Identification of novel subgroup a variants with enhanced receptor binding and replicative capacity in primary isolates of anaemogenic strains of feline leukaemia virus

<b>BACKGROUND:</b> The development of anaemia in feline leukaemia virus (FeLV)-infected cats is associated with the emergence of a novel viral subgroup, FeLV-C. FeLV-C arises from the subgroup that is transmitted, FeLV-A, through alterations in the amino acid sequence of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the envelope glycoprotein that result in a shift in the receptor usage and the cell tropism of the virus. The factors that influence the transition from subgroup A to subgroup C remain unclear, one possibility is that a selective pressure in the host drives the acquisition of mutations in the RBD, creating A/C intermediates with enhanced abilities to interact with the FeLV-C receptor, FLVCR. In order to understand further the emergence of FeLV-C in the infected cat, we examined primary isolates of FeLV-C for evidence of FeLV-A variants that bore mutations consistent with a gradual evolution from FeLV-A to FeLV-C.<p></p> <b>RESULTS:</b> Within each isolate of FeLV-C, we identified variants that were ostensibly subgroup A by nucleic acid sequence comparisons, but which bore mutations in the RBD. One such mutation, N91D, was present in multiple isolates and when engineered into a molecular clone of the prototypic FeLV-A (Glasgow-1), enhanced replication was noted in feline cells. Expression of the N91D Env on murine leukaemia virus (MLV) pseudotypes enhanced viral entry mediated by the FeLV-A receptor THTR1 while soluble FeLV-A Env bearing the N91D mutation bound more efficiently to mouse or guinea pig cells bearing the FeLV-A and -C receptors. Long-term in vitro culture of variants bearing the N91D substitution in the presence of anti-FeLV gp70 antibodies did not result in the emergence of FeLV-C variants, suggesting that additional selective pressures in the infected cat may drive the subsequent evolution from subgroup A to subgroup C.<p></p> <b>CONCLUSIONS:</b> Our data support a model in which variants of FeLV-A, bearing subtle differences in the RBD of Env, may be predisposed towards enhanced replication in vivo and subsequent conversion to FeLV-C. The selection pressures in vivo that drive the emergence of FeLV-C in a proportion of infected cats remain to be established

A Non-Destructive, Tuneable Method to Isolate Live Cells for High-Speed AFM Analysis

Suitable immobilisation of microorganisms and single cells is key for high-resolution topographical imaging and study of mechanical properties with atomic force microscopy (AFM) under physiologically relevant conditions. Sample preparation techniques must be able to withstand the forces exerted by the Z range-limited cantilever tip, and not negatively affect the sample surface for data acquisition. Here, we describe an inherently flexible methodology, utilising the high-resolution three-dimensional based printing technique of multiphoton polymerisation to rapidly generate bespoke arrays for cellular AFM analysis. As an example, we present data collected from live Emiliania huxleyi cells, unicellular microalgae, imaged by contact mode High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy (HS-AFM), including one cell that was imaged continuously for over 90 min

Universal scaling relation in high-temperature superconductors

Scaling laws express a systematic and universal simplicity among complex systems in nature. For example, such laws are of enormous significance in biology. Scaling relations are also important in the physical sciences. The seminal 1986 discovery of high transition-temperature (high-T_c) superconductivity in cuprate materials has sparked an intensive investigation of these and related complex oxides, yet the mechanism for superconductivity is still not agreed upon. In addition, no universal scaling law involving such fundamental properties as T_c and the superfluid density \rho_s, a quantity indicative of the number of charge carriers in the superconducting state, has been discovered. Here we demonstrate that the scaling relation \rho_s \propto \sigma_{dc} T_c, where the conductivity \sigma_{dc} characterizes the unidirectional, constant flow of electric charge carriers just above T_c, universally holds for a wide variety of materials and doping levels. This surprising unifying observation is likely to have important consequences for theories of high-T_c superconductivity.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

Compensated right ventricular function of the onset of pulmonary hypertension in a rat model depends on chamber remodeling and contractile augmentation.

