Phosphorylation of the eIF4E-binding protein PHAS-I after exposure of PC12 cells to EGF and NGF

AbstractPHAS-I or the eIF4E-binding protein 1 regulates the cap-binding activity of eIF4E by sequestering eIF4E. Binding of eIF4E to PHAS-I is regulated by phosphorylation of PHAS-I. PC12 cells were used to study the signal transduction pathway leading to phosphorylation of PHAS-I. Both EGF and NGF induced phosphorylation of PHAS-I. Wortmannin, a PI-3 kinase inhibitor, staurosporine, a PKC inhibitor, and rapamycin, a FRAP inhibitor all blocked the phosphorylation of PHAS-I. Of the three inhibitors, only wortmannin was able to inhibit MAPK phosphorylation. This excludes a role for MAPK in NGF- and EGF-induced PHAS-I phosphorylation in PC12 cells. Apparently, PHAS-I was phosphorylated in a PI-3 kinase-, PKC-, and FRAP-dependent manner after EGF or NGF stimulation. Only PI-3 kinase and FRAP are involved in the regulation of the basal level of PHAS-I phosphorylation

Coordination problems in container barging in the port of Rotterdam

Container barging has gained in importance in port-related transport along with the need for sustainable transport. Nevertheless, coordination problems between terminal operator and barge operator exist, and performance lags behind. This paper analyses actors that may hinder or stimulate a better future performance of container barging in the port of Rotterdam. A case study is accomplished and guided by a framework rooted in Institutional Economics. Despite favoura

Urinary sulfate excretion and risk of late graft failure in renal transplant recipients - a prospective cohort study

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), produced from metabolism of dietary sulfur-containing amino acids, is allegedly a renoprotective compound. Twenty-four-hour urinary sulfate excretion (USE) may reflect H2S bioavailability. We aimed to investigate the association of USE with graft failure in a large prospective cohort of renal transplant recipients (RTR). We included 704 stable RTR, recruited at least 1 year after transplantation. We applied log-rank testing and Cox regression analyses to study association of USE, measured from baseline 24 h urine samples, with graft failure. Median age was 55 [45–63] years (57% male, eGFR was 45 ± 19 ml/min/1.73 m2). Median USE was 17.1 [13.1–21.1] mmol/24 h. Over median follow-up of 5.3 [4.5–6.0] years, 84 RTR experienced graft failure. RTR in the lowest sex-specific tertile of USE experienced a higher rate of graft failure during follow-up than RTR in the middle and highest sex-specific tertiles (18%, 13%, and 5%, respectively, log-rank P < 0.001). In Cox regression analyses, USE was inversely associated with graft failure [HR per 10 mmol/24 h: 0.37 (0.24–0.55), P < 0.001]. The association remained independent of adjustment for potential confounders, including age, sex, eGFR, proteinuria, time between transplantation and baseline, BMI, smoking, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein [HR per 10 mmol/24 h: 0.51 (0.31–0.82), P = 0.01]. In conclusion, this study demonstrates a significant inverse association of USE with graft failure in RTR, suggesting high H2S bioavailability as a novel, potentially modifiable factor for prevention of graft failure in RTR

Prevalence and clinical consequences of Hepatitis E in patients who underwent liver transplantation for chronic Hepatitis C in the United States

Background: Infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) in immunocompromised patients can lead to severe liver disease. Treatment options for HEV include peginterferon or ribavirin, routinely also used for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We determined the prevalence and clinical consequences of HEV in United States (US) based patients who underwent liver transplantation (LT) for chronic HCV. Methods: Seroprevalence of HEV in 145 US LT recipients with a history of chronic HCV was determined pre-LT, 1, 3 and 5 years post-LT. All last available samples and all samples in IgM positive patients and post-LT IgG seroconverters were tested for HEV RNA. Results: Overall anti-HEV seroprevalence was 42 %. Five patients were HEV IgM positive pre-LT, one patient had IgM seroconversion post-LT and eight patients had IgG seroconversion post-LT. None of the tested samples were positive for HEV RNA. Eight out of nine of the post-LT seroconverters had been treated for HCV recurrence before or at the moment of seroconversion. Conclusions: LT recipients in the US are at risk of acquiring HEV. Post-LT HCV treatment with interferons and/or ribavirin may have protected patients against chronic HEV. With the arrival of new direct antiviral agents for the treatment of HCV and the elimination of peginterferon and ribavirin from HCV treatment regimens, the prevalence of chronic HEV in this population may rise again

An MPEG-7 scheme for semantic content modelling and filtering of digital video

Abstract Part 5 of the MPEG-7 standard specifies Multimedia Description Schemes (MDS); that is, the format multimedia content models should conform to in order to ensure interoperability across multiple platforms and applications. However, the standard does not specify how the content or the associated model may be filtered. This paper proposes an MPEG-7 scheme which can be deployed for digital video content modelling and filtering. The proposed scheme, COSMOS-7, produces rich and multi-faceted semantic content models and supports a content-based filtering approach that only analyses content relating directly to the preferred content requirements of the user. We present details of the scheme, front-end systems used for content modelling and filtering and experiences with a number of users

