298 research outputs found
A Reevaluation of the Native American MtDNA Genome Diversity and Its Bearing on the Models of Early Colonization of Beringia
The Americas were the last continents to be populated by humans, and their colonization represents a very interesting chapter in our species' evolution in which important issues are still contentious or largely unknown. One difficult topic concerns the details of the early peopling of Beringia, such as for how long it was colonized before people moved into the Americas and the demography of this occupation. A recent work using mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) data presented evidence for a so called âthree-stage modelâ consisting of a very early expansion into Beringia followed by âŒ20,000 years of population stability before the final entry into the Americas. However, these results are in disagreement with other recent studies using similar data and methods. Here, we reanalyze their data to check the robustness of this model and test the ability of Native American mtDNA to discriminate details of the early colonization of Beringia. We apply the Bayesian Skyline Plot approach to recover the past demographic dynamic underpinning these events using different mtDNA data sets. Our results refute the specific details of the âthree-stage modelâ, since the early stage of expansion into Beringia followed by a long period of stasis could not be reproduced in any mtDNA data set cleaned from non-Native American haplotypes. Nevertheless, they are consistent with a moderate population bottleneck in Beringia associated with the Last Glacial Maximum followed by a strong population growth around 18,000 years ago as suggested by other recent studies. We suggest that this bottleneck erased the signals of ancient demographic history from recent Native American mtDNA pool, and conclude that the proposed early expansion and occupation of Beringia is an artifact caused by the misincorporation of non-Native American haplotypes
Effects of Eurythmy Therapy on Stress Perception in Comparison with a Sports Intervention from the Subjectsâ Perspective - A Qualitative Study
Stress and health-related quality of life are important constructs used in
treatment evaluation today. This study is based on a randomised controlled
trial examining the stress-reducing effect of eurythmy therapy in comparison
with step aerobics in 106 healthy but stressed subjects. The aim of the
analysis was to characterise changes in the subjective perceptions of the
participants. Methods. Interviews were conducted with 76 healthy adults, 36 ()
from the eurythmy group and 40 () from the step aerobics group both analysed
by content analysis and phenomenologically. Results. The following categories
were identified for the eurythmy therapy group: enabling a productive
therapeutic response, emergence of a new perceptual space, reevaluation of the
accustomed perception, and emergence of new options for action. Step aerobics
places increased physical and intellectual demands. These are perceived
differently as pleasant and relaxing, insufficiently challenging and/or
boring, and too challenging and thus experienced as stress-enhancing.
Conclusion. The qualitative results provided revealing insights into the
profound effects of and subjective assignments of meaning to external and
internal stress factors. Processes of mental reinterpretation leading to
stress reduction can be stimulated by physical procedures such as eurythmy
therapy
5 Years After Tragedy: An Update on Organ Procurement Travel in Michigan
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100335/1/ajt12399.pd
Impurity intrusion in radio-frequency micro-plasma jets operated in ambient air
Space and time resolved concentrations of helium metastable atoms in an
atmospheric pressure radio-frequency micro-plasma jet were measured using
tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy. Spatial profiles as well as
lifetime measurements show significant influences of air entering the discharge
from the front nozzle and of impurities originating from the gas supply system.
