Nucleotide sequence and genome organization of Dweet mottle virus and its relationship to members of the family Betaflexiviridae

The nucleotide sequence of Dweet mottle virus (DMV) was determined and compared to sequences of members of the families Alphaflexiviridae and Betaflexiviridae. The DMV genome has 8,747 nucleotides (nt) excluding the 3′ poly-(A) tail. DMV genomic RNA contains three putative open reading frames (ORFs) and untranslated regions of 73 nt at the 5′ and 541 nt at 3′ termini. ORF1 potentially encoding a 227.48-kDa polyprotein, which has methyltransferase, oxygenase, endopeptidase, helicase, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) domains. ORF2 encodes a movement protein of 40.25 kDa, while ORF3 encodes a coat protein of 40.69 kDa. Protein database searches showed 98–99% matches of DMV ORFs with citrus leaf blotch virus (CLBV) sequences. Phylogenetic analysis based on the RdRP core domain revealed that DMV is closely related to CLBV as a member of the genus Citrivirus. DMV did not satisfy the molecular criteria for demarcation of an independent species within the genus Citrivirus, family Betaflexiviridae, and hence, DMV can be considered a CLBV isolate

Echtzeit-MRT zur klinischen Diagnostik der Dysphagie

Hintergrund: Die besondere Eignung der dynamischen Echtzeit-Magnetresonanztomographie (Echtzeit-MRT) zur Abbildung des Schluckvorganges wurde in einer vorherigen Studie gezeigt , . Die klinische Anwendung der Echtzeit-MRT sollte in dieser Studie bei Patienten mit Einschlusskörpermyositis geprüft werden. Bei dieser Erkrankung kommt es neben der Entzündung und Degeneration im Skelettmuskel in der Mehrzahl der Fälle auch zu einer klinisch sehr relevanten Beeinträchtigung des Schluckens.Material und Methoden: Die MRT-Untersuchung erfolgte im Liegen in einem 3 Tesla-MRT ("TIM Trio", Siemens Healthcare AG, Erlangen). Zudem fanden eine flexibel endoskopische Evaluation des Schluckvorganges (FEES) sowie ein Röntgenbreischluck im Sitzen statt. Die Bildfrequenz der Echtzeit-MRT betrug 24,3 Bilder, die der FEES 25 Bilder und die des radiologischen Breischluckes 8 Bilder pro Sekunde. Die Evaluation der Symptomatik erfolgte bei allen Patienten (n=10) anhand eines standardisierten Fragebogens zur Dysphagie (SWAL-QoL). Parallel dazu wurde die Kraft aller großen Muskelgruppen getestet und wichtige klinisch-neurologische Funktionen wurden mit Hilfe eines speziellen Scores (IBM-functional rating scale) beurteilt.Ergebnisse: Das Schlucken im Magnetresonanztomographen tolerierten alle Patienten gut. Bei den dysphagischen Patienten konnte eine funktionelle muskuläre Schwelle auf Höhe des Musculus cricopharyngeus sowohl im radiologischen Breischluck als auch in der MRT dargestellt werden. Die Analyse verlängerter Transportzeiten gelang in der MRT.Diskussion: Die Echtzeit-MRT ist zur differenzierten Abbildung des strukturellen und zeitlichen Ablaufs des Schluckvorganges auch bei dysphagischen Patienten sehr geeignet. Die liegende Körperposition im Tomographen wirkte sich hierbei nicht störend aus. Eine Röntgenbelastung könnte zukünftig durch MRT-Untersuchungen vermieden werden

Moment-Constrained Maximum Entropy Method for Expanded Uncertainty Evaluation

The probability distribution is often sought in engineering for the purpose of expanded uncertainty evaluation and reliability analysis. Although there are various methods available to approximate the distribution, one of the commonly used ones is the method based on statistical moments (or cumulants). Given these parameters, the corresponding solution can be reliably approximated using various algorithms. However, the commonly used algorithms are limited by only four moments and assume that the corresponding distribution is unimodal. Therefore, this paper analyzes the performance of a relatively new and an improved parametric distribution fitting technique known as the moment-constrained maximum entropy method, which overcomes these shortcomings. It is shown that the uncertainty (or reliability) estimation quality of the proposed method improves with the number of moments regardless of the distribution modality. Finally, the paper uses case studies from a lighting retrofit project and an electromagnetic sensor design problem to substantiate the computational efficiency and numerical stability of the moment method in design optimization problems. The results and discussions presented in the paper could guide engineers in employing the maximum entropy method in a manner that best suits their respective systems

Moment-Constrained Maximum Entropy Method for Expanded Uncertainty Evaluation

The probability distribution is often sought in engineering for the purpose of expanded uncertainty evaluation and reliability analysis. Although there are various methods available to approximate the distribution, one of the commonly used ones is the method based on statistical moments (or cumulants). Given these parameters, the corresponding solution can be reliably approximated using various algorithms. However, the commonly used algorithms are limited by only four moments and assume that the corresponding distribution is unimodal. Therefore, this paper analyzes the performance of a relatively new and an improved parametric distribution fitting technique known as the moment-constrained maximum entropy method, which overcomes these shortcomings. It is shown that the uncertainty (or reliability) estimation quality of the proposed method improves with the number of moments regardless of the distribution modality. Finally, the paper uses case studies from a lighting retrofit project and an electromagnetic sensor design problem to substantiate the computational efficiency and numerical stability of the moment method in design optimization problems. The results and discussions presented in the paper could guide engineers in employing the maximum entropy method in a manner that best suits their respective systems