Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), General Electric Phase 1. Volume 3: Energy Conversion subsystems and components. Part 2: Primary heat input systems and heat exchangers

Primary heat input systems and heat exchangers were evaluated for advanced energy conversion systems. Results are presented and discussed

A longitudinal and cross-sectional study of Epstein-Barr virus DNA load: a possible predictor of AIDS-related lymphoma in HIV-infected patients

Introduction: HIV-infected patients are more than 100-fold greater at risk for developing malignant AIDS-related lymphoma (ARL) compared to the general population. Most ARLs are EBV related. The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether a high peak EBV DNA load in HIV-infected patients is predictive of ARL, including classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Methods: From an ongoing prospective HIV positive cohort study, we conducted a case-control study between 2004 and 2016 among patients from whom at least one EBV DNA load in serum or plasma was available. We compared peak EBV DNA load between patients with (49 cases) and without ARL (156 controls). Results: The geometric mean of the peak EBV DNA load measured before diagnosis of malignant lymphoma was 52,565 IU/mL in EBER-positive lymphoma patients vs. 127 IU/mL in controls (p 100,000 IU/mL have an increased risk for diagnosis of malignant lymphoma compared to patients with EBV DNA loads ≤100,000 IU/mL (adjusted OR 12.53; 95%CI: 4.08; 38.42). In the longitudinal study, including 13 patients with at least three left-over plasma samples available for retesting, measurements of EBV-DNA during the preceding 12 months proved to be of poor value for predicting subsequent lymphoma diagnosis. Conclusions: A EBV DNA load >100,000 IU/mL can be useful in clinical setting to accelerate time to diagnosis and treatment. EBV-DNA loads in samples taken during the preceding year of ARL diagnosis showed to be of poor predictive value

Cigarette Smoke Upregulates Rat Coronary Artery Endothelin Receptors In Vivo

Background: Cigarette smoking is a strong cardiovascular risk factor and endothelin (ET) receptors are related to coronary artery diseases. The present study established an in vivo secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure model and investigated the hypothesis that cigarette smoke induces ET receptor upregulation in rat coronary arteries and its possible underlying mechanisms. Methodology/Principal Findings: Rats were exposed to SHS for 200 min daily for 8 weeks. The coronary arteries were isolated and examined. The vasoconstriction was studied by a sensitive myograph. The expression of mRNA and protein for receptors was examined by real-time PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence. Compared to fresh air exposure, SHS increased contractile responses mediated by endothelin type A (ETA) and type B (ETB) receptors in coronary arteries. In parallel, the expression of mRNA and protein for ETA and ETB receptors of smoke exposed rats were higher than that of animals exposed to fresh air, suggesting that SHS upregulates ET A and ET B receptors in coronary arteries in vivo. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the enhanced receptor expression was localized to the smooth muscle cells of coronary arteries. The protein levels of phosphorylated (p)-Raf-1 and p-ERK1/2 in smoke exposed rats were significantly higher than in control rats, demonstrating that SHS induces the activation of the Raf/ERK/MAPK pathway. Treatment with Raf-1 inhibitor GW5074 suppressed SHS-induced enhanced contraction mediated by ET A receptors, and inhibited th

The 3-Base Periodicity and Codon Usage of Coding Sequences Are Correlated with Gene Expression at the Level of Transcription Elongation

Background: Gene transcription is regulated by DNA transcriptional regulatory elements, promoters and enhancers that are located outside the coding regions. Here, we examine the characteristic 3-base periodicity of the coding sequences and analyse its correlation with the genome-wide transcriptional profile of yeast. Principal Findings: The analysis of coding sequences by a new class of indices proposed here identified two different sources of 3-base periodicity: the codon frequency and the codon sequence. In exponentially growing yeast cells, the codon-frequency component of periodicity accounts for 71.9 % of the variability of the cellular mRNA by a strong association with the density of elongating mRNA polymerase II complexes. The mRNA abundance explains most of the correlation between the codon-frequency component of periodicity and protein levels. Furthermore, pyrimidine-ending codons of the four-fold degenerate small amino acids alanine, glycine and valine are associated with genes with double the transcription rate of those associated with purine-ending codons. Conclusions: We demonstrate that the 3-base periodicity of coding sequences is higher than expected by the codon usage frequency (CUF) and that its components, associated with codon bias and amino acid composition, are correlated with gene expression, principally at the level of transcription elongation. This indicates a role of codon sequences in maximising the transcription efficiency in exponentially growing yeast cells. Moreover, the results contrast with the common Darwinia

Preclinical carotid atherosclerosis in patients with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), type 2 diabetes and classical type 1 diabetes

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.This project was funded by Grants Nos. PI12/00183 and PI15/00625, both included in Plan Nacional de I + D + I, and co-financed by Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdireccion General de Evaluacion, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). CIBER of Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM) is an initiative from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain

Synonymous but not the same: the causes and consequences of codon bias

Despite their name, synonymous mutations have significant consequences for cellular processes in all taxa. As a result, an understanding of codon bias is central to fields as diverse as molecular evolution and biotechnology. Although recent advances in sequencing and synthetic biology have helped resolve longstanding questions about codon bias, they have also uncovered striking patterns that suggest new hypotheses about protein synthesis. Ongoing work to quantify the dynamics of initiation and elongation is as important for understanding natural synonymous variation as it is for designing transgenes in applied contexts