A flaring X-ray pulsar in Dorado

A study of unusual gamma-ray bursts detected on March 5 and March 6, 1979 in the KONUS experiment on the Venera 11 and Venera 12 spacecraft shows their source to be flaring X-ray pulsar in Dorado

Torque Teno Virus (TTV) distribution in healthy Russian population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Torque teno virus (TTV) is a circular, single-stranded DNA virus that chronically infects healthy individuals of all ages worldwide. There is a lot of data on the prevalence and genetic heterogeneity of TTV in healthy populations and in patients with various diseases now available. However, little is known about TTV load among healthy human population. In this study we analyzed TTV load in the group of 512 Russian elite athletes, who are supposed to be, by some standards, the healthiest part of the human population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence rate of TTV among the Russian Olympic Reserve members was 94% (for test sensitivity about 1000 genome equivalents per 1 ml of blood). Quantities varied from 10³(which corresponded to detection limit) to 10¹⁰copies per 1 ml of blood, with median at 2.7 × 10⁶copies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>About 94% of healthy individuals in Russian population have more than 1000 TTV genome copies per 1 ml of blood. This result exceeds the previously published data, and can be explained by either more sensitive PCR test system or by higher TTV distribution in Russian population or both. TTV viral load neither depends on gender, nor age.</p

Genome assembly using quantum and quantum-inspired annealing

Recent advances in DNA sequencing open prospects to make whole-genome analysis rapid and reliable, which is promising for various applications including personalized medicine. However, existing techniques for {\it de novo} genome assembly, which is used for the analysis of genomic rearrangements, chromosome phasing, and reconstructing genomes without a reference, require solving tasks of high computational complexity. Here we demonstrate a method for solving genome assembly tasks with the use of quantum and quantum-inspired optimization techniques. Within this method, we present experimental results on genome assembly using quantum annealers both for simulated data and the $\phi$X 174 bacteriophage. Our results pave a way for an increase in the efficiency of solving bioinformatics problems with the use of quantum computing and, in particular, quantum annealing. We expect that the new generation of quantum annealing devices would outperform existing techniques for {\it de novo} genome assembly. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental study of de novo genome assembly problems both for real and synthetic data on quantum annealing devices and quantum-inspired techniques.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Wolbachia infection in populations of the coniferous forest pest Dendrolimus superans sibiricus Tschetverikov, 1908 (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

Siberian silk moth (Dendrolimus superans sibiricus) is a very dangerous pest of coniferous trees, in particular, larch and various pine species. Outbreaks of this pest lead to defoliation and forest destruction in a vast area of the Asian part of Russia. Many biological agents, such as viruses, pathogenic microorganisms and parasitoids, prevent the growth of Siberian silk moth population. Here we consider non-pathogen symbiotic Wolbachia bacteria, which are transovarially transmitted between specimens from mother to offspring. This symbiont has an ability to affect biology of its host. In theory, Wolbachia can prevent the growth of population size or induce it, which determines the focus of interest in Wolbachia-host investigation. Two samples from a Siberian silk moth population collected in 2014 and 2016 in Khabarovsk area were studied for Wolbachia infection. We found a high Wolbachia prevalence in the population of Siberian silk moth, in particular, the sample of 2014 was totally infected and the sample of 2016 had 90 % infected specimens. There were at least two distinct Wolbachia strains reveled by analysis of two loci from the MLST protocol, namely f tsZ-36, f bpA-4 and f tsZ-22, f bpA-9. In this study, a possible role of Wolbachia in the symbiotic association with Siberian silk moth and general ways of investigation of this symbiosis are discussed

OPPORTUNITY ESTIMATION OF OPTICAL METHOD APPLICATION IN PROBLEM OF KINEMATIC CHARACTERISTICS REGISTRATION OF DYNAMIC INDENTING PROCESS

Subject of Research. A stereoscopic method of technical vision is proposed for recording the kinematic characteristics of the dynamic indentation process in determining the physico-mechanical properties of materials. The proposed method makes it possible to determine the values of the indenter motion speed with high accuracy. Method. The method is based on the use of two high-speed video cameras immovably fixed on one flat platform. Cameras allow for synchronous recording of the indentation process. The objectives and orientation of cameras in the stereo system provide intersection of the visual fields and the required depth of the image space field. Measurement of the movement speed is performed by triangulation method. The distance between the conjugate points of the recorded object on the stereo images is inversely proportional to the distance between the pair of cameras and the corresponding point of the object in the three-dimensional space. Based on the analysis of images obtained by spatially separated cameras, the coordinates of the object point are determined. Main Results. The experimental setup consisted of two high-speed monochrome camcorders Evercam 4000-32-M, rigidly fixed through stereo. Synchronous recording was kept at a speed of 4000 frames/s with a resolution of 1280 × 860 pixels. The indenter was made in the form of a steel ball with a mass of 230 g with a diameter of 38 mm and fell onto an aluminum disk 10 mm thick from a height of 310 mm. Video images from cameras were transferred to a personal computer for processing. The analysis of the obtained data was carried out in the MATLAB system with the help of a specially written software module. The sensitivity of the proposed method made it possible to determine confidently the values of the maximum approach speed of a steel ball equal to 2.39 m/s and a rebound velocity of 1.2 m/s. The random component of the method error did not exceed 2.5%. Practical Relevance. The development of this approach will enable to create high-precision sensors of dynamic indentation. The research results may be of interest to specialists involved in metrological support and non-destructive testing of materials and products in various fields of engineering and construction

The protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type R gene is an early and frequent target of silencing in human colorectal tumorigenesis

BACKGROUND: Tumor development in the human colon is commonly accompanied by epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation and chromatin modifications. These alterations result in significant, inheritable changes in gene expression that contribute to the selection of tumor cells with enhanced survival potential. RESULTS: A recent high-throughput gene expression analysis conducted by our group identified numerous genes whose transcription was markedly diminished in colorectal tumors. One of these, the protein-tyrosine phosphatase receptor type R (PTPRR) gene, was dramatically downregulated from the earliest stages of cellular transformation. Here, we show that levels of both major PTPRR transcript variants are markedly decreased (compared with normal mucosal levels) in precancerous and cancerous colorectal tumors, as well in colorectal cancer cell lines. The expression of the PTPRR-1 isoform was inactivated in colorectal cancer cells as a result of de novo CpG island methylation and enrichment of transcription-repressive histone-tail marks, mainly H3K27me3. De novo methylation of the PTPRR-1 transcription start site was demonstrated in 29/36 (80%) colorectal adenomas, 42/44 (95%) colorectal adenocarcinomas, and 8/8 (100%) liver metastases associated with the latter tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Epigenetic downregulation of PTPRR seems to be an early alteration in colorectal cell transformation, which is maintained during the clonal selection associated with tumor progression. It may represent a preliminary step in the constitutive activation of the RAS/RAF/MAPK/ERK signalling, an effect that will later be consolidated by mutations in genes encoding key components of this pathway

The basal ganglia and thalamus of the long-tailed macaque in stereotaxic coordinates. A template atlas based on coronal, sagittal and horizontal brain sections

A stereotaxic brain atlas of the basal ganglia and thalamus of Macaca fascicularis presented here is designed with a surgical perspective. In this regard, all coordinates have been referenced to a line linking the anterior and posterior commissures (ac–pc line) and considering the center of the ac at the midline as the origin of the bicommissural space. The atlas comprises of 43 different plates (19 coronal levels, 10 sagittal levels and 14 horizontal levels). In addition to ‘classical’ cyto- and chemoarchitectural techniques such as the Nissl method and the acetylcholinesterase stain, several immunohistochemical stains have been performed in adjacent sections, including the detection of tyrosine hydroxylase, enkephalin, neurofilaments, parvalbumin and calbindin. In comparison to other existing stereotaxic atlases for M. fasicularis, this atlas has two main advantages: firstly, brain cartography is based on a wide variety of cyto- and chemoarchitectural stains carried out on adjacent sections, therefore enabling accurate segmentation. Secondly and most importantly, sagittal and horizontal planes are included. Sagittal planes are very useful for calculating oblique trajectories, whereas, clinical researchers engaged in neuroimaging studies will be more familiar with horizontal sections, as they use horizontal (also called “axial”) brain images in their daily routine of their clinical practices

Multifractality in Time Series

We apply the concepts of multifractal physics to financial time series in order to characterize the onset of crash for the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index x(t). It is found that within the framework of multifractality, the "analogous" specific heat of the S&P500 discrete price index displays a shoulder to the right of the main peak for low values of time lags. On decreasing T, the presence of the shoulder is a consequence of the peaked, temporal x(t+T)-x(t) fluctuations in this regime. For large time lags (T>80), we have found that C_{q} displays typical features of a classical phase transition at a critical point. An example of such dynamic phase transition in a simple economic model system, based on a mapping with multifractality phenomena in random multiplicative processes, is also presented by applying former results obtained with a continuous probability theory for describing scaling measures.Comment: 22 pages, Revtex, 4 ps figures - To appear J. Phys. A (2000

Clinical effectiveness of unilateral deep brain stimulation in Tourette syndrome

Dysfunctional basal ganglia loops are thought to underlie the clinical picture of Tourette syndrome (TS). By altering dopaminergic activity in the affected neural structures, bilateral deep brain stimulation is assumed to have a modulatory effect on dopamine transmission resulting in an amelioration of tics. While the majority of published case reports deals with the application of bilateral stimulation, the present study aims at informing about the high effectiveness of unilateral stimulation of pallidal and nigral thalamic territories in TS. Potential implications and gains of the unilateral approach are discussed