping identified large number of epistatic interactions indicating the complex genetic architecture for stem rot disease resistance. Abstract Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is an important global crop commodity and serves as a major source of cooking oil, diverse confectionery preparations and livestock feed. Stem rot disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii is the most devastating disease of groundnut and can cause up to 100% yield loss. Genomic-assisted breeding (GAB) has potential for accelerated development of stem rot resistance varieties in short period with more precision. In this context, linkage analysis and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for resistance to stem rot disease was performed in a bi-parental recombinant inbred line population developed from TG37A (susceptible) × NRCG-CS85 (resistant) comprising of 270 individuals. Genotyping-by-sequencing approach was deployed to generate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping data leading to development of a genetic map with 585 SNP loci spanning map distance of 2430 cM. QTL analysis using multi-season phenotyping and genotyping data could not detect any major main-effect QTL but identified 44 major epistatic QTLs with phenotypic variation explained ranging from 14.32 to 67.95%. Large number interactions indicate the complexity of genetic architecture of resistance to stem rot disease. A QTL of physical map length 5.2 Mb identified on B04 comprising 170 different genes especially leucine reach repeats, zinc finger motifs and ethyleneresponsive factors, etc., was identified. The identified genomic regions and candidate genes will further validate and facilitate marker development to deploy GAB for developing stem rot disease resistance groundnut varieties