Superintegrability in three-dimensional Euclidean space

Potentials for which the corresponding Schrödinger equation is maximally superintegrable in three-dimensional Euclidean space are studied. The quadratic algebra which is associated with each of these potentials is constructed and the bound state wave functions are computed in the separable coordinates

The reaction of cytochrome c with [Fe(EDTA)(H2O)]−

AbstractThe interaction of horse ferricytochrome c with the reagents [Fe(EDTA)(H2O)]− and [Cr(CN)6]3− were studied at pH 7 and 25°C by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Two binding regions near to the heme crevice of cytochrome c were identified. Both regions bound both reagents but they exhibited different selectivities.The relevance of this finding to the electron-transfer function of cytochrome c is discussed

A Deterioration in Hearing is Associated With Functional and Cognitive Impairments, Difficulty With Communication and Greater Health Instability

Objectives: To examine the relationship between hearing deterioration and several health-related outcomes among home care clients in Ontario. Design: Longitudinal analysis was completed for clients with at least two comprehensive assessments. Hearing status, based on a single item, ranged from zero (no impairment) to three (highly impaired). Hearing deterioration was defined as at least a 1-point decline between subsequent assessments. Results: Seven percent experienced a 1-point deterioration in hearing and roughly 1% had a 2/3-point decline. After adjusting for other covariates, increasing age (odds ratio = 1.94; 95% confidence intervals [CIs] = [1.45, 2.61]) and a diagnosis of Alzheimer\u27s disease (1.37; CI = [1.04, 1.80]) and other dementias (1.32; CI = [1.07, 1.63]) increased the risk of a 2/3-point deterioration. Conclusion: These findings can assist home care professionals and policy makers in creating and refining interventions to meet the needs of older adults with hearing difficulties

The Khartoum-Omdurman conurbation : a growing megacity at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile Rivers

Khartoum is one of the largest cities in Africa, located immediately south of the junction of the Blue and White Nile rivers in central Sudan. The growth of the Greater Khartoum-Omdurman conurbation arose \uac\u2013 without a proper urban plan \u2013 from the agricultural wealth created through the completion of three major dams in 1925, 1937 and 1966, and mostly in the last three decades. Urban expansion was enabled by and helped to enhance the major agricultural expansion of the Gezira clay plains located to the south between the lower Blue and White Nile rivers. The confluence of the Blue and White Nile has been a focus of human settlement for at least 8,000 years, initially by semi-sedentary groups with a fishing-hunting-gathering lifestyle and later by Neolithic groups as shown by hundreds of archaeological sites. Today, Khartoum is a desert city and the hottest capital city on Earth, still very vulnerable to floods triggered by intense convectional storms. Such extreme events may become more common in future, representing a major geomorphological hazard in a city developed without urban plans. Moreover, uncontrolled urban and agricultural development is threatening most of the prehistoric cultural heritage of the region

Expanding human variation at PLOS Genetics

The “experiments of nature” that underlie genetics engage all organisms equally: from microbes and slime molds to plants and vertebrates, the inextricable connection between genotype and phenotype lies at the core of our community. That community is remarkably diverse, spanning an array of not only organisms but also approaches and questions; indeed, diversity is one of the main reasons we enjoy contributing to the journal

Guidelines for genome-wide association studies

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revolutionized human genetics. They have led to the identification of thousands of loci that affect both normal variation and susceptibility to disease, and have clarified our understanding of the genetic architecture of complex traits. In just five years, the methodology has moved from extraordinary to commonplace, and with the advent of affordable genome-scale data collection, GWAS and other genomic technologies are being adopted by model organism researchers. As GWAS applications have evolved so too have the community standards that pertain to them. Here we clarify the editorial policy of PLoS Genetics with regard to these guidelines

Interaction of suppressor of cytokine signalling 3 with cavin-1 links SOCS3 function and cavin-1 stability

