Study the properties of diamonds electrophoresis microchip

katedra: KMT; rozsah: 69 s.The following master's thesis explores the microfluidics devices and their application in the sequencing of the DNA. Theoretical part describes process of electrophoresis, characteristic of microchips and manufacturing methodology of diamond microfluidic device. In practical part there were conducted researches on diamond microchip, which had characterized its properties and accuracy of its manufacturing. Procedure of microchip testing have been also presented. On this thesis threre were described methodology of measurements and researches, received data and the way of its obtaining. Those results were developed in graphical and numerical way. Summary of this thesis includes discussion of the results and their conclusions.Diplomová práce je věnována tématice mikroprůtokových zařízení a jejich uplatňování v rozvodech elektroforetických. Teoretická část popisuje proces elektroforézu, mikročip, a údaje o provádění metody diamantového zařízení. V praktické části byla představena řada experimentů, které charakterizovaly vlastnosti diamantového mikročipu a přesnost provedení. Popsáno metodiku pro provádění výzkumu na mikročipu. Byla předložená metodika měření výzkumů, získané údaje, způsob jejich obdržení. Tyto výsledky byly zpracovány číselně a graficky, byla také uskutečněná diskuse výsledků

Transposable Modules Generated by a Single Copy of Insertion Sequence ISPme1 and Their Influence on Structure and Evolution of Natural Plasmids of Paracoccus methylutens DM12▿ †

We demonstrated that a single copy of insertion sequence ISPme1 can mobilize adjacent segments of genomic DNA of Paracoccus methylutens DM12, which leads to the generation of diverse transposable elements of various size and DNA contents. All elements (named transposable modules [TMos]) contain ISPme1 (placed at the 5′ ends of the elements) and have variable 3′-end regions of between 0.5 and 5 kb. ISPme1 was shown to encode an outwardly oriented promoter, which may activate the transcription of genes transposed within TMos in evolutionarily distinct hosts. TMos may therefore be considered to be natural systems enabling gene capture, expression, and spread. However, unless these elements have been inserted into a highly conserved genetic context to enable a precise definition of their termini, it is extremely difficult or even impossible to identify them in bacterial genomes by in silico sequence analysis. We showed that TMos are present in the chromosome and plasmids of strain DM12. Sequence analysis of plasmid pMTH1 (32 kb) revealed that four TMos, previously identified with a trap vector, pMEC1, comprise 87% of its genome. Repeated TMos within pMTH1 may stimulate other structural rearrangements resulting from homologous recombination between long repeat sequences. This illustrates that TMos may play a significant role in shaping the structure of natural plasmids, which consequently may have a great impact on the evolution of plasmid genomes

Obesity in Caucasian Seniors on the Rise: Is It Truly Harmful? Results of the PolSenior2 Study

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality; however, data suggest that in old age, obesity is not detrimental. The study’s objective was to verify whether obesity frequency still increases in Polish Caucasian seniors and to verify the “obesity paradox”. Five thousand and fifty-seven community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 65 years completed a detailed medical questionnaire, underwent measurements of the body mass index (BMI) and the waist circumference (WC), and an evaluation of physical and cognitive performances. Over a decade, general obesity increased by 2.1%, mostly due to a 3.9% increase in men. Abdominal obesity increased by 1.0%, mainly due to males, in whom it increased by 3.9%. Obesity increased the risk of several aging-related diseases, but this effect was less pronounced in the oldest-old. Obesity did not adversely affect the physical and cognitive functioning or mortality. Through a multivariable analysis, the BMI and WC remained the independent predictors of the Katz Activities of Daily Living score (p p p p < 0.001). In conclusion, we found that overweight and obesity are not detrimental in seniors, including the oldest-old. We suggest that the anthropometric values defining obesity should be modified for age-advanced people

Carbon Molecular Sieves: Reconstruction of Atomistic Structural Models with Experimental Constraints

We propose a novel methodology for developing experimentally informed structural models of disordered carbon molecular sieves. The hybrid reverse Monte Carlo simulation method coupled with wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments is used for constructing an atomistic level model of a representative sample of carbon molecular sieve film (CMS-F) synthesized in our laboratory. We found that CMS-F possesses a disordered matrix enriched with bended carbon chains and various carbon clusters as opposed to the turbostratic carbon or graphite-like microcrystals. The porestructure of CMS-F has a defected lamellar morphology of one-dimensional periodicity with narrow (~0.4 nm) micropores. The model is applied to study adsorption properties of CMS-F with respect to adsorbates of practical interest, such as N2, H2, CO, and C6H6. Special attention is paid to the hasetransformations in the course of adsorption. In particular, we show theoretically and confirm experimentally that nitrogen solidifies within CMS-F pores at 77 K upon adsorption of 5 mmol/g, and its further adsorption is associated with the adsorbed phase compression induced by strong surface forces

Maternal ethnicity and iron status in early childhood in Toronto, Canada: a cross-sectional study

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the association between maternal ethnicity and iron deficiency (ID) in early childhood, and to evaluate whether infant feeding practices linked to ID differ between maternal ethnic groups.Methods This was a cross-sectional study of healthy children 1–3 years of age. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between maternal ethnicity and ID (serum ferritin &lt;12 µg/L) and the association between maternal ethnicity and five infant feeding practices (breastfeeding duration; bottle use beyond 15 months; current formula use; daily cow’s milk intake &gt;2 cups; meat consumption).Results Of 1851 children included, 12.2% had ID. Compared with the European referent group, we found higher odds of ID among children of South Asian and West Asian/North African maternal ethnicities, and lower odds of ID among children of East Asian maternal ethnicity. Statistically significant covariates associated with higher odds of ID included longer breastfeeding duration and daily cow’s milk intake &gt;2 cups. Current infant formula use was associated with lower odds of ID. Children of South Asian maternal ethnicity had higher odds of bottle use beyond 15 months of age and lower odds of meat consumption.Conclusions We found increased odds of ID among children of South Asian and West Asian/Northern African maternal ethnicities. We found a higher odds of feeding practices linked to ID in children of South Asian maternal ethnicity, but not in children of West Asian/North African maternal ethnicity. Culturally tailored approaches to providing guidance to parents on healthy infant feeding practices may be important to prevent ID in early childhood.Trial registration number NCT01869530