Rapid communication: Complete nucleotide sequence of the chicken prolactin gene

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Microstructure of the deep level defect E1/E2 in 6H silicon carbide (Abstract)

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Deep sequencing of PRRSV isolates: rapid and large-scale characterization of viral genomes

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a single stranded, positive sense RNA virus with a genome size of approximately 15 kb. Much of the genetic characterization or viral genotyping of PRRSV isolates is limited to one or two viral genes only (ORF5 and/or ORF7) for a number of reasons, for example: (1) characterizing one or two ORFs is sufficient for diagnostics; (2) genome characterization is laborious because traditional (Sanger) sequencing yields only a single sequence of 800-1000 bases per reaction; (3) large-scale genome characterization is time-consuming and costly. Collectively, this hinders the study of PRRSV genomic evolution at different levels (host, regional, and global). We demonstrate here the use of 454 technology to rapidly sequence PRRSV genomic nucleic acid from different sources (cell culture and swine tissue), genotypes (type 1 and type 2), and genome structure (non-deletion vs. deletion variants). Samples (n=16) were multiplexed to bring down cost per genome sequence. Assembly of sample specific reads resulted in a single contig in almost all instances (15 out of 16). Average genome coverage was 96.7% with reference to prototype isolates (Lelystad virus for type 1 and ATCC VR2332 for type 2). Average sequence depth was 405 reads per nucleotide position. This high sequence depth allowed characterization of variants from quasispecies that occurred at frequencies even lower than 1%. In summary, next generation sequencing technology offers unparalleled opportunity to quickly and efficiently characterize near complete length PRRSV genomes in an economical manner. This allows experiments to be designed with considerations to viral genomic evolution rather than those with limited insights from select viral genes only.postprin

Future Circular Collider Conceptual Design Report Volume 1

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.We review the physics opportunities of the Future Circular Collider, covering its e+e-, pp, ep and heavy ion programmes. We describe the measurement capabilities of each FCC component, addressing the study of electroweak, Higgs and strong interactions, the top quark and flavour, as well as phenomena beyond the Standard Model. We highlight the synergy and complementarity of the different colliders, which will contribute to a uniquely coherent and ambitious research programme, providing an unmatchable combination of precision and sensitivity to new physics

Genomic insights into high exopolysaccharide-producing dairy starter bacterium Streptococcus thermophilus ASCC 1275.

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DNA fingerprinting and cloning of hypervariable minisatellite repeats in salmonids

We used heterologous jeffreys' 33.6 core sequence and microsatellites (CAC)(5) and (CA)(12) as probes and compared them with probes based on the minisatellite sequences from tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in fingerprinting assays. DNA fingerprints generated with the Jeffreys' 33.6 core sequence and the microsatellite (CAC)(5) and (CA)(12) probes showed complex profiles with high background, but DNA fingerprints using the tilapia and Atlantic salmon probes showed clear, less complex, informative, individual-specific DNA fingerprints suitable for analysis. We cloned and sequenced homologous repetitive sequences using a novel approach of creating a chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) genomic DNA library with enriched low C(0)t DNA repeats for the development of DNA probes. The four types of repeats identified and sequenced were (CT)(n) and three Alu-like sequences. We generated DNA fingerprints using one of the minisatellite sequences as a probe. This minisatellite sequence was shown to be species specific because it is abundant in chinook and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) genomes, but not in Atlantic salmon. These probes will provide us with the tools to study pedigree and linkage analysis, paternity testing, breeding programs, and the analysis of genetic structure within populations for aquaculture and fisheries research.published_or_final_versio

Electron-Ion Collisions at the LHeC and FCC-he

Publisher Copyright: © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).The LHeC and the FCC-he will open a new realm in our understanding of nuclear structure and the dynamics in processes involving nuclei, in an unexplored kinematic domain. We review some of the recent studies as shown in the update of the 2012 LHeC CDR, including the determination of nuclear parton densities in the framework of global fits and for a single nucleus, inclusive and exclusive diffraction and the unique capabilities of these high-energy colliders for probing QCD dynamics in the non-linear regime of phase space.Peer reviewe

Zn-vacancy related defects in ZnO grown by pulsed laser deposition

Undoped and Ga-doped ZnO (002) films were grown c-sapphire using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. Znvacancy related defects in the films were studied by different positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). These included Doppler broadening spectroscopy (DBS) employing a continuous monenergetic positron beam, and positron lifetime spectroscopy using a pulsed monoenergetic positron beam attached to an electron linear accelerator. Two kinds of Znvacancy related defects namely a monovacancy and a divacancy were identified in the films. In as-grown undoped samples grown with relatively low oxygen pressure P(O2)≤1.3 Pa, monovacancy is the dominant Zn-vacancy related defect. Annealing these samples at 900 oC induced Zn out-diffusion into the substrate and converted the monovacancy to divacancy. For the undoped samples grown with high P(O2)=5 Pa irrespective of the annealing temperature and the as-grown degenerate Ga-doped sample (n=1020 cm-3), divacancy is the dominant Zn-vacancy related defect. The clustering of vacancy will be discussed.published_or_final_versio

Tumor Grafting Induces Changes of Gut Microbiota in Athymic Nude Mice in the Presence and Absence of Medicinal Gynostemma Saponins

Recent findings have revealed that gut microbiota plays a substantial role in modulating diseases such as autism, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, and cancer that occur at sites distant to the gut. Athymic nude mice have been employed for tumorigenic research for decades; however, the relationships between the gut microbiome and host’s response in drug treatment to the grafted tumors have not been explored. In this study, we analyzed the fecal microbiome of nonxenograft and xenograft nude mice treated with phytosaponins from a popular medicinal plant, Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Gp). Analysis of enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR data showed that the microbiota profile of xenograft mice departed from that of the nonxenograft mice. After ten days of treatment with Gp saponins (GpS), the microbiota of the treated mice was closer to the microbiota at Day 0 before the implantation of the tumor. Data obtained from 16S pyrosequencing of fecal samples reiterates the differences in microbiome between the nonxenograft and xenograft mice. GpS markedly increased the relative abundance of Clostridium cocleatum and Bacteroides acidifaciens, for which the beneficial effects on the host have been well documented. This study, for the first time, characterizes the properties of gut microbiome in nude mice responding to tumor implant and drug treatment. We also demonstrate that dietary saponins such as GpS can potentially regulate the gut microbial ecosystem by increasing the number of symbionts. Interestingly, this regulation of the gut ecosystem might, at least in part, be responsible for or contribute to the anticancer effect of GpS.published_or_final_versio