Mariner Mars 1969 project report. Volume 2 - Performance Final report

Performance of Mariner Mars 1969 mission by flight and Earth-based elements during launch and space flight phases - Vol.

Glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus during and after cancer treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Cancer and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) are leading causes of death worldwide and the prevalence of both is escalating. People with co-morbid cancer and DM have increased morbidity and premature mortality compared with cancer patients with no DM. The reasons for this are likely to be multifaceted but will include the impact of hypo/hyperglycaemia and diabetes therapies on cancer treatment and disease progression. A useful step toward addressing this disparity in treatment outcomes is to establish the impact of cancer treatment on diabetes control. Aim The aim of this review is to identify and analyse current evidence reporting glycaemic control (HbA1c) during and after cancer treatment. Methods Systematic searches of published quantitative research relating to comorbid cancer and type 2 diabetes mellitus were conducted using databases, including Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL and Web of Science (February 2017). Full text publications were eligible for inclusion if they: were quantitative, published in English language, investigated the effects of cancer treatment on glycaemic control, reported HbA1c (%/mmols/mol) and included adult populations with diabetes. Means, standard deviations and sample sizes were extracted from each paper; missing standard deviations were imputed. The completed datasets were analysed using a random effects model. A mixed-effects analysis was undertaken to calculate mean HbA1c (%/mmols/mol) change over three time periods compared to baseline. Results The available literature exploring glycaemic control post-diagnosis was mixed. There was increased risk of poor glycaemic control during this time if studies of surgical treatment for gastric cancer are excluded, with significant differences between baseline and 12 months (p < 0.001) and baseline and 24 months (p = 0.002). Conclusion We found some evidence to support the contention that glycaemic control during and/or after non-surgical cancer treatment is worsened, and the reasons are not well defined in individual studies. Future studies should consider the reasons why this is the case

Enhancing neuroimaging genetics through meta-analysis for Tourette syndrome (ENIGMA-TS): A worldwide platform for collaboration

Tourette syndrome (TS) is characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics, and high-comorbidity rates with other neuropsychiatric disorders. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), major depressive disorder (MDD), and anxiety disorders (AXDs) are among the most prevalent TS comorbidities. To date, studies on TS brain structure and function have been limited in size with efforts mostly fragmented. This leads to low-statistical power, discordant results due to differences in approaches, and hinders the ability to stratify patients according to clinical parameters and investigate comorbidity patterns. Here, we present the scientific premise, perspectives, and key goals that have motivated the establishment of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis for TS (ENIGMA-TS) working group. The ENIGMA-TS working group is an international collaborative effort bringing together a large network of investigators who aim to understand brain structure and function in TS and dissect the underlying neurobiology that leads to observed comorbidity patterns and clinical heterogeneity. Previously collected TS neuroimaging data will be analyzed jointly and integrated with TS genomic data, as well as equivalently large and already existing studies of highly comorbid OCD, ADHD, ASD, MDD, and AXD. Our work highlights the power of collaborative efforts and transdiagnostic approaches, and points to the existence of different TS subtypes. ENIGMA-TS will offer large-scale, high-powered studies that will lead to important insights toward understanding brain structure and function and genetic effects in TS and related disorders, and the identification of biomarkers that could help inform improved clinical practice

Entrepreneurs' exit and paths to retirement : theoretical and empirical considerations

The number of ageing entrepreneurs in micro- and small-sized companies is rapidly increasing in Finland and other European Union countries. Over half a million jobs, in over one hundred thousand companies within the EU, are lost annually due to unsuccessful, predominantly retirement-related transfers of businesses. This challenge coincides with EU Grand Challenges and has been highlighted in the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan (European Commission 2013). It has been estimated that in Finland, some 8000 jobs are lost yearly due to the ageing of entrepreneurs. Therefore, entrepreneur ageing has implications not only for the ageing individual but also for the company and the society at large. As entrepreneurs age it becomes more essential for them to start planning when and how they transition into retirement. While they may experience several exits and subsequent re-entries into working life via buying or starting new companies, exiting ones entrepreneurial career due to old age retirement differs from exits that occur earlier during the career. In this chapter, we provide a short overview of the entrepreneur retirement and exit literature from an age perspective. Furthermore, we present a theoretical conceptualization which combines entrepreneur retirement process with exit theories. This will enable scholars to better understand the retirement process, including decision-making, transitioning, and adjustment to retirement. We also provide empirical evidence using data collected among Finnish entrepreneurs in 2012 and 2015, where we outline the types of exits and assess several factors, including age, in association with exit intentions.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Alternative Sigma Factor σH Modulates Prophage Integration and Excision in Staphylococcus aureus

