Old Folks at Home / words by Louis A. Drumheller

Key of D. Cover: a drawing of an old African American couple in front of the fire place (see 102); Publisher: Joseph Morris (Philadelphia)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_b/1082/thumbnail.jp

Draft Genome Sequence of Photorhabdus luminescens Strain BA1, an Entomopathogenic Bacterium Isolated from Nematodes Found in Egypt

Photorhabdus luminescens strain BA1 is an entomopathogenic bacterium that forms a symbiotic association with Heterorhabditis nematodes. We report here a 5.0-Mbp draft genome sequence for P. luminscens strain BA1, with a G+C content of 42.46% and 4,250 candidate protein-coding genes

Draft Genome Sequence of Photorhabdus temperata Strain Meg1, an Entomopathogenic Bacterium Isolated from Heterorhabditis megidis Nematodes

Photorhabdus temperata strain Meg1 is an entomopathogenic bacterium that forms a symbiotic association with Heterorhabditis nematodes. We report here a 4.9-Mbp draft genome sequence for P. temperata strain Meg1, with a G+C content of 43.18% and containing 4,340 candidate protein-coding genes

When is rotational angiography superior to conventional single-plane angiography for planning coronary angioplasty?

Objectives: To investigate the value of rotational coronary angiography (RoCA) in the context of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) planning. Background: As a diagnostic tool, RoCA is associated with decreased patient irradiation and contrast use compared with conventional coronary angiography (CA) and provides superior appreciation of three-dimensional anatomy. However, its value in PCI remains unknown. Methods: We studied stable coronary artery disease assessment and PCI planning by interventional cardiologists. Patients underwent either RoCA or conventional CA pre-PCI for planning. These were compared with the referral CA (all conventional) in terms of quantitative lesion assessment and operator confidence. An independent panel reanalyzed all parameters. Results: Six operators performed 127 procedures (60 RoCA, 60 conventional CA, and 7 crossed-over) and assessed 212 lesions. RoCA was associated with a reduction in the number of lesions judged to involve a bifurcation (23 vs. 30 lesions, P < 0.05) and a reduction in the assessment of vessel caliber (2.8 vs. 3.0 mm, P < 0.05). RoCA improved confidence assessing lesion length (P = 0.01), percentage stenosis (P = 0.02), tortuosity (P < 0.04), and proximity to a bifurcation (P = 0.03), particularly in left coronary artery cases. X-ray dose, contrast agent volume, and procedure duration were not significantly different. Conclusions: Compared with conventional CA, RoCA augments quantitative lesion assessment, enhances confidence in the assessment of coronary artery disease and the precise details of the proposed procedure, but does not affect X-ray dose, contrast agent volume, or procedure duration. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Climate Action In Megacities 3.0

"Climate Action in Megacities 3.0" (CAM 3.0) presents major new insights into the current status, latest trends and future potential for climate action at the city level. Documenting the volume of action being taken by cities, CAM 3.0 marks a new chapter in the C40-Arup research partnership, supported by the City Leadership Initiative at University College London. It provides compelling evidence about cities' commitment to tackling climate change and their critical role in the fight to achieve global emissions reductions

Impact of Sleep and Circadian Disruption on Energy Balance and Diabetes: A Summary of Workshop Discussions

A workshop was held at the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases with a focus on the impact of sleep and circadian disruption on energy balance and diabetes. The workshop identified a number of key principles for research in this area and a number of specific opportunities. Studies in this area would be facilitated by active collaboration between investigators in sleep/circadian research and investigators in metabolism/diabetes. There is a need to translate the elegant findings from basic research into improving the metabolic health of the American public. There is also a need for investigators studying the impact of sleep/circadian disruption in humans to move beyond measurements of insulin and glucose and conduct more in-depth phenotyping. There is also a need for the assessments of sleep and circadian rhythms as well as assessments for sleep-disordered breathing to be incorporated into all ongoing cohort studies related to diabetes risk. Studies in humans need to complement the elegant short-term laboratory-based human studies of simulated short sleep and shift work etc. with studies in subjects in the general population with these disorders. It is conceivable that chronic adaptations occur, and if so, the mechanisms by which they occur needs to be identified and understood. Particular areas of opportunity that are ready for translation are studies to address whether CPAP treatment of patients with pre-diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) prevents or delays the onset of diabetes and whether temporal restricted feeding has the same impact on obesity rates in humans as it does in mice

Quantitative analysis of WC stars: Constraints on neon abundances from ISO/SWS spectroscopy

