1,643 research outputs found
Transcriptional profiles underlying parent-of-origin effects in seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Crossing plants of the same species but different ploidies can have dramatic effects on seed growth, but little is known about the alterations to transcriptional programmes responsible for this. Parental genomic imbalance particularly affects proliferation of the endosperm, with an increased ratio of paternally to maternally contributed genomes ('paternal excess') associated with overproliferation, while maternal excess inhibits endosperm growth. One interpretation is that interploidy crosses disrupt the balance in the seed of active copies of parentally imprinted genes. This is supported by the observation that mutations in imprinted FIS-class genes of <it>Arabidopsis thaliana </it>share many features of the paternal excess phenotype. Here we investigated gene expression underlying parent-of-origin effects in <it>Arabidopsis </it>through transcriptional profiling of siliques generated by interploidy crosses and FIS-class mutants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that fertilized <it>fis1 </it>mutant seeds have similar profiles to seeds with paternal excess, showing that the shared phenotypes are underpinned by similar patterns of gene expression. We identified genes strongly associated with enhanced or inhibited seed growth; this provided many candidates for further investigation including MADS-box transcription factors, cell cycle genes, and genes involved in hormone pathways.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The work presented here is a step towards understanding the effects on seed development of the related phenomena of parental genome balance and imprinting.</p
A systematic review of naturalistic interventions in refugee populations
Naturalistic interventions with refugee populations examine outcomes following mental health interventions in existing refugee service organisations. The current review aimed to examine outcomes of naturalistic interventions and quality of the naturalistic intervention literature in refugee populations with the view to highlight the strengths and limitations of naturalistic intervention studies. Database search was conducted using the search terms ‘refugee’, ‘asylum seeker’, ‘treatment’, ‘therapy’ and ‘intervention. No date limitations were applied, but searches were limited to articles written in English. Seven studies were identified that assessed the outcome of naturalistic interventions on adult refugees or asylum seekers in a country of resettlement using quantitative outcome measures. Results showed significant variation in the outcomes of naturalistic intervention studies, with a trend towards showing decreased symptomatology at post-intervention. However, conclusions are limited by methodological problems of the studies reviewed, particularly poor documentation of intervention methods and lack of control in the design of naturalistic intervention studies. Further examination of outcomes following naturalistic interventions is needed with studies which focus on increasing the rigour of the outcome assessment process
Identifying Vessel Branching from Fluid Stresses on Microscopic Robots
Objects moving in fluids experience patterns of stress on their surfaces
determined by the geometry of nearby boundaries. Flows at low Reynolds number,
as occur in microscopic vessels such as capillaries in biological tissues, have
relatively simple relations between stresses and nearby vessel geometry. Using
these relations, this paper shows how a microscopic robot moving with such
flows can use changes in stress on its surface to identify when it encounters
vessel branches.Comment: Version 2 has minor clarification
Doping and temperature dependence of incommensurate antiferromagnetism in underdoped lanthanum cuprates
The doping, temperature and energy dependence of the dynamical spin structure
factors of the underdoped lanthanum cuprates in the normal state is studied
within the t-J model using the fermion-spin transformation technique.
Incommensurate peaks are found at ,
at relatively low temperatures with linearly
increasing with doping at the beginning and then saturating at higher dopings.
These peaks broaden and weaken in amplitude with temperature and energy, in
good agreement with experiments. The theory also predicts a rotation of these
peaks by at even higher temperatures, being shifted to .Comment: 11 pages, PDF file, six figures are included, accepted for
publication in Physical Review
Associations between health-related quality of life, physical function and fear of falling in older fallers receiving home care
Falls and injuries in older adults have significant consequences and costs, both personal and to society. Although having a high incidence of falls, high prevalence of fear of falling and a lower quality of life, older adults receiving home care are underrepresented in research on older fallers. The objective of this study is to determine the associations between health-related quality of life (HRQOL), fear of falling and physical function in older fallers receiving home care
Short Interspersed Element (SINE) Depletion and Long Interspersed Element (LINE) Abundance Are Not Features Universally Required for Imprinting
Genomic imprinting is a form of gene dosage regulation in which a gene is expressed from only one of the alleles, in a manner dependent on the parent of origin. The mechanisms governing imprinted gene expression have been investigated in detail and have greatly contributed to our understanding of genome regulation in general. Both DNA sequence features, such as CpG islands, and epigenetic features, such as DNA methylation and non-coding RNAs, play important roles in achieving imprinted expression. However, the relative importance of these factors varies depending on the locus in question. Defining the minimal features that are absolutely required for imprinting would help us to understand how imprinting has evolved mechanistically. Imprinted retrogenes are a subset of imprinted loci that are relatively simple in their genomic organisation, being distinct from large imprinting clusters, and have the potential to be used as tools to address this question. Here, we compare the repeat element content of imprinted retrogene loci with non-imprinted controls that have a similar locus organisation. We observe no significant differences that are conserved between mouse and human, suggesting that the paucity of SINEs and relative abundance of LINEs at imprinted loci reported by others is not a sequence feature universally required for imprinting
Design and rationale of a multi-center, pragmatic, open-label randomized trial of antimicrobial therapy - the study of clinical efficacy of antimicrobial therapy strategy using pragmatic design in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (CleanUP-IPF) clinical trial