Right-ventricular function is a good indicator of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) prognosis; however, how the right ventricle (RV) adapts to the pressure overload is not well understood. Here, we aimed at characterizing the time course of RV early remodeling and discriminate the contribution of ventricular geometric remodeling and intrinsic changes in myocardial mechanical properties in a monocrotaline (MCT) animal model. In a longitudinal study of PAH, ventricular morphology and function were assessed weekly during the first four weeks after MCT exposure. Using invasive measurements of RV pressure and volume, heart performance was evaluated at end of systole and diastole to quantify contractility (end-systolic elastance) and chamber stiffness (end-diastolic elastance). To distinguish between morphological and intrinsic mechanisms, a computational model of the RV was developed and used to determine the level of prediction when accounting for wall masses and unloaded volume measurements changes. By four weeks, mean pulmonary arterial pressure and elastance rose significantly. RV pressures rose significantly after the second week accompanied by significant RV hypertrophy, but RV stroke volume and cardiac output were maintained. The model analysis suggested that, after two weeks, this compensation was only possible due to a significant increase in the intrinsic inotropy of RV myocardium. We conclude that this MCT-PAH rat is a model of RV compensation during the first month after treatment, where geometric remodeling on EDPVR and increased myocardial contractility on ESPVR are the major mechanisms by which stroke volume is preserved in the setting of elevated pulmonary arterial pressure. The mediators of this compensation might themselves promote longer-term adverse remodeling and decompensation in this animal model

Associations between the Brief Assessment of Alcohol Demand (BAAD) questionnaire and alcohol use disorder severity in UK samples of student and community drinkers

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordValue based choice and compulsion theories of addiction offer distinct explanations for the persistence of alcohol use despite harms. Choice theory argues that problematic drinkers ascribe such high value to alcohol that costs are outweighed, whereas compulsion theory argues that problematic drinkers discount costs in decision making. The current study evaluated these predictions by testing whether alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptom severity (indexed by the AUDIT) was more strongly associated with the intensity item (maximum alcohol consumption if free, indexing alcohol value) compared to the breakpoint item (maximum expenditure on a single drink, indexing sensitivity to monetary costs) of the Brief Assessment of Alcohol Demand (BAAD) questionnaire, in student (n = 579) and community (n = 120) drinkers. The community sample showed greater AUD than the student sample (p = .004). In both samples, AUD severity correlated with intensity (students, r = 0.63; community, r = 0.47), but not with breakpoint (students, r = −0.01; community, r = 0.12). Similarly, multiple regression analyses indicated that AUD severity was independently associated with intensity (student, ΔR2 < 0.20, p < .001; community, ΔR2 = 0.09, p = .001) but not breakpoint (student, ΔR2 = 0.003, p = .118; community ΔR2 = 0.01, p = .294). There was no difference between samples in the strength of these associations. The value ascribed to alcohol may play a more important role in AUD severity than discounting of alcohol-associated costs (compulsivity), and there is no apparent difference between student and community drinkers in the contribution of these two mechanisms.Medical Research Council (MRC)Alcohol Research U

Resection of the liver for colorectal carcinoma metastases - A multi-institutional study of long-term survivors

In this review of a collected series of patients undergoing hepatic resection for colorectal metastases, 100 patients were found to have survived greater than five years from the time of resection. Of these 100 long-term survivors, 71 remain disease-free through the last follow-up, 19 recurred prior to five years, and ten recurred after five years. Patient characteristics that may have contributed to survival were examined. Procedures performed included five trisegmentectomies, 32 lobectomies, 16 left lateral segmentectomies, and 45 wedge resections. The margin of resection was recorded in 27 patients, one of whom had a positive margin, nine of whom had a less than or equal to 1-cm margin, and 17 of whom had a greater than 1-cm margin. Eighty-one patients had a solitary metastasis to the liver, 11 patients had two metastases, one patient had three metastases, and four patients had four metastases. Thirty patients had Stage C primary carcinoma, 40 had Stage B primary carcinoma, and one had Stage A primarycarcinoma. The disease-free interval from the time of colon resection to the time of liver resection was less than one year in 65 patients, and greater than one year in 34 patients. Three patients had bilobar metastases. Four of the patients had extrahepatic disease resected simultaneously with the liver resection. Though several contraindications to hepatic resection have been proposed in the past, five-year survival has been found in patients with extrahepatic disease resected simultaneously, patients with bilobar metastases, patients with multiple metastases, and patients with positive margins. Five-year disease-free survivors are also present in each of these subsets. It is concluded that five-year survival is possible in the presence of reported contraindications to resection, and therefore that the decision to resect the liver must be individualized. © 1988 American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons

