Global Journalist: How other countries view the 2020 U.S. election

This October 29, 2020 episode features interviews by Missouri School of Journalism students in Beverly Horvit's International Reporting class with reporters from around the world about the 2020 presidential campaign. The journalists are all alumni of the Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellowship program or the Hubert Humphrey fellowship program

Electrodynamic model of relict radiation scattering by vegetation cover to improve the accuracy of soil moisture measurement by microwave radiometer

The possibilities of electrodynamic model of relict radiation scattering by vegetation cover to improve the accuracy of soil characteristics measurement by microwave radiometer are demonstrated. The dependence of the reflective characteristics of the soil-vegetation system on the type and parameters of vegetation cover is considered. The accuracy of measuring the radio brightness temperature of the soil is estimated depending on the type and characteristics of the vegetation cover

Comparative analysis of novel MGISEQ-2000 sequencing platform vs Illumina HiSeq 2500 for whole-genome sequencing.

The MGISEQ-2000 developed by MGI Tech Co. Ltd. (a subsidiary of the BGI Group) is a new competitor of such next-generation sequencing platforms as NovaSeq and HiSeq (Illumina). Its sequencing principle is based on the DNB and the cPAS technologies, which were also used in the previous version of the BGISEQ-500 device. However, the reagents for MGISEQ-2000 have been refined and the platform utilizes updated software. The cPAS method is an advanced technology based on the cPAL previously created by Complete Genomics. In this paper, the authors compare the results of the whole-genome sequencing of a DNA sample from a Russian female donor performed on MGISEQ-2000 and Illumina HiSeq 2500 (both PE150). Two platforms were compared in terms of sequencing quality, number of errors and performance. Additionally, we performed variant calling using four different software packages: Samtools mpileaup, Strelka2, Sentieon, and GATK. The accuracy of SNP detection was similar in the data generated by MGISEQ-2000 and HiSeq 2500, which was used as a reference. At the same time, a separate indel analysis of the overall error rate revealed similar FPR values and lower sensitivity. It may be concluded with confidence that the data generated by the analyzed sequencing systems is characterized by comparable magnitudes of error and that MGISEQ-2000 and HiSeq 2500 can be used interchangeably for similar tasks like whole genome sequencing

Microstructural Evolution and Phase Formation in 2nd-Generation Refractory-Based High Entropy Alloys

Refractory-based high entropy alloys (HEAs) of the 2nd-generation type are new intensively-studied materials with a high potential for structural high-temperature applications. This paper presents investigation results on microstructural evolution and phase formation in as-cast and subsequently heat-treated HEAs at various temperature-time regimes. Microstructural examination was performed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with the energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mode of electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and qualitative X-ray diffraction (XRD). The primary evolutionary trend observed was the tendency of Zr to gradually segregate as the temperature rises, while all the other elements eventually dissolve in the BCC solid solution phase once the onset of Laves phase complex decomposition is reached. The performed thermodynamic modelling was based on the Calculation of Phase Diagrams method (CALPHAD). The BCC A2 solid solution phase is predicted by the model to contain increasing amounts of Cr as the temperature rises, which is in perfect agreement with the actual results obtained by SEM. However, the model was not able to predict the existence of the Zr-rich phase or the tendency of Zr to segregate and form its own solid solution—most likely as a result of the Zr segregation trend not being an equilibrium phenomenon

Metabolomic Analysis of Three Mollicute Species

<div><p>We present a systematic study of three bacterial species that belong to the class Mollicutes, the smallest and simplest bacteria, <i>Spiroplasma melliferum</i>, <i>Mycoplasma gallisepticum</i>, and <i>Acholeplasma laidlawii</i>. To understand the difference in the basic principles of metabolism regulation and adaptation to environmental conditions in the three species, we analyzed the metabolome of these bacteria. Metabolic pathways were reconstructed using the proteogenomic annotation data provided by our lab. The results of metabolome, proteome and genome profiling suggest a fundamental difference in the adaptation of the three closely related Mollicute species to stress conditions. As the transaldolase is not annotated in Mollicutes, we propose variants of the pentose phosphate pathway catalyzed by annotated enzymes for three species. For metabolite detection we employed high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. We used liquid chromatography method - hydrophilic interaction chromatography with silica column - as it effectively separates highly polar cellular metabolites prior to their detection by mass spectrometer.</p></div

Terpenoid backbone biosynthesis pathway.

<p>Metabolites involved in this pathway are shown as circles; enzymes are shown as diamonds; and compounds that we detected are marked in green.</p

Reconstructed metabolic map of <i>A. laidlawii</i>.

<p>The pathways common for three Mollicute species are represented. Abbreviations and symbols are given in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0089312#pone-0089312-g001" target="_blank">figure 1</a>.</p

Reconstructed metabolic map of <i>M. gallisepticum</i>.

<p>The pathways common for three Mollicute species are represented. Metabolites are shown as circles; compounds identified by LC-MS are marked in green, other predicted compounds are marked in red. Proteins that catalyze metabolic reactions are shown as diamonds, and their ID numbers are indicated. Enzymatic activities, which are not associated with annotated proteins, are indicated in italics. Abbreviations: D-F-6-P - D-fructose-6-phosphate; D-F-1,6-PP - D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate; D-S-1,7-PP - D-sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphate; D-S-7-P - D-sedoheptulose-7-phosphate; GAP - glyceraldehyde-3-P).</p