MADIBA: A web server toolkit for biological interpretation of Plasmodium and plant gene clusters

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Microarray technology makes it possible to identify changes in gene expression of an organism, under various conditions. Data mining is thus essential for deducing significant biological information such as the identification of new biological mechanisms or putative drug targets. While many algorithms and software have been developed for analysing gene expression, the extraction of relevant information from experimental data is still a substantial challenge, requiring significant time and skill.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>MADIBA (MicroArray Data Interface for Biological Annotation) facilitates the assignment of biological meaning to gene expression clusters by automating the post-processing stage. A relational database has been designed to store the data from gene to pathway for <it>Plasmodium</it>, rice and <it>Arabidopsis</it>. Tools within the web interface allow rapid analyses for the identification of the Gene Ontology terms relevant to each cluster; visualising the metabolic pathways where the genes are implicated, their genomic localisations, putative common transcriptional regulatory elements in the upstream sequences, and an analysis specific to the organism being studied.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>MADIBA is an integrated, online tool that will assist researchers in interpreting their results and understand the meaning of the co-expression of a cluster of genes. Functionality of MADIBA was validated by analysing a number of gene clusters from several published experiments – expression profiling of the <it>Plasmodium </it>life cycle, and salt stress treatments of <it>Arabidopsis </it>and rice. In most of the cases, the same conclusions found by the authors were quickly and easily obtained after analysing the gene clusters with MADIBA. </p

Structure Functions of the Nucleon in a Statistical Model

Deep inelastic scattering is considered in a statistical model of the nucleon. This incorporates certain features which are absent in the standard parton model such as quantum statistical correlations which play a role in the propagation of particles when considering Feynman diagrams containing internal lines. The inclusion of the ${\cal O}(\alpha_{s})$ corrections in our numerical calculations allows a good fit to the data for $x\geq 0.25$. The fit corresponds to values of temperature and chemical potential of approximately $T=0.067$ GeV and $\mu=0.133$ GeV. The latter values of parameters, however, give rise, for all $x$, to a large value for $R=\sigma_{L}/\sigma_{T}$.Comment: 16 pages TeX, 11 figures available as Postscript files, University of Bielefeld preprint BI-TP 93/3

PMS20 Baseline Characteristics of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Starting Certolizumab Pegol Therapy And Glucocorticoid Prescription In The Eclair Study In 2012–2013

International audienc

Optimising the administration of antibiotics in critically ill patients

Optimal outcome and a reduction in the potential for resistance require that appropriate pharmacokinetic (PK) targets are achieved.Consequently, we need to target drug concentrations that are significantly higher than those conventionally presumed to be adequate.Drug exposure varies according to the molecular weight, degree of ionisation, protein binding and lipid solubility of each agent. Incritically ill patients, hypoalbuminaemia increases the free fraction of hydrophilic drugs, which in turn increases the volume of distributionand clearance (CL), both of which result in reduced drug levels. Similarly, augmented renal clearance (ARC), defined as a creatinineclearance (CLcr) of &gt;130 mL/min/1.73 m2, which occurs frequently in critically ill patients, particularly younger patients with normalor near-normal creatinine levels, may also significantly reduce drug exposure. Studies have demonstrated a greater mortality and lowercure with ARC, particularly with the additive effects of obesity, hypoalbuminaemia and increasing resistance, if conventional dosages areused. These concepts apply to antibiotics targeting Gram-negative and -positive organisms. Knowledge of PK and the resistance profiles oforganisms in each environment is necessary to prescribe appropriately. This article discusses these issues and the doses that should be used

Developing fencing policies in dryland ecosystems

The daily energy requirements of animals are determined by a combination of physical and physiological factors, but food availability may challenge the capacity to meet nutritional needs. Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are an interesting model for investigating this topic because they are folivore-frugivores that adjust their diet and activities to seasonal variation in fruit availability. Observations of one habituated group of western gorillas in Bai-Hokou, Central African Republic (December 2004-December 2005) were used to examine seasonal variation in diet quality and nutritional intake. We tested if during the high fruit season the food consumed by western gorillas was higher in quality (higher in energy, sugar, fat but lower in fibre and antifeedants) than during the low fruit season. Food consumed during the high fruit season was higher in digestible energy, but not any other macronutrients. Second, we investigated whether the gorillas increased their daily intake of carbohydrates, metabolizable energy (KCal/g OM), or other nutrients during the high fruit season. Intake of dry matter, fibers, fat, protein and the majority of minerals and phenols decreased with increased frugivory and there was some indication of seasonal variation in intake of energy (KCal/g OM), tannins, protein/fiber ratio, and iron. Intake of non-structural carbohydrates and sugars was not influenced by fruit availability. Gorillas are probably able to extract large quantities of energy via fermentation since they rely on proteinaceous leaves during the low fruit season. Macronutrients and micronutrients, but not digestible energy, may be limited for them during times of low fruit availability because they are hind-gut fermenters. We discuss the advantages of seasonal frugivores having large dietary breath and flexibility, significant characteristics to consider in the conservation strategies of endangered species

Detection of [O I] 63 <i>μ</i>m in absorption toward Sgr B2

A high signal-to-noise 52-90 μm spectrum is presented for the central part of the Sagittarius B2 complex. The data were obtained with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). The [O I] 63 μm line is detected in absorption even at the grating spectral resolution of 0.29 μm. A lower limit for the column density of atomic oxygen of the order of 1019 cm-2 is derived. This implies that more than 40% of the interstellar oxygen must be in atomic form along the line of sight toward the Sgr B2 molecular cloud