Conservation of the PBL-RBOH immune module in land plants

The rapid production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a key signaling output in plant immunity. In the angiosperm model species Arabidopsis thaliana (hereafter Arabidopsis), recognition of non- or altered-self elicitor patterns by cell-surface immune receptors activates the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases (RLCKs) of the AVRPPHB SUSCEPTIBLE 1 (PBS1)-like (PBL) family, particularly BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE1 (BIK1).$^{1}$$^{,}$$^{2}$$^{,}$$^{3}$ BIK1/PBLs in turn phosphorylate the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase RESPIRATORY BURST OXIDASE HOMOLOG D (RBOHD) to induce apoplastic ROS production.$^{4}$$^{,}$$^{5}$ PBL and RBOH functions in plant immunity have been extensively characterized in flowering plants. Much less is known about the conservation of pattern-triggered ROS signaling pathways in non-flowering plants. In this study, we show that in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha (hereafter Marchantia), single members of the RBOH and PBL families, namely MpRBOH1 and MpPBLa, are required for chitin-induced ROS production. MpPBLa directly interacts with and phosphorylates MpRBOH1 at specific, conserved sites within its cytosolic N terminus, and this phosphorylation is essential for chitin-induced MpRBOH1-mediated ROS production. Collectively, our work reveals the functional conservation of the PBL-RBOH module that controls pattern-triggered ROS production in land plants

Structural Characterization of a High-Temperature, Ionic Conducting Ceramic using Perturbed Angular Correlation Spectroscopy

Perturbed angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy has been used to characterize several structural aspects of a high-temperature, ionic conducting ceramic, CaZr3.95Hf0.05P6O24. Hafnium was introduced into the material to provide the PAC probe nuclei, 181Hf/181Ta, which were located primarily at Zr sites. PAC measurements were made over a range of temperatures from 77 to 1180 K, and they have been analyzed and interpreted using several simple models. The distorted octahedral crystal field at the Zr site produced a (low-frequency) static electric quadrupole interaction which can be accurately described by the point-charge model. But, the temperature dependence of the associated electric field gradient (EFG) cannot be described accurately by purely static considerations via the point-charge model and high-temperature x-ray diffraction data. Although a high-frequency static interaction was also observed, the measurements were not sufficiently accurate to identify its origin unambiguously. Some of the high-temperature measurements show evidence of a time-varying interaction, which may result from Ca2+-ion jumping. But, jump frequencies derived classically from high-temperature electrical dc conductivity measurements are too low to agree with those indicated by the PAC data. However, the dc conductivity measurements support a simple model of thermally activated Ca2+-ion transport. The temperature dependence of the EFG (corresponding to the low-frequency interaction) was used to determine an effective Debye-Waller factor. As a result of using this approach to analyze this type of PAC data, this factor was shown also to agree qualitatively with the predictions of the Debye crystal model, although significant theoretical limitations were encountered. These particular results suggest that the PAC technique may provide new insights into understanding advanced ceramic materials

Relative luminosity measurement of the LHC with the ATLAS forward calorimeter

In this paper it is shown that a measurement of the relative luminosity changes at the LHC may be obtained by analysing the currents drawn from the high voltage power supplies of the electromagnetic section of the forward calorimeter of the ATLAS detector. The method was verified with a reproduction of a small section of the ATLAS forward calorimeter using proton beams of known beam energies and variable intensities at the U-70 accelerator at IHEP in Protvino, Russia. The experimental setup and the data taking during a test beam run in April 2008 are described in detail. A comparison of the measured high voltage currents with reference measurements from beam intensity monitors shows a linear dependence on the beam intensity. The non-linearities are measured to be less than 0.5 % combining statistical and systematic uncertainties.Comment: 16 page

Differences in Hemoglobin A 1c Between Hispanics/Latinos and Non-Hispanic Whites: An Analysis of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos and the 2007–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

To determine whether, after adjustment for glycemia and other selected covariates, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) differed among adults from six Hispanic/Latino heritage groups (Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and South American) and between Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic white adults without self-reported diabetes

Slepian functions and their use in signal estimation and spectral analysis

It is a well-known fact that mathematical functions that are timelimited (or spacelimited) cannot be simultaneously bandlimited (in frequency). Yet the finite precision of measurement and computation unavoidably bandlimits our observation and modeling scientific data, and we often only have access to, or are only interested in, a study area that is temporally or spatially bounded. In the geosciences we may be interested in spectrally modeling a time series defined only on a certain interval, or we may want to characterize a specific geographical area observed using an effectively bandlimited measurement device. It is clear that analyzing and representing scientific data of this kind will be facilitated if a basis of functions can be found that are "spatiospectrally" concentrated, i.e. "localized" in both domains at the same time. Here, we give a theoretical overview of one particular approach to this "concentration" problem, as originally proposed for time series by Slepian and coworkers, in the 1960s. We show how this framework leads to practical algorithms and statistically performant methods for the analysis of signals and their power spectra in one and two dimensions, and on the surface of a sphere.Comment: Submitted to the Handbook of Geomathematics, edited by Willi Freeden, Zuhair M. Nashed and Thomas Sonar, and to be published by Springer Verla

