Peculiarities in produced particles emission in 208Pb + Ag(Br) interactions at 158 A GeV/c

The angular structures of particles produced in 208Pb induced collisions with Ag(Br) nuclei in an emulsion detector at 158 A GeV/c have been investigated. Nonstatistical ring-like substructures in azimuthal plane of the collision have been found and their parameters have been determined. The indication on the formation of the ring-like substructures from two symmetrical emission cones - one in the forward and other in the backward direction in the center-of mass system have been obtained. The ring-like substructures parameters have been determined. The experimental results are in an agreement with I.M. Dremin idea, that mechanism of the ring-like substructures formation in nuclear collisions is similar to that of Cherenkov electromagnetic radiation.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, Report at the HADRON STRUCTURE'04 Conference, Smolenice, Slovakia, 30.8.-3.9.200

An autosomal dominant major gene confers predisposition to pulmonary tuberculosis in adults

The molecular basis of genetic predisposition to pulmonary tuberculosis in adults remains largely elusive. Few candidate genes have consistently been implicated in tuberculosis susceptibility, and no conclusive linkage was found in two previous genome-wide screens. We report here a genome-wide linkage study in a total sample of 96 Moroccan multiplex families, including 227 siblings with microbiologically and radiologically proven pulmonary tuberculosis. A genome-wide scan conducted in half the sample (48 families) identified five regions providing suggestive evidence (logarithm of the odds [LOD] score >1.17; P < 0.01) for linkage. These regions were then fine-mapped in the total sample of 96 families. A single region of chromosome 8q12-q13 was significantly linked to tuberculosis (LOD score = 3.49; P = 3 × 10−5), indicating the presence of a major tuberculosis susceptibility gene. Linkage was stronger (LOD score = 3.94; P = 10−5) in the subsample of 39 families in which one parent was also affected by tuberculosis, whereas it was much lower (LOD score = 0.79) in the 57 remaining families without affected parents, supporting a dominant mode of inheritance of the major susceptibility locus. These results provide direct molecular evidence that human pulmonary tuberculosis has a strong genetic basis, and indicate that the genetic component involves at least one major locus with a dominant susceptibility allele

Arabidopsis Chy1 null mutants are deficient in benzoic acid-containing glucosinolates in the seeds

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73307/1/j.1438-8677.2008.00160.x.pd

Structural transitions during the scaffolding-driven assembly of a viral capsid

Assembly of tailed bacteriophages and herpesviruses starts with formation of procapsids (virion precursors without DNA). Scaffolding proteins (SP) drive assembly by chaperoning the major capsid protein (MCP) to build an icosahedral lattice. Here we report cryo-EM near-atomic structures of the bacteriophage SPP1 procapsid, the intermediate expanded procapsid with partially released SPs, and the mature capsid with DNA. In the intermediate state SPs are bound only to MCP pentons and to adjacent subunits from hexons. SP departure results in the expanded state associated with unfolding of the MCP N-terminus and straightening of E-loops. The newly formed extensive inter-capsomere bonding appears to compensate for release of SPs that clasp MCP capsomeres together. Subsequent DNA packaging instigates bending of MCP A domain loops outwards closing the hexons central opening, creating the capsid auxiliary protein binding interface. These findings uncover a molecular basis for the sequential structural rearrangements during viral capsid maturation. Athanasios , Sandrine , Mehdi , Jörg , Thorsten , Maya , Paulo , Elena V

Clustering in light nuclei in fragmentation above 1 A GeV

The relativistic invariant approach is applied to analyzing the 3.3 A GeV $^{22}$Ne fragmentation in a nuclear track emulsion. New results on few-body dissociations have been obtained from the emulsion exposures to 2.1 A GeV $^{14}$N and 1.2 A GeV $^{9}$Be nuclei. It can be asserted that the use of the invariant approach is an effective means of obtaining conclusions about the behavior of systems involving a few He nuclei at a relative energy close to 1 MeV per nucleon. The first observations of fragmentation of 1.2 A GeV $^{8}$B and $^{9}$C nuclei in emulsion are described. The presented results allow one to justify the development of few-body aspects of nuclear astrophysics.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics-2, 16-20 May, 2005 (ATOMKI), Debrecen, Hungar

Fragmentation of relativistic nuclei in peripheral interactions in nuclear track emulsion

The technique of nuclear track emulsions is used to explore the fragmentation of light relativistic nuclei down to the most peripheral interactions - nuclear "white" stars. A complete pattern of therelativistic dissociation of a $^8$B nucleus with target fragment accompaniment is presented. Relativistic dissociation $^{9}$Be$\to2\alpha$ is explored using significant statistics and a relative contribution of $^{8}$Be decays from 0$^+$ and 2$^+$ states is established. Target fragment accompaniments are shown for relativistic fragmentation $^{14}$N$\to$3He+H and $^{22}$Ne$\to$5He. The leading role of the electromagnetic dissociation on heavy nuclei with respect to break-ups on target protons is demonstrated in all these cases. It is possible to conclude that the peripheral dissociation of relativistic nuclei in nuclear track emulsion is a unique tool to study many-body systems composed of lightest nuclei and nucleons in the energy scale relevant for nuclear astrophysics.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, conference: Relativistic nuclear physics: from Nuclotron to LHC energies, Kiev, June 18-22, 200