The prophage is one of the most important components of variable regions in bacterial genomes. Some prophages carry additional genes that may enhance the toxicity and survival ability of their host bacteria. This phenomenon is predominant in Staphylococcus aureus, a very common human pathogen. Bioinformatics analysis of several staphylococcal prophages revealed a highly conserved 40-bp untranslated region upstream of the int gene. A small transcript encoding phage integrase was identified to be initiated from the region, demonstrating that the untranslated region contained a promoter for int. No typical recognition sequence for either σA or σB was identified in the 40-bp region. Experiments both in vitro and in vivo demonstrated that σH recognized the promoter and directed transcription. Genetic deletion of sigH altered the int expression, and subsequently, the excision proportion of prophage DNAs. Phage assays further showed that sigH affected the ability of spontaneous lysis and lysogenization in S. aureus, suggesting that sigH plays a role in stabilizing the lysogenic state. These findings revealed a novel mechanism of prophage integration specifically regulated by a host-source alternative sigma factor. This mechanism suggests a co-evolution strategy of staphylococcal prophages and their host bacteria

Informal “Seed” Systems and the Management of Gene Flow in Traditional Agroecosystems: The Case of Cassava in Cauca, Colombia

Our ability to manage gene flow within traditional agroecosystems and their repercussions requires understanding the biology of crops, including farming practices' role in crop ecology. That these practices' effects on crop population genetics have not been quantified bespeaks lack of an appropriate analytical framework. We use a model that construes seed-management practices as part of a crop's demography to describe the dynamics of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Cauca, Colombia. We quantify several management practices for cassava—the first estimates of their kind for a vegetatively-propagated crop—describe their demographic repercussions, and compare them to those of maize, a sexually-reproduced grain crop. We discuss the implications for gene flow, the conservation of cassava diversity, and the biosafety of vegetatively-propagated crops in centers of diversity. Cassava populations are surprisingly open and dynamic: farmers exchange germplasm across localities, particularly improved varieties, and distribute it among neighbors at extremely high rates vis-à-vis maize. This implies that a large portion of cassava populations consists of non-local germplasm, often grown in mixed stands with local varieties. Gene flow from this germplasm into local seed banks and gene pools via pollen has been documented, but its extent remains uncertain. In sum, cassava's biology and vegetative propagation might facilitate pre-release confinement of genetically-modified varieties, as expected, but simultaneously contribute to their diffusion across traditional agroecosystems if released. Genetically-modified cassava is unlikely to displace landraces or compromise their diversity; but rapid diffusion of improved germplasm and subsequent incorporation into cassava landraces, seed banks or wild populations could obstruct the tracking and eradication of deleterious transgenes. Attempts to regulate traditional farming practices to reduce the risks could compromise cassava populations' adaptive potential and ultimately prove ineffectual

Characterization of an Orphan Diterpenoid Biosynthetic Operon from Salinispora arenicola

While more commonly associated with plants than microbes, diterpenoid natural products have been reported to have profound effects in marine microbe–microbe interactions. Intriguingly, the genome of the marine bacterium Salinispora arenicola CNS-205 contains a putative diterpenoid biosynthetic operon, terp1. Here recombinant expression studies are reported, indicating that this three-gene operon leads to the production of isopimara-8,15-dien-19-ol (4). Although 4 is not observed in pure cultures of S. arenicola, it is plausible that the terp1 operon is only expressed under certain physiologically relevant conditions such as in the presence of other marine organisms