Neon abundances are derived in four Galactic WC stars -- gamma Vel (WR11, WC8+O7.5III), HD156385 (WR90, WC7), HD192103 (WR135, WC8), and WR146 (WC5+O8) - using mid-infrared fine structure lines obtained with ISO/SWS. Stellar parameters for each star are derived using a non-LTE model atmospheric code (Hillier & Miller 1998) together with ultraviolet (IUE), optical (INT, AAT) and infrared (UKIRT, ISO) spectroscopy. In the case of gamma Vel, we adopt results from De Marco et al. (2000), who followed an identical approach. ISO/SWS datasets reveal the [NeIII] 15.5um line in each of our targets, while [NeII] 12.8um, [SIV] 10.5um and [SIII] 18.7um are observed solely in gamma Vel. Using a method updated from Barlow et al. (1988) to account for clumped winds, we derive Ne/He=3-4x10^-3 by number, plus S/He=6x10^-5 for gamma Vel. Neon is highly enriched, such that Ne/S in gamma Vel is eight times higher than cosmic values. However, observed Ne/He ratios are a factor of two times lower than predictions of current evolutionary models of massive stars. An imprecise mass-loss and distance were responsible for the much greater discrepancy in neon content identified by Barlow et al. Our sample of WC5--8 stars span a narrow range in T* (=55--71kK), with no trend towards higher temperature at earlier spectral type, supporting earlier results for a larger sample by Koesterke & Hamann (1995). Stellar luminosities range from 100,000 to 500,000 Lo, while 10^-5.1 < Mdot/(Mo/yr) < 10^-4.5, adopting clumped winds, in which volume filling factors are 10%. In all cases, wind performance numbers are less than 10, significantly lower than recent estimates. Carbon abundances span 0.08 < C/He < 0.25 by number, while oxygen abundances remain poorly constrained.Comment: 16 pages,7 figures accepted for MNRA

A prospective evaluation of the predictive value of faecal calprotectin in quiescent Crohn’s disease

Background: The faecal calprotectin (FC) test is a non-invasive marker for gastrointestinal inflammation. Aim: To determine whether higher FC levels in individuals with quiescent Crohn’s disease are associated with clinical relapse over the ensuing 12 months.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: A single centre prospective study was undertaken in Crohn's disease patients in clinical remission attending for routine review. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the primary endpoint of clinical relapse by 12 months, based on FC at baseline, was calculated. Kaplan-Meier curves of time to relapse were based on the resulting optimal FC cutoff for predicting relapse.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: Of 97 patients recruited, 92 were either followed up for 12 months without relapsing, or reached the primary endpoint within that period. Of these, 10 (11%) had relapsed by 12 months. The median FC was lower for non-relapsers, 96µg/g (IQR 39-237), than for relapsers, 414µg/g (IQR 259-590), (p=0.005). The area under the ROC curve to predict relapse using FC was 77.4%. An optimal cutoff FC value of 240µg/g to predict relapse of quiescent Crohn’s had sensitivity of 80.0% and specificity of 74.4%. Negative predictive value was 96.8% and positive predictive value was 27.6%. FC≥240μg/g was associated with likelihood of relapse 5.7 (95% CI 1.9-17.3) times higher within 2.3 years than lower values (p=0.002).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusions: In this prospective dataset, FC appears to be a useful, non-invasive tool to help identify quiescent Crohn’s disease patients at a low risk of relapse over the ensuing 12 months. FC of 240µg/g was the optimal cutoff in this cohort.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt

Wind clumping and the wind-wind collision zone in the Wolf-Rayet binary gamma Velorum

We present XMM-Newton observations of gamma^2 Velorum (WR 11, WC8+O7.5III, P = 78.53 d), a nearby Wolf-Ray binary system, at its X-ray high and low states. At high state, emission from a hot collisional plasma dominates from about 1 to 8 keV. At low state, photons between 1 and 4 keV are absorbed. The hot plasma is identified with the shock zone between the winds of the primary Wolf-Rayet star and the secondary O giant. The absorption at low state is interpreted as photoelectric absorption in the Wolf-Rayet wind. This absorption allows us to measure the absorbing column density and to derive a mass loss rate 8x10^{-6} M_sun/yr for the WC8 star. This mass loss rate, in conjunction with a previous Wolf-Rayet wind model, provides evidence for a clumped WR wind. A clumping factor of 16 is required. The X-ray spectra below 1 keV (12 Ang) show no absorption and are essentially similar in both states. There is a rather clear separation in that emission from a plasma hotter than 5 MK is heavily absorbed in low state while the cooler plasma is not. This cool plasma must come from a much more extended region than the hot material. The Neon abundance in the X-ray emitting material is 2.5 times the solar value. The unexpected detection of CV (25.3 Ang) and CVI (31.6 Ang) radiative recombination continua at both phases indicates the presence of a cool (~40,000 K) recombination region located far out in the binary system.Comment: 16 page