Multiple QTL-effects of wheat Gpc-B1 locus on grain protein and micronutrient concentrations

Micronutrient malnutrition afflicts over three billion peopleworldwide and the numbers are continuously increasing. Developing genetically micronutrientenriched cereals, which are the predominant source of human dietary, is essential to alleviate malnutrition worldwide. Wheat chromosome 6B derived from wild emmerwheat [Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides (Körn.) Thell] was previously reported to be a source for high Zn concentration in the grain. In the present study, recombinant chromosome substitution lines (RSLs), previously constructed for genetic and physical maps of Gpc-B1 (a 250-kb locus affecting grain protein concentration), were used to identify the effects of the Gpc-B1 locus on grain micronutrient concentrations. RSLs carrying the Gpc-B1 allele of T. dicoccoides accumulated on average 12% higher concentration of Zn, 18% higher concentration of Fe, 29% higher concentration of Mn and 38% higher concentration of protein in the grain as compared with RSLs carrying the allele from cultivated wheat (Triticum durum). Furthermore, the high grain Zn, Fe and Mn concentrations were consistently expressed in five different environments with an absence of genotype by environment interaction. The results obtained in the present study also confirmed the previously reported effect of the wild-type allele of Gpc-B1 on earlier senescence of flag leaves. We suggest that the Gpc-B1 locus is involved in more efficient remobilization of protein, zinc, iron and manganese from leaves to the grains, in addition to its effect on earlier senescence of the green tissues

Optimal design of multi-channel microreactor for uniform residence time distribution

Multi-channel microreactors can be used for various applications that require chemical or electrochemical reactions in either liquid, gaseous or multi phase. For an optimal control of the chemical reactions, one key parameter for the design of such microreactors is the residence time distribution of the fluid, which should be as uniform as possible in the series of microchannels that make up the core of the reactor. Based on simplifying assumptions, an analytical model is proposed for optimizing the design of the collecting and distributing channels which supply the series of rectangular microchannels of the reactor, in the case of liquid flows. The accuracy of this analytical approach is discussed after comparison with CFD simulations and hybrid analytical-CFD calculations that allow an improved refinement of the meshing in the most complex zones of the flow. The analytical model is then extended to the case of microchannels with other cross-sections (trapezoidal or circular segment) and to gaseous flows, in the continuum and slip flow regimes. In the latter case, the model is based on second-order slip flow boundary conditions, and takes into account the compressibility as well as the rarefaction of the gas flow

Conceptualizing handover strategies at change of shift in the emergency department: a grounded theory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The importance and complexity of handovers is well-established. Progress for intervening in the emergency department change of shift handovers may be hampered by lack of a conceptual framework. The objectives were to gain a better understanding of strategies used for change of shift handovers in an emergency care setting and to further expand current understanding and conceptualizations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Observations, open-ended questions and interviews about handover strategies were collected at a Veteran's Health Administration Medical Center in the United States. All relevant staff in the emergency department was observed; 31 completed open-ended surveys; 10 completed in-depth interviews. The main variables of interest were strategies used for handovers at change of shift and obstacles to smooth handovers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 21 previously identified strategies, 8 were used consistently, 4 were never used, and 9 were used occasionally. Our data support ten additional strategies. Four agent types and 6 phases of the process were identified via grounded theory analysis. Six general themes or clusters emerged covering factors that intersect to define the degree of handover smoothness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Including phases and agents in conceptualizations of handovers can help target interventions to improve patient safety. The conceptual model also clarifies unique handover considerations for the emergency department setting.</p

Echinoderms have bilateral tendencies

Echinoderms take many forms of symmetry. Pentameral symmetry is the major form and the other forms are derived from it. However, the ancestors of echinoderms, which originated from Cambrian period, were believed to be bilaterians. Echinoderm larvae are bilateral during their early development. During embryonic development of starfish and sea urchins, the position and the developmental sequence of each arm are fixed, implying an auxological anterior/posterior axis. Starfish also possess the Hox gene cluster, which controls symmetrical development. Overall, echinoderms are thought to have a bilateral developmental mechanism and process. In this article, we focused on adult starfish behaviors to corroborate its bilateral tendency. We weighed their central disk and each arm to measure the position of the center of gravity. We then studied their turning-over behavior, crawling behavior and fleeing behavior statistically to obtain the center of frequency of each behavior. By joining the center of gravity and each center of frequency, we obtained three behavioral symmetric planes. These behavioral bilateral tendencies might be related to the A/P axis during the embryonic development of the starfish. It is very likely that the adult starfish is, to some extent, bilaterian because it displays some bilateral propensity and has a definite behavioral symmetric plane. The remainder of bilateral symmetry may have benefited echinoderms during their evolution from the Cambrian period to the present

Potential geographic distribution of Hantavirus reservoirs in Brazil

Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome is an emerging zoonosis in Brazil. Human infections occur via inhalation of aerosolized viral particles from excreta of infected wild rodents. Necromys lasiurus and Oligoryzomys nigripes appear to be the main reservoirs of hantavirus in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. We estimated and compared ecological niches of the two rodent species, and analyzed environmental factors influencing their occurrence, to understand the geography of hantavirus transmission. N. lasiurus showed a wide potential distribution in Brazil, in the Cerrado, Caatinga, and Atlantic Forest biomes. Highest climate suitability for O. nigripes was observed along the Brazilian Atlantic coast. Maximum temperature in the warmest months and annual precipitation were the variables that most influence the distributions of N. lasiurus and O. nigripes, respectively. Models based on occurrences of infected rodents estimated a broader area of risk for hantavirus transmission in southeastern and southern Brazil, coinciding with the distribution of human cases of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. We found no demonstrable environmental differences among occurrence sites for the rodents and for human cases of hantavirus. However, areas of northern and northeastern Brazil are also apparently suitable for the two species, without broad coincidence with human cases. Modeling of niches and distributions of rodent reservoirs indicates potential for transmission of hantavirus across virtually all of Brazil outside the Amazon Basin