YesEffective suppression of JAK–STAT signalling by the inducible inhibitor “suppressor of cytokine signalling 3” (SOCS3) is essential for limiting signalling from cytokine receptors. Here we show that cavin-1, a component of caveolae, is a functionally significant SOCS3- interacting protein. Biochemical and confocal imaging demonstrate that SOCS3 localisation to the plasma membrane requires cavin-1. SOCS3 is also critical for cavin-1 stabilisation, such that deletion of SOCS3 reduces the expression of cavin-1 and caveolin-1 proteins, thereby reducing caveola abundance in endothelial cells. Moreover, the interaction of cavin-1 and SOCS3 is essential for SOCS3 function, as loss of cavin-1 enhances cytokine-stimulated STAT3 phosphorylation and abolishes SOCS3-dependent inhibition of IL-6 signalling by cyclic AMP. Together, these findings reveal a new functionally important mechanism linking SOCS3-mediated inhibition of cytokine signalling to localisation at the plasma membrane via interaction with and stabilisation of cavin-1.This work was supported by project grants to T.M.P. from the Chief Scientist Office (ETM/226), British Heart Foundation (PG12/1/ 29276, PG 14/32/30812), and a National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde Research Endowment Fund (2011REFCH08). P.F.P. was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant DK097708. J.J.L.W. was supported by a doctoral training studentship from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Doctoral Training Programme in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Glasgow (BB/F016735/1). N.A. was supported by a Saudi Government PhD Scholarship. This work was also supported in part by equipment grants to T.M.P. from Diabetes UK (BDA 11/0004309) and Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK-EG2016A-3)

First report of Phytophthora capsici in the Lao PDR

Phytophthora capsici is reported for the first time in the Lao PDR. It was isolated from soil collected from the root zone of wilting red chilli (Capsicum annuum) plants in a polyhouse farm in Paksong district of Champasak province. The wilting chilli plants had typical symptoms of infection by P. capsici including root rot and necrosis of the outer cortex of the stem base. The isolate was identified using morphological and molecular markers. A pathogenicity trial demonstrated that the culture was pathogenic to a local cultivar of chilli seedlings

The dual-acting chemotherapeutic agent Alchemix induces cell death independently of ATM and p53

YesTopoisomerase inhibitors are in common use as chemotherapeutic agents although they can display reduced efficacy in chemotherapy-resistant tumours, which have inactivated DNA damage response (DDR) genes, such as ATM and TP53. Here, we characterise the cellular response to the dual-acting agent, Alchemix (ALX), which is a modified anthraquinone that functions as a topoisomerase inhibitor as well as an alkylating agent. We show that ALX induces a robust DDR at nano-molar concentrations and this is mediated primarily through ATR- and DNA-PK- but not ATM-dependent pathways, despite DNA double strand breaks being generated after prolonged exposure to the drug. Interestingly, exposure of epithelial tumour cell lines to ALX in vitro resulted in potent activation of the G2/M checkpoint, which after a prolonged arrest, was bypassed allowing cells to progress into mitosis where they ultimately died by mitotic catastrophe. We also observed effective killing of lymphoid tumour cell lines in vitro following exposure to ALX, although, in contrast, this tended to occur via activation of a p53-independent apoptotic pathway. Lastly, we validate the effectiveness of ALX as a chemotherapeutic agent in vivo by demonstrating its ability to cause a significant reduction in tumour cell growth, irrespective of TP53 status, using a mouse leukaemia xenograft model. Taken together, these data demonstrate that ALX, through its dual action as an alkylating agent and topoisomerase inhibitor, represents a novel anti-cancer agent that could be potentially used clinically to treat refractory or relapsed tumours, particularly those harbouring mutations in DDR genes

Magnetic vortex-like excitations on a sphere

We study magnetic vortex-like solutions lying on the spherical surface. The simplest cylindrically symmetric vortex presents two cores (instead of one, like in open surfaces) with same charge, so repealing each other. However, the net vorticity is computed to vanish in accordance with Gauss theorem. We also address the problem of a flat plane in which a conical, a pseudospherical and a hemispherical segments were incorporated. In this case, if we allow the vortex to move without appreciable deformation in this support, then it is attracted by the conical apex and by the pseudosphere as well, while it is repealed by the hemisphere. This suggests that such surfaces could be viewed as pinning and depinning geometries for those excitations. Spherical harmonics coreless solutions are discussed within some details.Comment: 15 pages, 8 .eps figures, typed in tex. Version accepted in Physics Letters A (2007), please see DOI