Interaction of free-floating planets with a star-planet pair

The recent discovery of free-floating planets and their theoretical interpretation as celestial bodies, either condensed independently or ejected from parent stars in tight clusters, introduced an intriguing possibility. Namely, that some exoplanets are not condensed from the protoplanetary disk of their parent star. In this novel scenario a free-floating planet interacts with an already existing planetary system, created in a tight cluster, and is captured as a new planet. In the present work we study this interaction process by integrating trajectories of planet-sized bodies, which encounter a binary system consisting of a Jupiter-sized planet revolving around a Sun-like star. To simplify the problem we assume coplanar orbits for the bound and the free-floating planet and an initially parabolic orbit for the free-floating planet. By calculating the uncertainty exponent, a quantity that measures the dependence of the final state of the system on small changes of the initial conditions, we show that the interaction process is a fractal classical scattering. The uncertainty exponent is in the range (0.2-0.3) and is a decreasing function of time. In this way we see that the statistical approach we follow to tackle the problem is justified. The possible final outcomes of this interaction are only four, namely flyby, planet exchange, capture or disruption. We give the probability of each outcome as a function of the incoming planet's mass. We find that the probability of exchange or capture (in prograde as well as retrograde orbits and for very long times) is non-negligible, a fact that might explain the possible future observations of planetary systems with orbits that are either retrograde or tight and highly eccentric.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figure

Exploring the sensitivity of coastal inundation modelling to DEM vertical error

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. As sea level is projected to rise throughout the twenty-first century due to climate change, there is a need to ensure that sea level rise (SLR) models accurately and defensibly represent future flood inundation levels to allow for effective coastal zone management. Digital elevation models (DEMs) are integral to SLR modelling, but are subject to error, including in their vertical resolution. Error in DEMs leads to uncertainty in the output of SLR inundation models, which if not considered, may result in poor coastal management decisions. However, DEM error is not usually described in detail by DEM suppliers; commonly only the RMSE is reported. This research explores the impact of stated vertical error in delineating zones of inundation in two locations along the Devon, United Kingdom, coastline (Exe and Otter Estuaries). We explore the consequences of needing to make assumptions about the distribution of error in the absence of detailed error data using a 1 m, publically available composite DEM with a maximum RMSE of 0.15 m, typical of recent LiDAR-derived DEMs. We compare uncertainty using two methods (i) the NOAA inundation uncertainty mapping method which assumes a normal distribution of error and (ii) a hydrologically correct bathtub method where the DEM is uniformly perturbed between the upper and lower bounds of a 95% linear error in 500 Monte Carlo Simulations (HBM+MCS). The NOAA method produced a broader zone of uncertainty (an increase of 134.9% on the HBM+MCS method), which is particularly evident in the flatter topography of the upper estuaries. The HBM+MCS method generates a narrower band of uncertainty for these flatter areas, but very similar extents where shorelines are steeper. The differences in inundation extents produced by the methods relate to a number of underpinning assumptions, and particularly, how the stated RMSE is interpreted and used to represent error in a practical sense. Unlike the NOAA method, the HBM+MCS model is computationally intensive, depending on the areas under consideration and the number of iterations. We therefore used the HBM+ MCS method to derive a regression relationship between elevation and inundation probability for the Exe Estuary. We then apply this to the adjacent Otter Estuary and show that it can defensibly reproduce zones of inundation uncertainty, avoiding the computationally intensive step of the HBM+MCS. The equation-derived zone of uncertainty was 112.1% larger than the HBM+MCS method, compared to the NOAA method which produced an uncertain area 423.9% larger. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages and requires value judgements to be made. Their use underscores the need for transparency in assumptions and communications of outputs. We urge DEM publishers to move beyond provision of a generalised RMSE and provide more detailed estimates of spatial error and complete metadata, including locations of ground control points and associated land cover

Nonleptonic Λb\Lambda_b decays to Ds(2317)D_s(2317), Ds(2460)D_s(2460) and other final states in Factorization

We consider nonleptonic Cabibbo--allowed $\Lambda_b$ decays in the factorization approximation. We calculate nonleptonic decays of the type $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c P$ and $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c V$ relative to $\bar{B}_d \to D^+ P$ and $\bar{B}_d \to D^+ V$ where we include among the pseudoscalar states(P) and the vector states(V) the newly discovered $D_s$ resonances, $D_s(2317)$ and $D_s(2460)$. In the ratio of $\Lambda_b$ decays to $D_s(2317)$ and $D_s(2460)$ relative to the $\bar{B}_d$ decays to these states, the poorly known decay constants of $D_s(2317)$ and $D_s(2460)$ cancel leading to predictions that can shed light on the nature of these new states. In general, we predict the $\Lambda_b$ decays to be larger than the corresponding $\bar{B}_d$ decays and in particular we find the branching ratio for $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c D_s(2460)$ can be between four to five times the branching ratio for $\bar{B}_d \to D^+ D_s(2460)$. This enhancement of $\Lambda_b$ branching ratios follows primarily from the fact that more partial waves contribute in $\Lambda_b$ decays than in $\bar{B}_d$ decays. Our predictions are largely independent of model calculations of hadronic inputs like form factors and decay constants.Comment: 16 pages LaTe