Fatty acylation of yeast glycoproteins proceeds independently of N-linked glycosylation

AbstractThe relationship between protein glycosylation and fatty acylation of glycoproteins was studied in the wild-type and asparagine-linked glycosylation-deficient mutants (alg1 and alg2) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. At the non-permissive temperature (37°C), both mutant cells exhibited increased incorporation of [3H]palmitate into five polypeptides based on SDS-PAGE. In contrast, the wild-type yeast cells contained [3H]palmitate-labeled polypeptides of higher molecular weights, which were converted to the bands seen in the mutant cells upon treatment of the cell extract with endoglycosidase H prior to SDS-PAGE. In addition, labeling of the wild-type yeast cells with [3H]palmitate in the presence of tunicamycin revealed the incorporation of [3H]palmitate into the same five bands as found in the alg1 and alg2 mutants at the non-permissive temperature without tunicamycin. These results indicate that fatty acylation of glycoproteins proceeds independently of protein N-glycosylation in yeast cells

Fault classification of low-speed bearings based on support vector machine for regression and genetic algorithms using acoustic emission

PURPOSE : This work under consideration makes use of support vector machines (SVM) for regression and genetic algorithms (GA) which may be referred to as SVMGA, to classify faults in low-speed bearings over a specified speed range, with sinusoidal loads applied to the bearing along the radial and axial directions. METHODS : GA is used as a heuristic tool in finding profound solution to the difficult problem of solving the highly non-linear situation through the application of the principles of evolution by optimizing the statistical features selected for the SVM for regression training solution. It is used to determine the training parameters of SVM for regression which can optimize the model and hence without the forehand knowledge of the probabilistic distribution can form new features from the original dataset. Using SVM for regression, the non-linear regression and fault recognition are achieved. Classification is performed for three classes. In this work, the GA is used to first optimize the statistical features for the best performance before they are used to train the SVM for regression. Experimental studies using acoustic emission caused by bearing faults showed that SVMGA with a Gaussian kernel function better achieves classification on the bearings operated at low speed, regardless of the load type and, under different fault conditions, compared to the exponential kernel function and the other many kernel functions which also can be used for the same conditions. RESULTS : This study accomplished the effective classification of different bearing fault patterns especially at low speeds and at varying load conditions using support vector machines (SVM) for regression and genetic algorithms (GA) referred to as SVMGA.https://www.springer.com/journal/424172020-06-12hj2019Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineerin

Low speed rolling bearing diagnostics using acoustic emission and higher order statistics techniques

Diagnostics in low speed rolling element bearings is difficult. Not only are normal frequency domain diagnostics methods not appropriate for this application, but the bearing response signals are usually immersed in background noise which make it difficult to detect these faults. Higher order statistics (HOS) techniques have been available for decades but have not been widely applied to machine condition monitoring with the exceptions of skewness and kurtosis. There is however reason to believe that these HOS techniques could play an important role in acoustic emission (AE) based condition monitoring of rolling element bearings at low speeds provided appropriate care is taken. To explore this hypothesis, AE signals at low bearing rotational speeds of 70, 80, 90 and 100 rpm respectively were used in this work for the monitoring of tapered roller bearings. In addition to the well-established statistical parameters such as mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis, higher moments such as hyper flatness are considered in this study. A novel diagnostic method is proposed for fault extraction based on hyperflatness, combined with Kullback-Leibler divergence, and an indicator formula derived with the use of Lempel-Ziv Complexity is given. The Kullback-Leibler divergence is used together with the skewness and hyperflatness to obtain the Kullback-Leibler information Wave (KLW) with which the analysis is performed, and better results obtained as compared to conventional frequency domain analysis.https://jmerd.org.myam2019Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineerin

The initial mass function : from Salpeter 1955 to 2005

Fifty years after Ed Salpeter's seminal paper, tremendous progress both on the observational and theoretical sides allow a fairly accurate determination of the Galactic IMF not only down to the hydrogen-burning limit but into the brown dwarf domain. The present review includes the most recent observations of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs to determine this IMF and the related Galactic mass budget. The IMF definitely exhibits a similar behaviour in various environments, disk, young and globular clusters, spheroid. Small scale dissipation of large scale compressible MHD turbulence seems to be the underlying triggering mechanism for star formation. Modern simulations of compressible MHD turbulence yield an IMF consistent with the one derived from observations.Comment: 10 pages. Invited review "IMF@50" in honor of E. Salpete

Sex and Gender-Related Differences in COVID-19 Diagnoses and SARS-CoV-2 Testing Practices During the First Wave of the Pandemic:The Dutch Lifelines COVID-19 Cohort Study

Background: Although sex differences are described in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnoses and testing, many studies neglect possible gender-related influences. Additionally, research is often performed in clinical populations, while most COVID-19 patients are not hospitalized. Therefore, we investigated associations between sex and gender-related variables, and COVID-19 diagnoses and testing practices in a large general population cohort during the first wave of the pandemic when testing capacity was limited. Methods: We used data from the Lifelines COVID-19 Cohort (N = 74,722; 60.8% female). We applied bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses. The outcomes were a COVID-19 diagnosis (confirmed by SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing or physician's clinical diagnosis) and PCR testing. Independent variables included among others participants' sex, age, somatic comorbidities, occupation, and smoking status. Sex-by-comorbidity and sex-by-occupation interaction terms were included to investigate sex differences in associations between the presence of comorbidities or an occupation with COVID-19 diagnoses or testing practices. Results: In bivariate analyses female sex was significantly associated with COVID-19 diagnoses and testing, but significance did not persist in multiple logistic regression analyses. However, a gender-related variable, being a health care worker, was significantly associated with COVID-19 diagnoses (OR = 1.68; 95%CI = 1.30-2.17) and testing (OR = 12.5; 95%CI = 8.55-18.3). Female health care workers were less often diagnosed and tested than male health care workers (ORinteraction = 0.54; 95%CI = 0.32-0.92, ORinteraction = 0.53; 95%CI = 0.29-0.97, respectively). Conclusions: We found no sex differences in COVID-19 diagnoses and testing in the general population. Among health care workers, a male preponderance in COVID-19 diagnoses and testing was observed. This could be explained by more pronounced COVID-19 symptoms in males or by gender inequities