A new view of electrochemistry at highly oriented pyrolytic graphite

Major new insights on electrochemical processes at graphite electrodes are reported, following extensive investigations of two of the most studied redox couples, Fe(CN)64–/3– and Ru(NH3)63+/2+. Experiments have been carried out on five different grades of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) that vary in step-edge height and surface coverage. Significantly, the same electrochemical characteristic is observed on all surfaces, independent of surface quality: initial cyclic voltammetry (CV) is close to reversible on freshly cleaved surfaces (>400 measurements for Fe(CN)64–/3– and >100 for Ru(NH3)63+/2+), in marked contrast to previous studies that have found very slow electron transfer (ET) kinetics, with an interpretation that ET only occurs at step edges. Significantly, high spatial resolution electrochemical imaging with scanning electrochemical cell microscopy, on the highest quality mechanically cleaved HOPG, demonstrates definitively that the pristine basal surface supports fast ET, and that ET is not confined to step edges. However, the history of the HOPG surface strongly influences the electrochemical behavior. Thus, Fe(CN)64–/3– shows markedly diminished ET kinetics with either extended exposure of the HOPG surface to the ambient environment or repeated CV measurements. In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveals that the deterioration in apparent ET kinetics is coupled with the deposition of material on the HOPG electrode, while conducting-AFM highlights that, after cleaving, the local surface conductivity of HOPG deteriorates significantly with time. These observations and new insights are not only important for graphite, but have significant implications for electrochemistry at related carbon materials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes

Randomized pilot trial of the “Mom Power” trauma- and attachment-informed multi-family group intervention in treating and preventing postpartum symptoms of depression among a health disparity sample

IntroductionPerinatal depression, a common complication related to childbearing, impacts mothers, children, and families. Efficacious interventions reduce perinatal depression symptoms; effort is needed to prevent the onset of perinatal depression. To determine feasibility and preliminary efficacy in reducing perinatal depression, we conducted a community-based, randomized parallel open pilot trial of Mom Power, a group-based intervention to improve mental health and parenting in mothers with young children.MethodsMom Power consists of 10 group sessions, focused on parenting, child development and self-care and three individual sessions, to build rapport and provide personalized referrals. Control group participants received psychoeducational mailings. Computer-based urn randomization assigned mothers with experiences of interpersonal violence, depression, or other traumatic experiences to Mom Power (68) or control (54).ResultsAt 3-months post-treatment, the 31 retained women assigned to Mom Power were half as likely to meet criteria for probable depression (26%) as the 22 women retained in the control group (55%), with treatment predicting lower incidence of probable depression (OR = 0.13, p = 0.015). Moreover, among the 23 women who did not meet criteria for depression diagnosis at baseline, no women in the treatment group developed depression (n = 0, 0%) compared to control group women (n = 3, 30%). Logistic regression controlling for selective attrition confirmed the treatment effect on preventing new onset of depression (OR = 0.029, p = 0.012).ConclusionThese findings support the use of Mom Power for both treatment and prevention of perinatal depression.Clinical trial registrationhttps://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01554215, NCT01554215

Quantum Chemistry in the Age of Quantum Computing

Practical challenges in simulating quantum systems on classical computers have been widely recognized in the quantum physics and quantum chemistry communities over the past century. Although many approximation methods have been introduced, the complexity of quantum mechanics remains hard to appease. The advent of quantum computation brings new pathways to navigate this challenging complexity landscape. By manipulating quantum states of matter and taking advantage of their unique features such as superposition and entanglement, quantum computers promise to efficiently deliver accurate results for many important problems in quantum chemistry such as the electronic structure of molecules. In the past two decades significant advances have been made in developing algorithms and physical hardware for quantum computing, heralding a revolution in simulation of quantum systems. This article is an overview of the algorithms and results that are relevant for quantum chemistry. The intended audience is both quantum chemists who seek to learn more about quantum computing, and quantum computing researchers who would like to explore applications in quantum chemistry

Jet Substructure at the Tevatron and LHC: New results, new tools, new benchmarks

In this report we review recent theoretical progress and the latest experimental results in jet substructure from the Tevatron and the LHC. We review the status of and outlook for calculation and simulation tools for studying jet substructure. Following up on the report of the Boost 2010 workshop, we present a new set of benchmark comparisons of substructure techniques, focusing on the set of variables and grooming methods that are collectively known as "top taggers". To facilitate further exploration, we have attempted to collect, harmonise, and publish software implementations of these techniques.Comment: 53 pages, 17 figures. L. Asquith, S. Rappoccio, C. K. Vermilion, editors; v2: minor edits from journal revision