New operational modes for the Ta2O5-based electrolyte conductance cell

Based on the recently presented conductance cell, two specific operational modes are proposed. In the oscillator mode, the conductivity of the electrolyte determines the frequency of an oscillator, experimentally obtaining a shift from 10 to 27 kHz for a KCl concentration range from 0.5 to 100 mM. In the pole mode, an inductor is placed in series with the cell, giving the real electrolyte resistance at the resonance frequency of the circuit, resulting in a linear relation between the log of the output voltage from 4 to 1000 mV as a function of the log of the KCl concentration, ranging from 0.2 to 100 mM

Tomato: a crop species amenable to improvement by cellular and molecular methods

Tomato is a crop plant with a relatively small DNA content per haploid genome and a well developed genetics. Plant regeneration from explants and protoplasts is feasable which led to the development of efficient transformation procedures. In view of the current data, the isolation of useful mutants at the cellular level probably will be of limited value in the genetic improvement of tomato. Protoplast fusion may lead to novel combinations of organelle and nuclear DNA (cybrids), whereas this technique also provides a means of introducing genetic information from alien species into tomato. Important developments have come from molecular approaches. Following the construction of an RFLP map, these RFLP markers can be used in tomato to tag quantitative traits bred in from related species. Both RFLP's and transposons are in the process of being used to clone desired genes for which no gene products are known. Cloned genes can be introduced and potentially improve specific properties of tomato especially those controlled by single genes. Recent results suggest that, in principle, phenotypic mutants can be created for cloned and characterized genes and will prove their value in further improving the cultivated tomato.

Constraints on simulated past Arctic amplification and lapse rate feedback from observations

The Arctic has warmed more rapidly than the global mean during the past few decades. The lapse rate feedback (LRF) has been identified as being a large contributor to the Arctic amplification (AA) of climate change. This particular feedback arises from the vertically non-uniform warming of the troposphere, which in the Arctic emerges as strong near-surface and muted free-tropospheric warming. Stable stratification and meridional energy transport are two characteristic processes that are evoked as causes for this vertical warming structure. Our aim is to constrain these governing processes by making use of detailed observations in combination with the large climate model ensemble of the sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). We build on the result that CMIP6 models show a large spread in AA and Arctic LRF, which are positively correlated for the historical period of 1951–2014. Thus, we present process-oriented constraints by linking characteristics of the current climate to historical climate simulations. In particular, we compare a large consortium of present-day observations to co-located model data from subsets that show a weak and strong simulated AA and Arctic LRF in the past. Our analyses suggest that the vertical temperature structure of the Arctic boundary layer is more realistically depicted in climate models with weak (w) AA and Arctic LRF (CMIP6/w) in the past. In particular, CMIP6/w models show stronger inversions in the present climate for boreal autumn and winter and over sea ice, which is more consistent with the observations. These results are based on observations from the year-long Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition in the central Arctic, long-term measurements at the Utqiaġvik site in Alaska, USA, and dropsonde temperature profiling from aircraft campaigns in the Fram Strait. In addition, the atmospheric energy transport from lower latitudes that can further mediate the warming structure in the free troposphere is more realistically represented by CMIP6/w models. In particular, CMIP6/w models systemically simulate a weaker Arctic atmospheric energy transport convergence in the present climate for boreal autumn and winter, which is more consistent with fifth generation reanalysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA5). We further show a positive relationship between the magnitude of the present-day transport convergence and the strength of past AA. With respect to the Arctic LRF, we find links between the changes in transport pathways that drive vertical warming structures and local differences in the LRF. This highlights the mediating influence of advection on the Arctic LRF and motivates deeper studies to explicitly link spatial patterns of Arctic feedbacks to changes in the large-scale circulation

Structural variation analysis of 6,500 whole genome sequences in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

