A Call for an International Governance Framework for Human Germline Gene Editing

This Note will argue that human germline editing ought to be subject to a worldwide regulatory initiative contained in an international governance framework. It will touch on the justifications for the call for this agreed upon framework and discuss the current state of regulation of human germline editing, including norms and principles promulgated by international instruments and important statements on the topic. Finally, it will propose suggestions for the substance that an international governance framework should include and acknowledge the challenges in implementing such a framework

Measurements and Comparisons of Diffuse Interstellar Bands around the MBM12 Interstellar Cloud

The interstellar medium is full of cool clouds, around 100°K, made of atoms, molecules, and dust particles. Mysterious components of these clouds are carriers of diffuse, unidentified interstellar bands (DIBs). Because they are too broad to be caused by atoms, they are thought to consist of over 400 nonterrestrial molecules. I tried to observe the behavior of DIBs around the isolated cloud, MBM12, using absorption lines in spectra of background stars. Suitable stars were picked from a database accumulated at the University of Chicago. Spectra were examined using a piece of analysis software, arcexam, written by Dan Welty, that compares wavelength and flux of two stars. I measured 90 lines in the six stars behind the cloud. Probing mainly the edges of the cloud, I found that two DIBs were exceptionally strong compared to their strengths in the other stars in the galaxy. More observations of fainter stars, buried in dust at the cloud center, will be necessary to understand the DIBs more fully. I have demonstrated that this cloud is ideal for such studies. It was found that many of the DIBs that are common in foreground and background stars were usually twice as strong in the background stars

Measurements and Comparisons of Diffuse Interstellar Bands around the MBM12 Interstellar Cloud

The interstellar medium is full of cool clouds, around 100°K, made of atoms, molecules, and dust particles. Mysterious components of these clouds are carriers of diffuse, unidentified interstellar bands (DIBs). Because they are too broad to be caused by atoms, they are thought to consist of over 400 nonterrestrial molecules. I tried to observe the behavior of DIBs around the isolated cloud, MBM12, using absorption lines in spectra of background stars. Suitable stars were picked from a database accumulated at the University of Chicago. Spectra were examined using a piece of analysis software, arcexam, written by Dan Welty, that compares wavelength and flux of two stars. I measured 90 lines in the six stars behind the cloud. Probing mainly the edges of the cloud, I found that two DIBs were exceptionally strong compared to their strengths in the other stars in the galaxy. More observations of fainter stars, buried in dust at the cloud center, will be necessary to understand the DIBs more fully. I have demonstrated that this cloud is ideal for such studies. It was found that many of the DIBs that are common in foreground and background stars were usually twice as strong in the background stars

PReS-FINAL-2286: Mastitis in an adolescent patient with juvenile systemic lupus erythematous

Additional file 6: Figure S3. Accuracy of BayesB models with varying π values

Impact of Including Calf Gender in Models to Predict Breeding Values for Lactation Yields in Dairy Cattle

Foetal calves produce sex hormones that can enter the maternal bloodstream. Male calves typically have longer gestations than female calves resulting in shorter lactations in pastoral production systems. Both of these phenomena could influence milk yields of the dam. North American and French studies have reported conflicting results as to the size of calf gender effects on milk yield. This study used a dataset from New Zealand dairy cattle to fit calf gender effects and quantify the impact of including calf gender when estimating breeding values. The regressions of lactation yield on days in milk were different for second parity cows according to whether the cows had produced male or female calves. The gender of a cow’s second calf had an effect on second lactation milk yield in Holstein Friesians. There was minimal re-ranking of animals when calf gender was included in the model used for breeding value estimation and the expected genetic gain was similar with and without calf gender included in the analytical model

Autonomic cardiac regulation during spontaneous nocturnal hypoglycemia in children with type 1 diabetes

Hypoglycemia is the most common complication in insulin treated diabetes. Though mostly mild, it can be fatal in rare cases: It is hypothesized that hypoglycemia related QTc prolongation contributes to cardiac arrhythmia.; To evaluate influence of nocturnal hypoglycemia on QTc and heart rate variability (HRV) in children with T1D.; Children and adolescents with T1D for at least 6 months participated in an observational study using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and Holter electrocardiogram for five consecutive nights. Mean QTc was calculated for episodes of nocturnal hypoglycemia (<3.7 mmol/L) and compared to periods of the same duration preceding hypoglycemia. HRV (RMSSD, low and high frequency power LF and HF) was analyzed for different 15 min intervals: before hypoglycemia, onset of hypoglycemia, before/after nadir, end of hypoglycemia and after hypoglycemia.; Mean QTc during hypoglycemia was significantly longer compared to euglycemia (412 ± 15 vs. 405 ± 18 ms, p = 0.005). HRV changed significantly: RMSSD (from 88 ± 57 to 73 ± 43 ms) and HF (from 54 ± 17 to 47 ± 17nu) decreased from before hypoglycemia to after nadir, while heart rate (from 69 ± 9 to 72 ± 12 bpm) and LF (from 44 ± 17 to 52 ± 21 nu) increased (p = 0.04).; A QTc lengthening effect of nocturnal hypoglycemia in children with T1D was documented. HRV changes occurred even before detection of nocturnal hypoglycemia by CGM, which may be useful for hypoglycemia prediction

Zfp281 orchestrates interconversion of pluripotent states by engaging Ehmt1 and Zic2.

