517 research outputs found
Type III IFN Receptor Expression and Functional Characterisation in the Pteropid Bat, Pteropus alecto
Bats are rich reservoir hosts for a variety of viruses, many of which are capable of spillover to other susceptible mammals with lethal consequences. The ability of bats to remain asymptomatic to viral infection may be due to the rapid control of viral replication very early in the immune response through innate antiviral mechanisms. Type I and III interferons (IFNs) represent the first line of defence against viral infection in mammals, with both families of IFNs present in pteropid bats. To obtain further insight into the type III IFN system in bats, we describe the characterization of the type III IFN receptor (IFNλR) in the black flying fox, P. alecto with the characterization of IFNλR1 and IL10R2 genes that make up the type III IFN receptor complex. The bat IFNλR complex has a wide tissue distribution and at the cellular level, both epithelial and immune cells are responsive to IFN-λ treatment. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the bat IFNλR1 chain acts as a functional receptor. To our knowledge, this report represents the first description of an IFN receptor in any species of bat. The responsiveness of bat cells to IFN-λ support a role for the type III IFN system by epithelial and immune cells in bats
A critical comparison of technologies for a plant genome sequencing project
BACKGROUND: A high-quality genome sequence of any model organism is an essential starting point for genetic and other studies. Older clone-based methods are slow and expensive, whereas faster, cheaper short-read-only assemblies can be incomplete and highly fragmented, which minimizes their usefulness. The last few years have seen the introduction of many new technologies for genome assembly. These new technologies and associated new algorithms are typically benchmarked on microbial genomes or, if they scale appropriately, on larger (e.g., human) genomes. However, plant genomes can be much more repetitive and larger than the human genome, and plant biochemistry often makes obtaining high-quality DNA that is free from contaminants difficult. Reflecting their challenging nature, we observe that plant genome assembly statistics are typically poorer than for vertebrates. RESULTS: Here, we compare Illumina short read, Pacific Biosciences long read, 10x Genomics linked reads, Dovetail Hi-C, and BioNano Genomics optical maps, singly and combined, in producing high-quality long-range genome assemblies of the potato species Solanum verrucosum. We benchmark the assemblies for completeness and accuracy, as well as DNA compute requirements and sequencing costs. CONCLUSIONS: The field of genome sequencing and assembly is reaching maturity, and the differences we observe between assemblies are surprisingly small. We expect that our results will be helpful to other genome projects, and that these datasets will be used in benchmarking by assembly algorithm developers.</p
Lysophosphatidic Acid Induces Neointima Formation Through PPARγ Activation
Neointimal lesions are characterized by accumulation of cells within the arterial wall and are a prelude to atherosclerotic disease. Here we report that a brief exposure to either alkyl ether analogs of the growth factor–like phospholipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), products generated during the oxidative modification of low density lipoprotein, or to unsaturated acyl forms of LPA induce progressive formation of neointima in vivo in a rat carotid artery model. This effect is completely inhibited by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ antagonist GW9662 and mimicked by PPARγ agonists Rosiglitazone and 1-O-hexadecyl-2-azeleoyl-phosphatidylcholine. In contrast, stearoyl-oxovaleryl phosphatidylcholine, a PPARα agonist and polypeptide epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor failed to elicit neointima. The structure-activity relationship for neointima induction by LPA analogs in vivo is identical to that of PPARγ activation in vitro and disparate from that of LPA G protein–coupled receptor activation. Neointima-inducing LPA analogs up-regulated the CD36 scavenger receptor in vitro and in vivo and elicited dedifferentiation of cultured vascular smooth muscle cells that was prevented by GW9662. These results suggest that selected LPA analogs are important novel endogenous PPARγ ligands capable of mediating vascular remodeling and that activation of the nuclear transcription factor PPARγ is both necessary and sufficient for neointima formation by components of oxidized low density lipoprotein
Language and cultural capital in school experience of Polish children in Scotland
This article addresses the complex relationship between migration and education in the context of recent intra-European labour mobility. It considers how this mobility impacts the education and life chances of migrant students attending schools in Scotland, UK. By examining the experiences of Polish migrant children and youth at schools in Scotland, the article engages with the issues of language, cultural capital transferability and social positioning. Drawing on qualitative data from 65 in-depth interviews with school children aged 5–17 years, their parents and teachers, as well as observations in the contexts of school and home, the article points to a range of factors affecting the transition of migrant pupils to new schools and social environments
The Herschel Stripe 82 Survey (HerS): maps and early catalog
We present the first set of maps and band-merged catalog from the Herschel Stripe 82 Survey (HerS). Observations at 250, 350, and 500μm were taken with the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver instrument aboard the Herschel Space Observatory. HerS covers 79deg 2 along the SDSS Stripe 82 to an average depth of 13.0, 12.9, and 14.8mJybeam −1 (including confusion) at 250, 350, and 500μm, respectively. HerS was designed to measure correlations with external tracers of the dark matter density field—either point-like (i.e., galaxies selected from radio to X-ray) or extended (i.e., clusters and gravitational lensing)—in order to measure the bias and redshift distribution of intensities of infrared-emitting dusty star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei. By locating HerS in Stripe 82, we maximize the overlap with available and upcoming cosmological surveys. The band-merged catalog contains 3.3 × 10 4 sources detected at a significance of ?3σ (including confusion noise). The maps and catalog are available at http://www.astro.caltech.edu/hers/
Measurement of using Partila Reconstruction of
We present a measurement of the absolute branching fraction for using the reconstruction of the decay chain , where only the lepton and the low-momentum pion from
the are detected. With data collected by the CLEO II detector at the
Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we have determined .Comment: 10 page postscript file, postscript file also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Two-Body B Meson Decays to and -- Observation of {'}K$
In a sample of 6.6 million produced B mesons we have observed decays B ->
eta' K, with branching fractions BR(B+ -> eta' K+ = 6.5 +1.5 -1.4 +- 0.9) x
and BR(B0 -> eta' K0 = 4.7 +2.7 -2.0 +- 0.9) x . We have
searched with comparable sensitivity for 17 related decays to final states
containing an eta or eta' meson accompanied by a single particle or low-lying
resonance. Our upper limits for these constrain theoretical interpretations of
the B -> eta' K signal.Comment: 12 page postscript file, postscript file also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Observation of Two Narrow States Decaying into and
We report the first observation of two narrow charmed strange baryons
decaying to and , respectively, using data from
the CLEO II detector at CESR. We interpret the observed signals as the
and , the symmetric partners
of the well-established antisymmetric and .
The mass differences and
are measured to be and
, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, postscript file also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Observation of Exclusive Two-Body B Decays to Kaons and Pions
We have studied two-body charmless hadronic decays of B mesons into the final
states , , and . Using 3.3 million pairs
collected with the CLEO-II detector, we have made the first observation of the
decays , , and the sum of and decays (an average over charge-conjugate
states is always implied). We place upper limits on branching fractions for the
remaining decay modes.Comment: 9 page postscript file, postscript file also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
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