343 research outputs found
Matrix isolation study of the photolysis of cyanogen azide. The infrared and ultraviolet spectra of the free radical NCN
Infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectra of free radical in photolysis of cyanogen azid
Matrix isolation study of the reaction of f atoms with co infrared and ultraviolet spectrum of the free radical fco
Matrix isolation of reaction of fluorine atoms with carbon monoxide - infrared and ultraviolet spectrum of free radical fluorocarbon monoxid
Bacterial microevolution and the Pangenome
The comparison of multiple genome sequences sampled from a bacterial population reveals considerable diversity in both the core and the accessory parts of the pangenome. This diversity can be analysed in terms of microevolutionary events that took place since the genomes shared a common ancestor, especially deletion, duplication, and recombination. We review the basic modelling ingredients used implicitly or explicitly when performing such a pangenome analysis. In particular, we describe a basic neutral phylogenetic framework of bacterial pangenome microevolution, which is not incompatible with evaluating the role of natural selection. We survey the different ways in which pangenome data is summarised in order to be included in microevolutionary models, as well as the main methodological approaches that have been proposed to reconstruct pangenome microevolutionary history
Beyond representing orthology relations by trees
Reconstructing the evolutionary past of a family of genes is an important aspect of many genomic studies. To help with this, simple relations on a set of sequences called orthology relations may be employed. In addition to being interesting from a practical point of view they are also attractive from a theoretical perspective in that e.\,g.\,a characterization is known for when such a relation is representable by a certain type of phylogenetic tree. For an orthology relation inferred from real biological data it is however generally too much to hope for that it satisfies that characterization. Rather than trying to correct the data in some way or another which has its own drawbacks, as an alternative, we propose to represent an orthology relation in terms of a structure more general than a phylogenetic tree called a phylogenetic network. To compute such a network in the form of a level-1 representation for , we formalize an orthology relation in terms of the novel concept of a symbolic 3- dissimilarity which is motivated by the biological concept of a ``cluster of orthologous groups'', or COG for short. For such maps which assign symbols rather that real values to elements, we introduce the novel {\sc Network-Popping} algorithm which has several attractive properties. In addition, we characterize an orthology relation on some set that has a level-1 representation in terms of eight natural properties for as well as in terms of level-1 representations of orthology relations on certain subsets of
Pattern and quality of care of cancer pain management. Results from the Cancer Pain Outcome Research Study Group
Most patients with advanced or metastatic cancer experience pain and despite several guidelines, undertreatment is well documented. A multicenter, open-label, prospective, non-randomised study was launched in Italy in 2006 to evaluate the epidemiology, patterns and quality of pain care of cancer patients. To assess the adequacy of analgesic care, we used a standardised measure, the pain management index (PMI), that compares the most potent analgesic prescribed for a patient with the reported level of the worst pain of that patient together with a selected list of clinical indicators. A total of 110 centres recruited 1801 valid cases. 61% of cases were received a WHO-level III opioid; 25.3% were classified as potentially undertreated, with wide variation (9.8–55.3%) according to the variables describing patients, centres and pattern of care. After adjustment with a multivariable logistic regression model, type of recruiting centre, receiving adjuvant therapy or not and type of patient recruited (new or already on follow-up) had a significant association with undertreatment. Non-compliance with the predefined set of clinical indicators was generally high, ranging from 41 to 76%. Despite intrinsic limitations of the PMI that may be considered as an indicator of the poor quality of cancer pain care, results suggest that the recourse to WHO third-level drugs still seems delayed in a substantial percentage of patients. This delay is probably related to several factors affecting practice in participating centres and suggests that the quality of cancer pain management in Italy deserves specific attention and interventions aimed at improving patients' outcomes
Mammalian Glutaminase Gls2 Gene Encodes Two Functional Alternative Transcripts by a Surrogate Promoter Usage Mechanism
Glutaminase is expressed in most mammalian tissues and cancer cells, but the regulation of its expression is poorly understood. An essential step to accomplish this goal is the characterization of its species- and cell-specific isoenzyme pattern of expression. Our aim was to identify and characterize transcript variants of the mammalian glutaminase Gls2 gene.We demonstrate for the first time simultaneous expression of two transcript variants from the Gls2 gene in human, rat and mouse. A combination of RT-PCR, primer-extension analysis, bioinformatics, real-time PCR, in vitro transcription and translation and immunoblot analysis was applied to investigate GLS2 transcripts in mammalian tissues. Short (LGA) and long (GAB) transcript forms were isolated in brain and liver tissue of human, rat and mouse. The short LGA transcript arises by a combination of two mechanisms of transcriptional modulation: alternative transcription initiation and alternative promoter. The LGA variant contains both the transcription start site (TSS) and the alternative promoter in the first intron of the Gls2 gene. The full human LGA transcript has two in-frame ATGs in the first exon, which are missing in orthologous rat and mouse transcripts. In vitro transcription and translation of human LGA yielded two polypeptides of the predicted size, but only the canonical full-length protein displayed catalytic activity. Relative abundance of GAB and LGA transcripts showed marked variations depending on species and tissues analyzed.This is the first report demonstrating expression of alternative transcripts of the mammalian Gls2 gene. Transcriptional mechanisms giving rise to GLS2 variants and isolation of novel GLS2 transcripts in human, rat and mouse are presented. Results were also confirmed at the protein level, where catalytic activity was demonstrated for the human LGA protein. Relative abundance of GAB and LGA transcripts was species- and tissue-specific providing evidence of a differential regulation of GLS2 transcripts in mammals