Developmental cell fate specification is a unidirectional process that can be reverted in response to injury or experimental reprogramming. Whether differentiation and de-differentiation trajectories intersect mechanistically is unclear. Here, we performed comparative screening in lineage-related mouse naïve embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and primed epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs), and identified the constitutively expressed zinc finger transcription factor (TF) Zfp281 as a bidirectional regulator of cell state interconversion. We showed that subtle chromatin binding changes in differentiated cells translate into activation of the histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferase Ehmt1 and stabilization of the zinc finger TF Zic2 at enhancers and promoters. Genetic gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments confirmed a critical role of Ehmt1 and Zic2 downstream of Zfp281 both in driving exit from the ESC state and in restricting reprogramming of EpiSCs. Our study reveals that cell type-invariant chromatin association of Zfp281 provides an interaction platform for remodeling the cis-regulatory network underlying cellular plasticity

Can nanolites enhance eruption explosivity?

Degassing dynamics play a crucial role in controlling the explosivity of magma at erupting volcanoes. Degassing of magmatic water typically involves bubble nucleation and growth, which drive magma ascent. Crystals suspended in magma may influence both nucleation and growth of bubbles. Micron- to centimeter-sized crystals can cause heterogeneous bubble nucleation and facilitate bubble coalescence. Nanometer-scale crystalline phases, so-called “nanolites”, are an underreported phenomenon in erupting magma and could exert a primary control on the eruptive style of silicic volcanoes. Yet the influence of nanolites on degassing processes remains wholly uninvestigated. In order to test the influence of nanolites on bubble nucleation and growth dynamics, we use an experimental approach to document how nanolites can increase the bubble number density and affect growth kinetics in a degassing nanolite-bearing silicic magma. We then examine a compilation of these values from natural volcanic rocks from explosive eruptions leading to the inference that some very high naturally occurring bubble number densities could be associated with the presence of magmatic nanolites. Finally, using a numerical magma ascent model, we show that for reasonable starting conditions for silicic eruptions, an increase in the resulting bubble number density associated with nanolites could push an eruption that would otherwise be effusive into the conditions required for explosive behavior

Fear of hypoglycemia and quality of life in young people with type 1 diabetes and their parents in the era of sensor glucose monitoring

IntroductionIt is crucial to understand psychosocial outcomes in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their families to provide optimal family-centered care. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore psychosocial outcomes in young people with T1D and their parents using currently available glucose monitoring devices in a real-life clinic setting.MethodsChildren and adolescents aged 2-18 years with T1D for more than 6 months and their parents were recruited into a cross-sectional study to complete the Hypoglycemia Fear Survey (HFS) and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Generic Score Scales, Diabetes Module and Family Impact Module. Demographics and diabetes-specific parameters were obtained from medicals records.ResultsFifty-nine children and adolescents (mean age 15.1 ± 3.0 years) and 49 parents of children (mean age of children 12.5± 3.3 years) of which 44 were child-parent dyads completed the questionnaires. Parents had a higher mean (SD) FOH total and worry subscore than children, total score was 37.9 (14.6) vs. 32.2 (11.9), p = 0.047 and worry subscore was 17.8 (10.4) vs. 12.8 (9.0), p = 0.01. Furthermore, lower parental diabetes-specific QoL score was observed in parents, 78.8 (12.2) vs. 82.7 (10.3), p=0.02. No difference in FOH and QoL between real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rtCGM) and intermittently scanned glucose monitoring (isCGM) users and users of devices with and without alerts was observed. In isCGM users (n=36 completing the child questionnaires, n=33 completing parent questionnaires), higher parental FOH and lower parental diabetes-specific QoL correlated with higher scanning frequency, r = 0.399, p = 0.021, and r = -0.464, p = 0.007 respectively. No significant correlation was documented between scanning frequency and child questionnaire scores.ConclusionsParents are more likely to perceive higher levels of psychosocial burden related to their child’s diabetes than children and adolescents with T1D, especially parents of younger children. This highlights the need for family-based education and treatment resources to support parents in diabetes management in addition to rapidly advancing diabetes technology. In isCGM users, higher parental FOH and lower parent-perceived QoL correlated with a higher scanning frequency, indicating the potential impact of glucose monitoring modality on psychosocial outcomes or vice versa