Topology of "white" stars in relativistic fragmentation of light nuclei

In the present paper, experimental observations of the multifragmentation processes of light relativistic nuclei carried out by means of emulsions are reviewed. Events of the type of "white" stars in which the dissociation of relativistic nuclei is not accompanied by the production of mesons and the target-nucleus fragments are considered. A distinctive feature of the charge topology in the dissociation of the Ne, Mg, Si, and S nuclei is an almost total suppression of the binary splitting of nuclei to fragments with charges higher than 2. The growth of the nuclear fragmentation degree is revealed in an increase in the multiplicity of singly and doubly charged fragments with decreasing charge of the non-excited part of the fragmenting nucleus. The processes of dissociation of stable Li, Be, B, C, N, and O isotopes to charged fragments were used to study special features of the formation of systems consisting of the lightest $\alpha$, d, and t nuclei. Clustering in form of the $^3$He nucleus can be detected in "white" stars via the dissociation of neutron-deficient Be, B, C, and N isotopes.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, 9 tables, conference: Conference on Physics of Fundamental Interactions, Moscow, Russia, 1-5 Mar 2004.(Author's translation

A plant thiolase involved in benzoic acid biosynthesis and volatile benzenoid production

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75036/1/TPJ_3953_sm_FigS3.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75036/2/TPJ_3953_sm_figS1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75036/3/TPJ_3953_sm_FigS4.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75036/4/j.1365-313X.2009.03953.x.pd

КЛИНИЧЕСКОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ МАРКЕРА НЕОАРТЕРИОГЕНЕЗА – ПЛАЦЕНТАРНОГО ФАКТОРА РОСТА PLGF У РЕЦИПИЕНТОВ ТРАНСПЛАНТИРОВАННОГО СЕРДЦА

In transplanted hearts, peri- and postoperative ischemic and alloimmune stimuli may be interpreted as inadequate tissue perfusion leading to activation of angiogenic signaling. Placenta growth factor (PLGF) is a marker of neoangiogenesis, belonge to vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) family. It has been shown that PLGF serum levels are elevated during acute rejection and decrease after immunosuppressive therapy in pediatric heart transplant recipients. The study was aimed to investigate clinical and prognostic significance of PLGF in heart transplant recipients. 34 patients (pts) (42,5 ± 8,5 years, 29 men and 5 women, 21 patient with dilated cardiomyopathy, 13 – with ischemic heart disease) underwent heart transplantation (HTx) and were examined before and after HTx. Our results showed that pretransplant PLGF is a marker of posttransplant cardiovascular risk. Revealing PLGF plasma level in recipients during the first year after HTx also has prognostic value concerning development of cardiovascular complications. In the remote terms (1–16 years) after HTx PLGF plasma levels were significantly higher in recipients with TxCAD than in recipients without TxCAD. These findings confirm participation of PLGF in damage of the transplanted heart vessels. В последние годы активно изучается роль процессов неоангиогенеза при атеросклерозе и васкулопа- тии аллотрансплантата сердца. Плацентарный фактор роста (PLGF) – маркер неоангиогенеза – белок се- мейства эндотелиальных факторов роста (VEGF). Изучали связь уровня PLGF с развитием васкулопатии трансплантированного сердца и его значения для прогнозирования и оценки риска прогрессирования этой патологии. Обследовано 34 пациента до трансплантации сердца (ТС) и в различные сроки после нее (42,5 ± 8,5 года, 29 мужчин и 5 женщин, 21 пациент с дилатационной кардиомиопатией, 13 – с ишемиче- ской болезнью сердца). Результаты исследования показали, что уровень РLGF у пациентов до ТС яв- ляется независимым фактором риска развития сердечно-сосудистых осложнений после ТС. Выявление уровней РLGF &gt; 12 пг/мл у реципиентов в первый год после ТС связано с высоким риском развития сер- дечно-сосудистых осложнений в более поздние сроки после ТС. Повышенный уровень РLGF (&gt;12 пг/мл) у реципиентов с БКАПС в отдаленные сроки после ТС может служить индикатором риска прогрессиро- вания васкулопатии, развития рестенозов после ангиопластики.

Recruitment Variability in North Atlantic Cod and Match-Mismatch Dynamics

Background Fisheries exploitation, habitat destruction, and climate are important drivers of variability in recruitment success. Understanding variability in recruitment can reveal mechanisms behind widespread decline in the abundance of key species in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. For fish populations, the match-mismatch theory hypothesizes that successful recruitment is a function of the timing and duration of larval fish abundance and prey availability. However, the underlying mechanisms of match-mismatch dynamics and the factors driving spatial differences between high and low recruitment remain poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings We used empirical observations of larval fish abundance, a mechanistic individual-based model, and a reanalysis of ocean temperature data from 1960 to 2002 to estimate the survival of larval cod (Gadus morhua). From the model, we quantified how survival rates changed during the warmest and coldest years at four important cod spawning sites in the North Atlantic. The modeled difference in survival probability was not large for any given month between cold or warm years. However, the cumulative effect of higher growth rates and survival through the entire spawning season in warm years was substantial with 308%, 385%, 154%, and 175% increases in survival for Georges Bank, Iceland, North Sea, and Lofoten cod stocks, respectively. We also found that the importance of match-mismatch dynamics generally increased with latitude. Conclusions/Significance Our analyses indicate that a key factor for enhancing survival is the duration of the overlap between larval and prey abundance and not the actual timing of the peak abundance. During warm years, the duration of the overlap between larval fish and their prey is prolonged due to an early onset of the spring bloom. This prolonged season enhances cumulative growth and survival, leading to a greater number of large individuals with enhanced potential for survival to recruitment