There is a strong genetic contribution to Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) risk, with heritability estimates of up to 60%. Both Mendelian and small effect variants have been identified, but in common with other conditions, such variants only explain a little of the heritability. Genomic structural variation might account for some of this otherwise unexplained heritability. We therefore investigated association between structural variation in a set of 25 ALS genes, and ALS risk and phenotype. As expected, the repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene was identified as associated with ALS. Two other ALS-associated structural variants were identified: inversion in the VCP gene and insertion in the ERBB4 gene. All three variants were associated both with increased risk of ALS and specific phenotypic patterns of disease expression. More than 70% of people with respiratory onset ALS harboured ERBB4 insertion compared with 25% of the general population, suggesting respiratory onset ALS may be a distinct genetic subtype

Telomere length analysis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using large-scale whole genome sequence data

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of upper and lower motor neurons, leading to progressive weakness of voluntary muscles, with death following from neuromuscular respiratory failure, typically within 3 to 5 years. There is a strong genetic contribution to ALS risk. In 10% or more, a family history of ALS or frontotemporal dementia is obtained, and the Mendelian genes responsible for ALS in such families have now been identified in about 50% of cases. Only about 14% of apparently sporadic ALS is explained by known genetic variation, suggesting that other forms of genetic variation are important. Telomeres maintain DNA integrity during cellular replication, differ between sexes, and shorten naturally with age. Sex and age are risk factors for ALS and we therefore investigated telomere length in ALS. Methods: Samples were from Project MinE, an international ALS whole genome sequencing consortium that includes phenotype data. For validation we used donated brain samples from motor cortex from people with ALS and controls. Ancestry and relatedness were evaluated by principal components analysis and relationship matrices of DNA microarray data. Whole genome sequence data were from Illumina HiSeq platforms and aligned using the Isaac pipeline. TelSeq was used to quantify telomere length using whole genome sequence data. We tested the association of telomere length with ALS and ALS survival using Cox regression. Results: There were 6,580 whole genome sequences, reducing to 6,195 samples (4,315 from people with ALS and 1,880 controls) after quality control, and 159 brain samples (106 ALS, 53 controls). Accounting for age and sex, there was a 20% (95% CI 14%, 25%) increase of telomere length in people with ALS compared to controls (p = 1.1 × 10−12), validated in the brain samples (p = 0.03). Those with shorter telomeres had a 10% increase in median survival (p = 5.0×10−7). Although there was no difference in telomere length between sporadic ALS and familial ALS (p=0.64), telomere length in 334 people with ALS due to expanded C9orf72 repeats was shorter than in those without expanded C9orf72 repeats (p = 5.0×10−4). Discussion: Although telomeres shorten with age, longer telomeres are a risk factor for ALS and worsen prognosis. Longer telomeres are associated with ALS

Nurse-led welfare benefits screening in a General Practice located in a deprived area

<b>OBJECTIVE:</b> To evaluate a nurse-led attendance allowance screening service in General Practice. DESIGN: Intervention study.<br></br> <b>SETTING:</b> One General Practice located in two sites in deprived areas in the East-End of Glasgow (Carstairs Deprivation Index-6 and 4). PARTICIPANTS: Participants aged >64 y who in the nurses clinical judgment appeared to be physically or mentally frail were opportunistically recruited over a 12-week period by community nurses (health visitors, district nurses and practice nurses). A Welfare Rights Officer (WRO) contacted all potential underclaimers by telephone and offered a home visit in order to assess for unclaimed benefits.<br></br> <b>MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:</b> Total unclaimed attendance allowance and linked benefits. RESULTS: Thirty-seven of the original 86 participants plus four relatives were found not to be claiming the benefit payments that they were entitled to. Referral to the Department of Social Security (DSS) revealed unclaimed benefits to a total of: pound sterling112 893.00of this pound sterling95 306.00 is on a recurrent annualized basis and pound sterling17 587.00 as lump sums.<br></br> <b>CONCLUSIONS:</b> A community nurse-led attendance allowance screening service combined with a home visit by a WRO was an efficient and highly effective model for maximising the income of the frail elderly. This model could contribute to reducing the increasing number of pensioners living below the poverty line

