Evolution of ecological specialization and venom of a predatory marine gastropod

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74591/1/j.1365-294X.2007.03627.x.pd

Knowledge Exchange Through Science Diplomacy to Assist Disaster Risk Reduction. Progress in Disaster Science

This paper analyses science diplomacy efforts to reduce disaster risks and proposes establishing national knowledge exchange centers (KECs) to help individual states adhere to their Sendai Framework goals. KECs are considered to be interconnected globally and work together to promote resilience efforts by facilitating sharing of information and strategies in risk monitoring, assessment, and ultimately reduction across the globe. KECs can provide high-quality scientific evidence for informed decisionmaking along with a component related to disaster science media to ensure that appropriate knowledge reaches a variety of people who need it in different forms tailored for them. KECs can promote transdisciplinary education in disaster-related science diplomacy (i.e., disaster diplomacy). The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the International Science Council (ISC) can provide assistance to KECs through UNDRR National Platforms and ISC Members

Conotoxin Diversity in Chelyconus ermineus (Born, 1778) and the Convergent Origin of Piscivory in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Cones

The transcriptome of the venom duct of the Atlantic piscivorous cone species Chelyconus ermineus (Born, 1778) was determined. The venom repertoire of this species includes at least 378 conotoxin precursors, which could be ascribed to 33 known and 22 new (unassigned) protein superfamilies, respectively.Most abundant superfamilies were T,W, O1, M, O2, and Z, accounting for 57% of all detected diversity. A total of three individuals were sequenced showing considerable intraspecific variation: each individual had many exclusive conotoxin precursors, and only 20% of all inferred mature peptides were common to all individuals. Three different regions (distal, medium, and proximal with respect to the venom bulb) of the venom duct were analyzed independently. Diversity (in terms of number of distinct members) of conotoxin precursor superfamilies increased toward the distal region whereas transcripts detected toward the proximal region showed higher expression levels. Only the superfamilies A and I3 showed statistically significant differential expression across regions of the venom duct. Sequences belonging to the alpha (motor cabal) and kappa (lightning-strike cabal) subfamilies of the superfamily A were mainly detected in the proximal region of the venom duct. The mature peptides of the alpha subfamily had the a4/4 cysteine spacing pattern, which has been shown to selectively target muscle nicotinic-acetylcholine receptors, ultimately producing paralysis. This function is performed by mature peptides having a a3/5 cysteine spacing pattern in piscivorous cone species from the Indo-Pacific region, thereby supporting a convergent evolution of piscivory in cones

Characterization of the Conus bullatus genome and its venom-duct transcriptome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The venomous marine gastropods, cone snails (genus <it>Conus</it>), inject prey with a lethal cocktail of conopeptides, small cysteine-rich peptides, each with a high affinity for its molecular target, generally an ion channel, receptor or transporter. Over the last decade, conopeptides have proven indispensable reagents for the study of vertebrate neurotransmission. <it>Conus bullatus </it>belongs to a clade of <it>Conus </it>species called <it>Textilia</it>, whose pharmacology is still poorly characterized. Thus the genomics analyses presented here provide the first step toward a better understanding the enigmatic <it>Textilia </it>clade.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have carried out a sequencing survey of the <it>Conus bullatus </it>genome and venom-duct transcriptome. We find that conopeptides are highly expressed within the venom-duct, and describe an <it>in silico </it>pipeline for their discovery and characterization using RNA-seq data. We have also carried out low-coverage shotgun sequencing of the genome, and have used these data to determine its size, genome-wide base composition, simple repeat, and mobile element densities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results provide the first global view of venom-duct transcription in any cone snail. A notable feature of <it>Conus bullatus </it>venoms is the breadth of A-superfamily peptides expressed in the venom duct, which are unprecedented in their structural diversity. We also find SNP rates within conopeptides are higher compared to the remainder of <it>C. bullatus </it>transcriptome, consistent with the hypothesis that conopeptides are under diversifying selection.</p

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres

Search for New Physics with Jets and Missing Transverse Momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for new physics is presented based on an event signature of at least three jets accompanied by large missing transverse momentum, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected in proton--proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events is observed above the expected standard model backgrounds, which are all estimated from the data. Exclusion limits are presented for the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Cross section limits are also presented using simplified models with new particles decaying to an undetected particle and one or two jets

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Measurement of the t-channel single top quark production cross section in pp collisions at √s =7 TeV

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Search for three-jet resonances in pp Collisions at √s=7 TeV

This article is published Open Access at sciencedirect.com. It is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0.-- et al.Results are reported from a search for the production of three-jet resonances in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy √s=7  TeV. The study uses the data sample collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0fb -1. Events with high jet multiplicity and a large scalar sum of jet transverse momenta are analyzed for the presence of resonances in the three-jet invariant mass spectrum. No evidence for a narrow resonance is found in the data, and limits are set on the cross section for gluino pair production in an R-parity-violating supersymmetry model, for gluino masses greater than 280 GeV. Assuming a branching fraction for gluino decay into three jets of 100%, gluino masses below 460 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. These results significantly extend the range of previous limits. © 2012 CERN.European Commission; Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (Austria); ); Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (Belgium); Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Brasil); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Brasil); Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo; Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China; National Natural Science Foundation of China; Colciencias (Colombia); Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia; Research Promotion Foundation (Cyprus); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France); Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (Deutschland); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; General Secretariat of Research and Technology (Greece); Helsinki Institute of Physics; National Office for Research and Technology (Hungary); Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (Iran); Science Foundation Ireland; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (Italia); Compagnia di San Paolo (Italia); National Research Foundation of Korea; Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (México); Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (México); Secretaría de Educación Pública (México); Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí; Ministry of Science and Innovation (New Zealand); Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission; National Science Center (Poland); Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Russia); Russian Foundation for Basic Research; Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development (Serbia); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España); Swiss National Science Foundation.Peer Reviewe