Reconstruction of plasma density profiles by measuring spectra of radiation emitted from oscillating plasma dipoles

We suggest a new method for characterising non-uniform density distributions of plasma by measuring the spectra of radiation emitted from a localised plasma dipole oscillator excited by colliding electromagnetic pulses. The density distribution can be determined by scanning the collision point in space. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate the reconstruction of linear and nonlinear density profiles corresponding to laser-produced plasma. The method can be applied to a wide range of plasma, including fusion and low temperature plasmas. It overcomes many of the disadvantages of existing methods that only yield average densities along the path of probe pulses, such as interferometry and spectroscopy

The Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor Family in the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins play essential roles in a wide range of developmental processes in higher organisms. bHLH family members have been identified in over 20 organisms, including fruit fly, zebrafish, and human. This study identified 54 bHLH family members in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), genome. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that they belong to 37 bHLH families with 21, 13, 9, 1, 9, and 1 members in group A, B, C, D, E, and F, respectively. Through in-group phylogenetic analyses, all of the identified A. pisum bHLH members were assigned into their correspondent bHLH families with confidence, among which 51 were defined according to phylogenetic analyses with orthologs from Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae), and 3 of them were defined according to phylogenetic analyses with orthologs from Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Analyses on genomic coding regions revealed that the number and average length of introns in A. pisum bHLH motifs are higher than those in other insects. The present study provides useful background information for future studies on structure and function of bHLH proteins in the regulation of A. pisum development

Non-Invasive Brain-to-Brain Interface (BBI): Establishing Functional Links between Two Brains

Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is capable of modulating the neural activity of specific brain regions, with a potential role as a non-invasive computer-to-brain interface (CBI). In conjunction with the use of brain-to-computer interface (BCI) techniques that translate brain function to generate computer commands, we investigated the feasibility of using the FUS-based CBI to non-invasively establish a functional link between the brains of different species (i.e. human and Sprague-Dawley rat), thus creating a brain-to-brain interface (BBI). The implementation was aimed to non-invasively translate the human volunteer's intention to stimulate a rat's brain motor area that is responsible for the tail movement. The volunteer initiated the intention by looking at a strobe light flicker on a computer display, and the degree of synchronization in the electroencephalographic steady-state-visual-evoked-potentials (SSVEP) with respect to the strobe frequency was analyzed using a computer. Increased signal amplitude in the SSVEP, indicating the volunteer's intention, triggered the delivery of a burst-mode FUS (350 kHz ultrasound frequency, tone burst duration of 0.5 ms, pulse repetition frequency of 1 kHz, given for 300 msec duration) to excite the motor area of an anesthetized rat transcranially. The successful excitation subsequently elicited the tail movement, which was detected by a motion sensor. The interface was achieved at 94.0 +/- 3.0% accuracy, with a time delay of 1.59 +/- 1.07 sec from the thought-initiation to the creation of the tail movement. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of a computer-mediated BBI that links central neural functions between two biological entities, which may confer unexplored opportunities in the study of neuroscience with potential implications for therapeutic applications.open12

Novel Positive-Sense, Single-Stranded RNA (+ssRNA) Virus with Di-Cistronic Genome from Intestinal Content of Freshwater Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

A novel positive-sense, single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus (Halastavi árva RNA virus, HalV; JN000306) with di-cistronic genome organization was serendipitously identified in intestinal contents of freshwater carps (Cyprinus carpio) fished by line-fishing from fishpond “Lőrinte halastó” located in Veszprém County, Hungary. The complete nucleotide (nt) sequence of the genomic RNA is 9565 nt in length and contains two long - non-in-frame - open reading frames (ORFs), which are separated by an intergenic region. The ORF1 (replicase) is preceded by an untranslated sequence of 827 nt, while an untranslated region of 139 nt follows the ORF2 (capsid proteins). The deduced amino acid (aa) sequences of the ORFs showed only low (less than 32%) and partial similarity to the non-structural (2C-like helicase, 3C-like cystein protease and 3D-like RNA dependent RNA polymerase) and structural proteins (VP2/VP4/VP3) of virus families in Picornavirales especially to members of the viruses with dicistronic genome. Halastavi árva RNA virus is present in intestinal contents of omnivorous freshwater carps but the origin and the host species of this virus remains unknown. The unique viral sequence and the actual position indicate that Halastavi árva RNA virus seems to be the first member of a new di-cistronic ssRNA virus. Further studies are required to investigate the specific host species (and spectrum), ecology and role of Halastavi árva RNA virus in the nature