Compelling data have linked disease progression in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with lung dysbiosis and the resulting dysregulated local and systemic immune response. Moreover, prior therapeutic trials have suggested improved outcomes in these patients treated with either sulfamethoxazole/ trimethoprim or doxycycline. These trials have been limited by methodological concerns. This trial addresses the primary hypothesis that long-term treatment with antimicrobial therapy increases the time-to-event endpoint of respiratory hospitalization or all-cause mortality compared to usual care treatment in patients with IPF. We invoke numerous innovative features to achieve this goal, including: 1) utilizing a pragmatic randomized trial design; 2) collecting targeted biological samples to allow future exploration of 'personalized' therapy; and 3) developing a strong partnership between the NHLBI, a broad range of investigators, industry, and philanthropic organizations. The trial will randomize approximately 500 individuals in a 1:1 ratio to either antimicrobial therapy or usual care. The site principal investigator will declare their preferred initial antimicrobial treatment strategy (trimethoprim 160 mg/ sulfamethoxazole 800 mg twice a day plus folic acid 5 mg daily or doxycycline 100 mg once daily if body weight is < 50 kg or 100 mg twice daily if ≥50 kg) for the participant prior to randomization. Participants randomized to antimicrobial therapy will receive a voucher to help cover the additional prescription drug costs. Additionally, those participants will have 4-5 scheduled blood draws over the initial 24 months of therapy for safety monitoring. Blood sampling for DNA sequencing and genome wide transcriptomics will be collected before therapy. Blood sampling for transcriptomics and oral and fecal swabs for determination of the microbiome communities will be collected before and after study completion. As a pragmatic study, participants in both treatment arms will have limited in-person visits with the enrolling clinical center. Visits are limited to assessments of lung function and other clinical parameters at time points prior to randomization and at months 12, 24, and 36. All participants will be followed until the study completion for the assessment of clinical endpoints related to hospitalization and mortality events. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02759120
The ACUTE (Ambulance CPAP: Use, Treatment effect and economics) feasibility study: a pilot randomised controlled trial of prehospital CPAP for acute respiratory failure
Background: Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is a common and life-threatening medical emergency. Standard prehospital
management involves controlled oxygen therapy and disease-specific ancillary treatments. Continuous positive airway
pressure (CPAP) is a potentially beneficial alternative treatment that could be delivered by emergency medical services.
However, it is uncertain whether this treatment could work effectively in United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS)
ambulance services and if it represents value for money.
Methods: An individual patient randomised controlled external pilot trial will be conducted comparing prehospital CPAP
to standard oxygen therapy for ARF. Adults presenting to ambulance service clinicians will be eligible if they have
respiratory distress with peripheral oxygen saturation below British Thoracic Society (BTS) target levels, despite titrated
supplemental oxygen. Enrolled patients will be allocated (1:1 simple randomisation) to prehospital CPAP (O_two system)
or standard oxygen therapy using identical sealed boxes. Feasibility outcomes will include incidence of recruited eligible
patients, number of erroneously recruited patients and proportion of cases adhering to allocation schedule and
treatment, followed up at 30 days and with complete data collection. Effectiveness outcomes will comprise survival at
30 days (definitive trial primary end point), endotracheal intubation, admission to critical care, length of hospital stay,
visual analogue scale (VAS) dyspnoea score, EQ-5D-5L and health care resource use at 30 days. The cost-effectiveness
of CPAP, and of conducting a definitive trial, will be evaluated by updating an existing economic model. The trial aims
to recruit 120 patients over 12 months from four regional ambulance hubs within the West Midlands Ambulance
Service (WMAS). This sample size will allow estimation of feasibility outcomes with a precision of < 5%. Feasibility and
effectiveness outcomes will be reported descriptively for the whole trial population, and each trial arm, together with
their 95% confidence intervals.
Discussion: This study will determine if it is feasible, acceptable and cost-effective to undertake a full-scale trial
comparing CPAP and standard oxygen treatment, delivered by ambulance service clinicians for ARF. This will inform
NHS practice and prevent inappropriate prehospital CPAP adoption on the basis of limited evidence and at a
potentially substantial cost.
Trial registration: ISRCTN12048261. Registered on 30 August 2017. http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN1204826
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The convective storm initiation project
Copyright @ 2007 AMSThe Convective Storm Initiation Project (CSIP) is an international project to understand precisely where, when, and how convective clouds form and develop into showers in the mainly maritime environment of southern England. A major aim of CSIP is to compare the results of the very high resolution Met Office weather forecasting model with detailed observations of the early stages of convective clouds and to use the newly gained understanding to improve the predictions of the model. A large array of ground-based instruments plus two instrumented aircraft, from the U.K. National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and the German Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK), Karlsruhe, were deployed in southern England, over an area centered on the meteorological radars at Chilbolton, during the summers of 2004 and 2005. In addition to a variety of ground-based remote-sensing instruments, numerous rawin-sondes were released at one- to two-hourly intervals from six closely spaced sites. The Met Office weather radar network and Meteosat satellite imagery were used to provide context for the observations made by the instruments deployed during CSIP. This article presents an overview of the CSIP field campaign and examples from CSIP of the types of convective initiation phenomena that are typical in the United Kingdom. It shows the way in which certain kinds of observational data are able to reveal these phenomena and gives an explanation of how the analyses of data from the field campaign will be used in the development of an improved very high resolution NWP model for operational use.This work is funded by the National Environment Research Council following an initial award from the HEFCE Joint Infrastructure Fund
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