Ensuring competency in end-of-life care: controlling symptoms
BACKGROUND: Palliative medicine is assuming an increasingly important role in patient care. The Education for Physicians in End-of-life Care (EPEC) Project is an ambitious program to increase core palliative care skills for all physicians. It is not intended to transmit specialty level competencies in palliative care. METHOD: The EPEC Curriculum was developed to be a comprehensive syllabus including trainer notes, multiple approaches to teaching the material, slides, and videos of clinical encounters to trigger discussion are provided. The content was developed through a combination of expert opinion, participant feedback and selected literature review. Content development was guided by the goal of teaching core competencies not included in the training of generalist and non-palliative medicine specialist physicians. RESULTS: Whole patient assessment forms the basis for good symptom control. Approaches to the medical management of pain, depression, anxiety, breathlessness (dyspnea), nausea/vomiting, constipation, fatigue/weakness and the symptoms common during the last hours of life are described. CONCLUSION: While some physicians will have specialist palliative care services upon which to call, most in the world will need to provide the initial approaches to symptom control at the end-of-life
Observational Needs Supporting Marine Ecosystems Modeling and Forecasting: From the Global Ocean to Regional and Coastal Systems
Many coastal areas host rich marine ecosystems and are also centers of economic activities, including fishing, shipping and recreation. Due to the socioeconomic and ecological importance of these areas, predicting relevant indicators of the ecosystem state on sub-seasonal to interannual timescales is gaining increasing attention. Depending on the application, forecasts may be sought for variables and indicators spanning physics (e.g., sea level, temperature, currents), chemistry (e.g., nutrients, oxygen, pH), and biology (from viruses to top predators). Many components of the marine ecosystem are known to be influenced by leading modes of climate variability, which provide a physical basis for predictability. However, prediction capabilities remain limited by the lack of a clear understanding of the physical and biological processes involved, as well as by insufficient observations for forecast initialization and verification. The situation is further complicated by the influence of climate change on ocean conditions along coastal areas, including sea level rise, increased stratification, and shoaling of oxygen minimum zones. Observations are thus vital to all aspects of marine forecasting: statistical and/or dynamical model development, forecast initialization, and forecast validation, each of which has different observational requirements, which may be also specific to the study region. Here, we use examples from United States (U.S.) coastal applications to identify and describe the key requirements for an observational network that is needed to facilitate improved process understanding, as well as for sustaining operational ecosystem forecasting. We also describe new holistic observational approaches, e.g., approaches based on acoustics, inspired by Tara Oceans or by landscape ecology, which have the potential to support and expand ecosystem modeling and forecasting activities by bridging global and local observations
Clinical validation of cutoff target ranges in newborn screening of metabolic disorders by tandem mass spectrometry: a worldwide collaborative project.
Conceptual robustness in simultaneous engineering: An extension of Taguchi's parameter design
Simultaneous engineering processes involve multifunctional teams; team members simultaneously make decisions about many parts of the product-production system and aspects of the product life cycle. This paper argues that such simultaneous distributed decisions should be based on communications about sets of possibilities rather than single solutions. By extending Taguchi's parameter design concepts, we develop a robust and distributed decision-making procedure based on such communications. The procedure shows how a member of a design team can make appropriate decisions based on incomplete information from the other members of the team. More specifically, it (1) treats variations among the designs considered by other members of the design team as conceptual noise; (2) shows how to incorporate such noises into decisions that are robust against these variations; (3) describes a method for using the same data to provide preference information back to the other team members; and (4) provides a procedure for determining whether to release the conceptually robust design or to wait for further decisions by others. The method is demonstrated by part of a distributed design process for a rotary CNC milling machine. While Taguchi's approach is used as a starting point because it is widely known, these results can be generalized to use other robust decision techniques.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45879/1/163_2005_Article_BF01608400.pd
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