Gender differences in the association between self-rated health and hypertension in a Korean adult population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Self-rated health (SRH) has been reported as a predictor of mortality in previous studies. This study aimed to examine whether SRH is independently associated with hypertension and if there is a gender difference in this association.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>16,956 community dwelling adults aged 20 and over within a defined geographic area participated in this study. Data on SRH, socio-demographic factors (age, gender, marital status, education) and health behaviors (smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity) were collected. Body mass index and blood pressure were measured. Logistic regression models were used to determine a relationship between SRH and hypertension.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>32.5% of the participants were found to have hypertension. Women were more likely than men to rate their SRH as poor (<it>p </it>< 0.001), and the older age groups rated their SRH more negatively in both men and women (<it>p </it>< 0.001). While the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR, 95% CI) of participants rating their SRH as very poor for hypertension in men was OR 1.70 (1.13-2.58), that in women was OR 2.83 (1.80-4.44). Interaction between SRH and gender was significant (<it>p </it>< 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>SRH was independently associated with hypertension in a Korean adult population. This association was modified by gender.</p

The Impact of Contact Isolation on the Quality of Inpatient Hospital Care

Background: Contact Isolation is a common hospital infection prevention method that may improve infectious outcomes but may also hinder healthcare delivery. Methods: To evaluate the impact of Contact Isolation on compliance with individual and composite process of care quality measures, we formed four retrospective diagnosis-based cohorts from a 662-bed tertiary-care medical center. Each cohor

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Antimicrobial Peptide Evolution in the Asiatic Honey Bee Apis cerana

The Asiatic honeybee, Apis cerana Fabricius, is an important honeybee species in Asian countries. It is still found in the wild, but is also one of the few bee species that can be domesticated. It has acquired some genetic advantages and significantly different biological characteristics compared with other Apis species. However, it has been less studied, and over the past two decades, has become a threatened species in China. We designed primers for the sequences of the four antimicrobial peptide cDNA gene families (abaecin, defensin, apidaecin, and hymenoptaecin) of the Western honeybee, Apis mellifera L. and identified all the antimicrobial peptide cDNA genes in the Asiatic honeybee for the first time. All the sequences were amplified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In all, 29 different defensin cDNA genes coding 7 different defensin peptides, 11 different abaecin cDNA genes coding 2 different abaecin peptides, 13 different apidaecin cDNA genes coding 4 apidaecin peptides and 34 different hymenoptaecin cDNA genes coding 13 different hymenoptaecin peptides were cloned and identified from the Asiatic honeybee adult workers. Detailed comparison of these four antimicrobial peptide gene families with those of the Western honeybee revealed that there are many similarities in the quantity and amino acid components of peptides in the abaecin, defensin and apidaecin families, while many more hymenoptaecin peptides are found in the Asiatic honeybee than those in the Western honeybee (13 versus 1). The results indicated that the Asiatic honeybee adult generated more variable antimicrobial peptides, especially hymenoptaecin peptides than the Western honeybee when stimulated by pathogens or injury. This suggests that, compared to the Western honeybee that has a longer history of domestication, selection on the Asiatic honeybee has favored the generation of more variable antimicrobial peptides as protection against pathogens

Chemerin and Adiponectin Contribute Reciprocally to Metabolic Syndrome

Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are considered chronic inflammatory states. Chemerin, a novel adipokine, may play an important role in linking MetS and inflammation. We investigated the association of chemerin with inflammatory markers and with characteristics of MetS in apparently healthy overweight and obese adults. We studied 92 adults; 59 men and 33 women whose average body mass index (BMI) was 28.15±5.08 kg/m2. Anthropometric parameters, insulin resistance indices, lipid profiles, and inflammatory markers including high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), pentraxin 3 (PTX3), adiponectin, and chemerin were measured. Controlling for age, gender, and BMI, serum chemerin level was positively correlated with body fat and serum triglyceride, and negatively correlated with adiponectin and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL- C), and was not correlated with altered hsCRP or PTX3 levels. Among the low, moderate and high chemerin groups, high chemerin individuals are more likely to have lower HDL-C. Conversely, individuals in the low adiponectin group are more likely to have lower HDL-C and show more MetS phenotypic traits than moderate and high adiponectin subjects. To determine the relationships of chemerin and adiponectin to MetS and its components, participants were stratified into four groups based on their chemerin and adiponectin levels (high chemerin/high adiponectin, high chemerin/low adiponectin, low chemerin/high adiponectin, or low chemerin/low adiponectin). Participants who were in the high chemerin/low adiponectin group more likely to have dyslipidemia and MetS (OR: 5.79, 95% CI:1.00–33.70) compared to the other three group. Our findings suggest that chemerin and adiponectin may reciprocally participate in the development of MetS