Dynamic Interchanging Native States of Lymphotactin Examined by SNAPP-MS

The human chemokine lymphotactin (Ltn) is a remarkable protein that interconverts between two unrelated native state structures in the condensed phase. It is possible to shift the equilibrium toward either conformation with selected sequence substitutions. Previous results have shown that a disulfide-stabilized variant preferentially adopts the canonical chemokine fold (Ltn10), while a single amino acid change (W55D) favors the novel Ltn40 dimeric structure. Selective noncovalent adduct protein probing (SNAPP) is a recently developed method for examining solution phase protein structure. Herein, it is demonstrated that SNAPP can easily recognize and distinguish between the Ltn10 and Ltn40 states of lymphotactin in aqueous solution. The effects of organic denaturants, acid, and disulfide bond reduction and blocking were also examined using SNAPP for the CC3, W55D, and wild type proteins. Only disulfide reduction was shown to significantly perturb the protein, and resulted in considerably decreased adduct formation consistent with loss of tertiary/secondary structure. Cold denaturation experiments demonstrated that wild-type Ltn is the most temperature sensitive of the three proteins. Examination of the higher charge states in all experiments, which are presumed to represent transition state structures between Ltn-10 and Ltn-40, reveals increased 18C6 attachment relative to the more folded structures. This observation is consistent with increased competitive intramolecular hydrogen bonding, which may guide the transition. Experiments examining the gas phase structures revealed that all three proteins can be structurally distinguished in the gas phase. In addition, the gas phase experiments enabled identification of preferred adduct binding sites

CMB Telescopes and Optical Systems

The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is now firmly established as a fundamental and essential probe of the geometry, constituents, and birth of the Universe. The CMB is a potent observable because it can be measured with precision and accuracy. Just as importantly, theoretical models of the Universe can predict the characteristics of the CMB to high accuracy, and those predictions can be directly compared to observations. There are multiple aspects associated with making a precise measurement. In this review, we focus on optical components for the instrumentation used to measure the CMB polarization and temperature anisotropy. We begin with an overview of general considerations for CMB observations and discuss common concepts used in the community. We next consider a variety of alternatives available for a designer of a CMB telescope. Our discussion is guided by the ground and balloon-based instruments that have been implemented over the years. In the same vein, we compare the arc-minute resolution Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT). CMB interferometers are presented briefly. We conclude with a comparison of the four CMB satellites, Relikt, COBE, WMAP, and Planck, to demonstrate a remarkable evolution in design, sensitivity, resolution, and complexity over the past thirty years.Comment: To appear in: Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems (PSSS), Volume 1: Telescopes and Instrumentatio

Informatics Technology Mimics Ecology: Dense, Mutualistic Collaboration Networks Are Associated with Higher Publication Rates

Information technology (IT) adoption enables biomedical research. Publications are an accepted measure of research output, and network models can describe the collaborative nature of publication. In particular, ecological networks can serve as analogies for publication and technology adoption. We constructed network models of adoption of bioinformatics programming languages and health IT (HIT) from the literature

Adaptive Evolution of the Myo6 Gene in Old World Fruit Bats (Family: Pteropodidae)

PMCID: PMC3631194This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Toxicology evaluation of radiotracer doses of 3'-deoxy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) for human PET imaging: Laboratory analysis of serial blood samples and comparison to previously investigated therapeutic FLT doses

Background: 18F-FLT is a novel PET radiotracer which has demonstrated a strong potential utility for imaging cellular proliferation in human tumors in vivo. To facilitate future regulatory approval of 18F-FLT for clinical use, we wished to demonstrate the safety of radiotracer doses of 18F-FLT administered to human subjects, by: 1) performing an evaluation of the toxicity of 18F-FLT administered in radiotracer amounts for PET imaging, 2) comparing a radiotracer dose of FLT to clinical trial doses of FLT. Methods: Twenty patients gave consent to a 18F-FLT injection, subsequent PET imaging, and blood draws. For each patient, blood samples were collected at multiple times before and after 18F-FLT PET. These samples were assayed for a comprehensive metabolic panel, total bilirubin, complete blood and platelet counts. 18F-FLT doses of 2.59 MBq/Kg with a maximal dose of 185 MBq (5 mCi) were used. Blood time-activity curves were generated for each patient from dynamic PET data, providing a measure of the area under the FLT concentration curve for 12 hours (AUC12). Results: No side effects were reported. Only albumin, red blood cell count, hematocrit and hemoglobin showed a statistically significant decrease over time. These changes are attributed to IV hydration during PET imaging and to subsequent blood loss at surgery. The AUC12 values estimated from imaging data are not significantly different from those found from serial measures of FLT blood concentrations (p = 0.66). The blood samples-derived AUC12 values range from 0.232 ng*h/mL to 1.339 ng*h/mL with a mean of 0.802 � 0.303 ng*h/mL. This corresponds to 0.46% to 2.68% of the lowest and least toxic clinical trial AUC12 of 50 ng*h/mL reported by Flexner et al (1994). This single injection also corresponds to a nearly 3,000-fold lower cumulative dose than in Flexner's twice daily trial. Conclusion: This study shows no evidence of toxicity or complications attributable to 18F-FLT injected intravenously.This study was supported by NIH grant R01 CA115559, 1R01 CA107264, and 1R01 CA80907