Quenching of metastables was used to deduce quantitative concentrations of
intruding impurities. The impurity profile along the jet axis was determined
from optical emission spectroscopy as well as their dependance on the feed gas
flow through the jet.Comment: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (accepted), 6 page
P02.105. Short term improvement of subject well-being after a single Rhythmical Massage: a prospective, randomized, controlled trial
P02.106. Eurhythmy Therapy in the aftercare of children and adolescents with brain tumors of the posterior fossa: a pilot study
CFIm-mediated alternative polyadenylation remodels cellular signaling and miRNA biogenesis
The mammalian cleavage factor I (CFIm) has been implicated in alternative polyadenylation (APA) in a broad range of contexts, from cancers to learning deficits and parasite infections. To determine how the CFIm expression levels are translated into these diverse phenotypes, we carried out a multi-omics analysis of cell lines in which the CFIm25 (NUDT21) or CFIm68 (CPSF6) subunits were either repressed by siRNA-mediated knockdown or over-expressed from stably integrated constructs. We established that >800 genes undergo coherent APA in response to changes in CFIm levels, and they cluster in distinct functional classes related to protein metabolism. The activity of the ERK pathway traces the CFIm concentration, and explains some of the fluctuations in cell growth and metabolism that are observed upon CFIm perturbations. Furthermore, multiple transcripts encoding proteins from the miRNA pathway are targets of CFIm-dependent APA. This leads to an increased biogenesis and repressive activity of miRNAs at the same time as some 3' UTRs become shorter and presumably less sensitive to miRNA-mediated repression. Our study provides a first systematic assessment of a core set of APA targets that respond coherently to changes in CFIm protein subunit levels (CFIm25/CFIm68). We describe the elicited signaling pathways downstream of CFIm, which improve our understanding of the key role of CFIm in integrating RNA processing with other cellular activities
An overview of the first decade of PollyNET : an emerging network of automated Raman-polarization lidars for continuous aerosol profiling
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 LicenseA global vertically resolved aerosol data set covering more than 10 years of observations at more than 20 measurement sites distributed from 63°âŻN to 52°âŻS and 72°âŻW to 124°âŻE has been achieved within the Raman and polarization lidar network PollyNET. This network consists of portable, remote-controlled multiwavelength-polarization-Raman lidars (Polly) for automated and continuous 24/7 observations of clouds and aerosols. PollyNET is an independent, voluntary, and scientific network. All Polly lidars feature a standardized instrument design with different capabilities ranging from single wavelength to multiwavelength systems, and now apply unified calibration, quality control, and data analysis. The observations are processed in near-real time without manual intervention, and are presented online at http://polly.tropos.de/. The paper gives an overview of the observations on four continents and two research vessels obtained with eight Polly systems. The specific aerosol types at these locations (mineral dust, smoke, dust-smoke and other dusty mixtures, urban haze, and volcanic ash) are identified by their Ă
ngström exponent, lidar ratio, and depolarization ratio. The vertical aerosol distribution at the PollyNET locations is discussed on the basis of more than 55âŻ000 automatically retrieved 30âŻmin particle backscatter coefficient profiles at 532âŻnm as this operating wavelength is available for all Polly lidar systems. A seasonal analysis of measurements at selected sites revealed typical and extraordinary aerosol conditions as well as seasonal differences. These studies show the potential of PollyNET to support the establishment of a global aerosol climatology that covers the entire troposphere.Peer reviewe
A Screen for RNA-Binding Proteins in Yeast Indicates Dual Functions for Many Enzymes
Hundreds of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) control diverse aspects of post-transcriptional gene regulation. To identify novel and unconventional RBPs, we probed high-density protein microarrays with fluorescently labeled RNA and selected 200 proteins that reproducibly interacted with different types of RNA from budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Surprisingly, more than half of these proteins represent previously known enzymes, many of them acting in metabolism, providing opportunities to directly connect intermediary metabolism with posttranscriptional gene regulation. We mapped the RNA targets for 13 proteins identified in this screen and found that they were associated with distinct groups of mRNAs, some of them coding for functionally related proteins. We also found that overexpression of the enzyme Map1 negatively affects the expression of experimentally defined mRNA targets. Our results suggest that many proteins may associate with mRNAs and possibly control their fates, providing dense connections between different layers of cellular regulation
The relevance of nanoscale biological fragments for ice nucleation in clouds
Most studies of the role of biological entities as atmospheric ice-nucleating particles have focused on relatively rare supermicron particles such as bacterial cells, fungal spores and pollen grains. However, it is not clear that there are sufficient numbers of these particles in the atmosphere to strongly influence clouds. Here we show that the ice-nucleating activity of a fungus from the ubiquitous genus Fusarium is related to the presence of nanometre-scale particles which are far more numerous, and therefore potentially far more important for cloud glaciation than whole intact spores or hyphae. In addition, we quantify the ice-nucleating activity of nano-ice nucleating particles (nano-INPs) washed off pollen and also show that nano-INPs are present in a soil sample. Based on these results, we suggest that there is a reservoir of biological nano-INPs present in the environment which may, for example, become aerosolised in association with fertile soil dust particles
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