High-speed Civil Transport Aircraft Emissions

Estimates are given for the emissions from a proposed high speed civil transport (HSCT). This advanced technology supersonic aircraft would fly in the lower stratosphere at a speed of roughly Mach 1.6 to 3.2 (470 to 950 m/sec or 920 to 1850 knots). Because it would fly in the stratosphere at an altitude in the range of 15 to 23 km commensurate with its design speed, its exhaust effluents could perturb the chemical balance in the upper atmosphere. The first step in determining the nature and magnitude of any chemical changes in the atmosphere resulting from these proposed aircraft is to identify and quantify the chemically important species they emit. Relevant earlier work is summarized, dating back to the Climatic Impact Assessment Program of the early 1970s and current propulsion research efforts. Estimates are provided of the chemical composition of an HSCT's exhaust, and these emission indices are presented. Other aircraft emissions that are not due to combustion processes are also summarized; these emissions are found to be much smaller than the exhaust emissions. Future advances in propulsion technology, in experimental measurement techniques, and in understanding upper atmospheric chemistry may affect these estimates of the amounts of trace exhaust species or their relative importance

Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for Generalised Anxiety Disorder: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) has harmful effects on physical and mental health and quality of life. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a treatment option for GAD. This meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effectiveness of MBCT on GAD. METHODS: Two authors independently performed the eligibility, quality assessment, and data extraction processes, and consensus was reached in case of discrepancies. Electronic databases were searched for eligible studies (randomised controlled trials, randomised trials, cluster randomised controlled trials, and clinical trials) up to November 2018 using keywords: mindfulness-based cognitive therapy OR mindfulness based cognitive therapy OR MBCT AND general anxiety disorder OR GAD*. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the revised Jadad scale. Cohen's formula was used to determine the effect size based on the mean and standard deviation of the changes in the study groups before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Six studies that compared the effectiveness between MBCT and controls were included for analysis. The mean revised Jadad score of the six studies was 4.3 (range, 3-6). The overall mean effect size was -0.65. The funnel plot of effect sizes in relation to the effect size standard error showed a symmetrical distribution. Compared with controls, MBCT significantly improved the treatment outcome of GAD in all studies, except one. CONCLUSION: MBCT was effective for treating GAD

Genomic variations and epigenomic landscape of the Medaka Inbred Kiyosu-Karlsruhe (MIKK) panel

The teleost medaka (Oryzias latipes) is a well-established vertebrate model system, with a long history of genetic research, and multiple high-quality reference genomes available for several inbred strains (HdrR, HNI and HSOK). Medaka has a high tolerance to inbreeding from the wild, thus allowing one to establish inbred lines from wild founder individuals. We have exploited this feature to create an inbred panel resource: the Medaka Inbred Kiyosu-Karlsruhe (MIKK) panel. This panel of 80 near-isogenic inbred lines contains a large amount of genetic variation inherited from the original wild population. We used Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) long read data to further investigate the genomic and epigenomic landscapes of a subset of the MIKK panel. Nanopore sequencing allowed us to identify a much greater variety of high-quality structural variants compared with Illumina sequencing. We also present results and methods using a pan-genome graph representation of 12 individual medaka lines from the MIKK panel. This graph-based reference MIKK panel genome revealed novel differences between the MIKK panel lines compared to standard linear reference genomes. We found additional MIKK panel-specific genomic content that would be missing from linear reference alignment approaches. We were also able to identify and quantify the presence of repeat elements in each of the lines. Finally, we investigated line-specific CpG methylation and performed differential DNA methylation analysis across the 12 lines. We thus present a detailed analysis of the MIKK panel genomes using long and short read sequence technologies, creating a MIKK panel specific pan genome reference dataset allowing for the investigation of novel variation types that would be elusive using standard approaches

The Medaka Inbred Kiyosu-Karlsruhe (MIKK) panel

Unraveling the relationship between genetic variation and phenotypic traits remains a fundamental challenge in biology. Mapping variants underlying complex traits while controlling for confounding environmental factors is often problematic. To address this, we establish a vertebrate genetic resource specifically to allow for robust genotype-to-phenotype investigations. The teleost medaka (Oryzias latipes) is an established genetic model system with a long history of genetic research and a high tolerance to inbreeding from the wild

The pancreas in human type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is considered a disorder whose pathogenesis is autoimmune in origin, a notion drawn in large part from studies of human pancreata performed as far back as the 1960s. While studies of the genetics, epidemiology, and peripheral immunity in T1D have been subject to widespread analysis over the ensuing decades, efforts to understand the disorder through analysis of human pancreata have been far more limited. We have reviewed the published literature pertaining to the pathology of the human pancreas throughout all stages in the natural history of T1D. This effort uncovered a series of findings that challenge many dogmas ascribed to T1D and revealed data suggesting the marked heterogeneity in terms of its pathology. An improved understanding and appreciation for pancreatic pathology in T1D could lead to improved disease classification, an understanding of why the disorder occurs, and better therapies for disease prevention and management