Accounting for risk in valuing forest carbon offsets

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Forests can sequester carbon dioxide, thereby reducing atmospheric concentrations and slowing global warming. In the U.S., forest carbon stocks have increased as a result of regrowth following land abandonment and in-growth due to fire suppression, and they currently sequester approximately 10% of annual US emissions. This ecosystem service is recognized in greenhouse gas protocols and cap-and-trade mechanisms, yet forest carbon is valued equally regardless of forest type, an approach that fails to account for risk of carbon loss from disturbance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we show that incorporating wildfire risk reduces the value of forest carbon depending on the location and condition of the forest. There is a general trend of decreasing risk-scaled forest carbon value moving from the northern toward the southern continental U.S.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Because disturbance is a major ecological factor influencing long-term carbon storage and is often sensitive to human management, carbon trading mechanisms should account for the reduction in value associated with disturbance risk.</p

A Database of Wing Diversity in the Hawaiian Drosophila

Background. Within genus Drosophila, the endemic Hawaiian species offer some of the most dramatic examples of morphological and behavioral evolution. The advent of the Drosophila grimshawi genome sequence permits genes of interest to be readily cloned from any of the hundreds of species of Hawaiian Drosophila, offering a powerful comparative approach to defining molecular mechanisms of species evolution. A key step in this process is to survey the Hawaiian flies for characters whose variation can be associated with specific candidate genes. The wings provide an attractive target for such studies: Wings are essentially two dimensional, and genes controlling wing shape, vein specification, pigment production, and pigment pattern evolution have all been identified in Drosophila. Methodology/Principal Findings. We present a photographic database of over 180 mounted, adult wings from 73 species of Hawaiian Drosophila. The image collection, available at FlyBase.org, includes 53 of the 112 known species of picture wing\u27\u27 Drosophila, and several species from each of the other major Hawaiian groups, including the modified mouthparts, modified tarsus, antopocerus, and haleakalae (fungus feeder) groups. Direct image comparisons show that major wing shape changes can occur even between closely related species, and that pigment pattern elements can vary independently of each other. Among the 30 species closest to grimshawi, diverse visual effects are achieved by altering a basic pattern of seven wing spots. Finally, we document major pattern variations within species, which appear to result from reduced diffusion of pigment precursors through the wing blade. Conclusions/Significance. The database highlights the striking variation in size, shape, venation, and pigmentation in Hawaiian Drosophila, despite their generally low levels of DNA sequence divergence. In several independent lineages, highly complex patterns are derived from simple ones. These lineages offer a promising model system to study the evolution of complexity

Age, gender and disability predict future disability in older people: the Rotterdam Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To develop a prediction model that predicts disability in community-dwelling older people. Insight in the predictors of disability is needed to target preventive strategies for people at increased risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were obtained from the Rotterdam Study, including subjects of 55 years and over. Subjects who had complete data for sociodemographic factors, life style variables, health conditions, disability status at baseline and complete data for disability at follow-up were included in the analysis. Disability was expressed as a Disability Index (DI) measured with the Health Assessment Questionnaire.</p> <p>We used a multivariable polytomous logistic regression to derive a basic prediction model and an extended prediction model. Finally we developed readily applicable score charts for the calculation of outcome probabilities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 5027 subjects included, 49% had no disability, 18% had mild disability, 16% had severe disability and 18% had deceased at follow-up after six years. The strongest predictors were age and prior disability. The contribution of other predictors was relatively small. The discriminative ability of the basic model was high; the extended model did not enhance predictive ability.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As prior disability status predicts future disability status, interventive strategies should be aimed at preventing disability in the first place.</p

The effect of Ku on telomere replication time is mediated by telomere length but is independent of histone tail acetylation

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