Intercepted Silvanidae [Insecta: Coleoptera] From The International Falls, MN [USA] Port-Of-Entry

Silvanidae species recorded in association with imported commodities, at United States ports-of-entry, have not been comprehensively studied. The present study examines the species of beetles of the family Silvanidae intercepted during agricultural quarantine inspections at the International Falls, MN port-of-entry. A total of 244 beetles representing two subfamilies, three genera, and four species of Silvanidae were collected between June 2016 and June 2017. Taxa were associated with 13 imported commodities and recorded from seven countries of origin. A substantial proportion (97.4%) of the records included Silvanus lewisi Reitter and Ahasverus advena (Waltl), two cosmopolitan species associated with dried stored products and various imported commodities. Both Psammoecus simonis Grouvelle and an undetermined species of the genus Psammoecus (sp. 01) were intercepted on a single occasion

Intercepted Silvanidae [Insecta: Coleoptera] From The International Falls, MN [USA] Port-Of-Entry

Silvanidae species recorded in association with imported commodities, at United States ports-of-entry, have not been comprehensively studied. The present study examines the species of beetles of the family Silvanidae intercepted during agricultural quarantine inspections at the International Falls, MN port-of-entry. A total of 244 beetles representing two subfamilies, three genera, and four species of Silvanidae were collected between June 2016 and June 2017. Taxa were associated with 13 imported commodities and recorded from seven countries of origin. A substantial proportion (97.4%) of the records included Silvanus lewisi Reitter and Ahasverus advena (Waltl), two cosmopolitan species associated with dried stored products and various imported commodities. Both Psammoecus simonis Grouvelle and an undetermined species of the genus Psammoecus (sp. 01) were intercepted on a single occasion

A Model for the External Evaluation of State Vocational Rehabilitation Programs for Hearing Impaired Persons

Non

Cross-Species Analyses Identify Dlgap2 as a Regulator of Age-Related Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer\u27s Dementia.

Genetic mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline and dementia remain poorly understood. Here, we take advantage of the Diversity Outbred mouse population to utilize quantitative trait loci mapping and identify Dlgap2 as a positional candidate responsible for modifying working memory decline. To evaluate the translational relevance of this finding, we utilize longitudinal cognitive measures from human patients, RNA expression from post-mortem brain tissue, data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Alzheimer\u27s dementia (AD), and GWAS results in African Americans. We find an association between Dlgap2 and AD phenotypes at the variant, gene and protein expression, and methylation levels. Lower cortical DLGAP2 expression is observed in AD and is associated with more plaques and tangles at autopsy and faster cognitive decline. Results will inform future studies aimed at investigating the cross-species role of Dlgap2 in regulating cognitive decline and highlight the benefit of using genetically diverse mice to prioritize novel candidates

Comparative Genomics of 2009 Seasonal Plague (Yersinia pestis) in New Mexico

Plague disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis routinely affects animals and occasionally humans, in the western United States. The strains native to the North American continent are thought to be derived from a single introduction in the late 19th century. The degree to which these isolates have diverged genetically since their introduction is not clear, and new genomic markers to assay the diversity of North American plague are highly desired. To assay genetic diversity of plague isolates within confined geographic areas, draft genome sequences were generated by 454 pyrosequencing from nine environmental and clinical plague isolates. In silico assemblies of Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) loci were compared to laboratory-generated profiles for seven markers. High-confidence SNPs and small Insertion/Deletions (Indels) were compared to previously sequenced Y. pestis isolates. The resulting panel of mutations allowed clustering of the strains and tracing of the most likely evolutionary trajectory of the plague strains. The sequences also allowed the identification of new putative SNPs that differentiate the 2009 isolates from previously sequenced plague strains and from each other. In addition, new insertion points for the abundant insertion sequences (IS) of Y. pestis are present that allow additional discrimination of strains; several of these new insertions potentially inactivate genes implicated in virulence. These sequences enable whole-genome phylogenetic analysis and allow the unbiased comparison of closely related isolates of a genetically monomorphic pathogen

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

A Model for the External Evaluation of State Vocational Rehabilitation Programs for Hearing Impaired Persons

Non