Workplace impact on employees:A Lifelines Corona Research Initiative on the return to work

A large proportion of the global workforce migrated home during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. It remains unclear what the exact differences between home workers and non-home workers were, especially during the pandemic when a return to work was imminent. How were building, workplace, and related facilities associated with workers’ perceptions and health? What are the lessons to be learned? Lifelines Corona Research Initiative was used to compare employees’ workplaces and related concerns, facilities, work quality, and health in a complete case analysis (N = 12,776) when return to work was imminent. Mann-Whitney U, logistic regression, and Wilcoxon matched-pairs were used for analyses. Notwithstanding small differences, the results show that home workers had less favourable scores for concerns about and facilities of on-site buildings and workplaces upon return to work, but better scores for work quality and health than non-home workers. However, additional analyses also suggest that building, workplace, and related facilities may have had the capacity to positively influence employees’ affective responses and work quality, but not always their health.</p

Application of non-HDL cholesterol for population-based cardiovascular risk stratification: results from the Multinational Cardiovascular Risk Consortium.

BACKGROUND: The relevance of blood lipid concentrations to long-term incidence of cardiovascular disease and the relevance of lipid-lowering therapy for cardiovascular disease outcomes is unclear. We investigated the cardiovascular disease risk associated with the full spectrum of bloodstream non-HDL cholesterol concentrations. We also created an easy-to-use tool to estimate the long-term probabilities for a cardiovascular disease event associated with non-HDL cholesterol and modelled its risk reduction by lipid-lowering treatment. METHODS: In this risk-evaluation and risk-modelling study, we used Multinational Cardiovascular Risk Consortium data from 19 countries across Europe, Australia, and North America. Individuals without prevalent cardiovascular disease at baseline and with robust available data on cardiovascular disease outcomes were included. The primary composite endpoint of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease was defined as the occurrence of the coronary heart disease event or ischaemic stroke. Sex-specific multivariable analyses were computed using non-HDL cholesterol categories according to the European guideline thresholds, adjusted for age, sex, cohort, and classical modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. In a derivation and validation design, we created a tool to estimate the probabilities of a cardiovascular disease event by the age of 75 years, dependent on age, sex, and risk factors, and the associated modelled risk reduction, assuming a 50% reduction of non-HDL cholesterol. FINDINGS: Of the 524 444 individuals in the 44 cohorts in the Consortium database, we identified 398 846 individuals belonging to 38 cohorts (184 055 [48·7%] women; median age 51·0 years [IQR 40·7-59·7]). 199 415 individuals were included in the derivation cohort (91 786 [48·4%] women) and 199 431 (92 269 [49·1%] women) in the validation cohort. During a maximum follow-up of 43·6 years (median 13·5 years, IQR 7·0-20·1), 54 542 cardiovascular endpoints occurred. Incidence curve analyses showed progressively higher 30-year cardiovascular disease event-rates for increasing non-HDL cholesterol categories (from 7·7% for non-HDL cholesterol <2·6 mmol/L to 33·7% for ≥5·7 mmol/L in women and from 12·8% to 43·6% in men; p<0·0001). Multivariable adjusted Cox models with non-HDL cholesterol lower than 2·6 mmol/L as reference showed an increase in the association between non-HDL cholesterol concentration and cardiovascular disease for both sexes (from hazard ratio 1·1, 95% CI 1·0-1·3 for non-HDL cholesterol 2·6 to <3·7 mmol/L to 1·9, 1·6-2·2 for ≥5·7 mmol/L in women and from 1·1, 1·0-1·3 to 2·3, 2·0-2·5 in men). The derived tool allowed the estimation of cardiovascular disease event probabilities specific for non-HDL cholesterol with high comparability between the derivation and validation cohorts as reflected by smooth calibration curves analyses and a root mean square error lower than 1% for the estimated probabilities of cardiovascular disease. A 50% reduction of non-HDL cholesterol concentrations was associated with reduced risk of a cardiovascular disease event by the age of 75 years, and this risk reduction was greater the earlier cholesterol concentrations were reduced. INTERPRETATION: Non-HDL cholesterol concentrations in blood are strongly associated with long-term risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. We provide a simple tool for individual long-term risk assessment and the potential benefit of early lipid-lowering intervention. These data could be useful for physician-patient communication about primary prevention strategies. FUNDING: EU Framework Programme, UK Medical Research Council, and German Centre for Cardiovascular Research

Azimuthal anisotropy and correlations in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV

We present the first measurement of directed flow ($v_1$) at RHIC. $v_1$ is found to be consistent with zero at pseudorapidities $\eta$ from -1.2 to 1.2, then rises to the level of a couple of percent over the range $2.4 < |\eta| < 4$. The latter observation is similar to data from NA49 if the SPS rapidities are shifted by the difference in beam rapidity between RHIC and SPS. Back-to-back jets emitted out-of-plane are found to be suppressed more if compared to those emitted in-plane, which is consistent with {\it jet quenching}. Using the scalar product method, we systematically compared azimuthal correlations from p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions. Flow and non-flow from these three different collision systems are discussed.Comment: Quark Matter 2004 proceeding, 4 pages, 3 figure