Art Science Collaboration: Life in a New Light

Art/Science Collaboration is an optional module at the University of Westminster. It uses student-centred, autonomous learning; tutors play facilitative roles. Students from various disciplines engage in skills exchange and peer teaching. Multidisciplinary teams form, researching and developing interdisciplinary project work. Learning outcomes and assessments focus on learning and development processes rather than products. A weekly three-hour timetabled session includes workshops, seminars, external visits, tutorials and presentations, supported by online resources including blogs and social media. Migration between and within physical, virtual and conceptual learning spaces is a disruptive but essential element of the pedagogic model. Hierarchies and received wisdom are challenged. Life in A New Light was a 2016 collaboration between students from BSc Biochemistry, BSc Photography and Digital Imaging Technologies and BA Photography. Visible light, ultraviolet and infrared photography and false colour imaging were employed to question the objectivity and subjectivity of vision, scientific imaging and visual representation; the impossibility of perceiving the world as it is perceived by another species became apparent. Throughout the project students overcame various challenges including access to specialist equipment; motivation, organisation and time management; and, not least, research ethics. Successful completion of the project required a creative approach throughout. The development of transferrable skills including problem solving, negotiation and communication is inherent in such a project but these are not taught; they are learnt through experience, supported by the structure of the module. This presentation is a collaborative exercise; a conversation between student and tutors; a manifestation of the ethos of Art/Science Collaboration

Excitation energy shuttling in oligothiophene-diketopyrrolopyrrole–fullerene triads

The photophysical properties of a thiophene-diketopyrrolopyrrole oligomer linked to two fullerene units via alkyl linkers of different lengths have been investigated in solution. The molecules exhibit excitation energy shuttling between the singlet and triplet photoexcited states. Photoexcitation of the oligomer is followed by singlet energy transfer to the fullerene, intersystem crossing to the triplet state, and then triplet energy transfer back to the oligomer. Competing electron transfer reactions, followed by recombination to the triplet state, are energetically possible and cannot be ruled out but were not observed and seem to have a small contribution in solution

Mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ(10) improves endothelial function and attenuates cardiac hypertrophy

Mitochondria are a major site of reactive oxygen species production, which may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease. Protecting mitochondria from oxidative damage should be an effective therapeutic strategy; however, conventional antioxidants are ineffective, because they cannot penetrate the mitochondria. This study investigated the role of mitochondrial oxidative stress during development of hypertension in the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat, using the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, MitoQ10. Eight-week–old male stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats were treated with MitoQ10 (500 μmol/L; n=16), control compound decyltriphenylphosphonium (decylTPP; 500 μmol/L; n=8), or vehicle (n=9) in drinking water for 8 weeks. Systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced by ≈25 mm Hg over the 8-week MitoQ10 treatment period compared with decylTPP (F=5.94; P=0.029) or untreated controls (F=65.6; P=0.0001). MitoQ10 treatment significantly improved thoracic aorta NO bioavailability (1.16±0.03 g/g; P=0.002, area under the curve) compared with both untreated controls (0.68±0.02 g/g) and decylTPP-treated rats (0.60±0.06 g/g). Cardiac hypertrophy was significantly reduced by MitoQ10 treatment compared with untreated control and decylTPP treatment (MitoQ10: 4.01±0.05 mg/g; control: 4.42±0.11 mg/g; and decylTPP: 4.40±0.09 mg/g; ANOVA P=0.002). Total MitoQ10 content was measured in liver, heart, carotid artery, and kidney harvested from MitoQ10-treated rats by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. All of the organs analyzed demonstrated detectable levels of MitoQ10, with comparable accumulation in vascular and cardiac tissues. Administration of the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ10 protects against the development of hypertension, improves endothelial function, and reduces cardiac hypertrophy in young stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. MitoQ10 provides a novel approach to attenuate mitochondrial-specific oxidative damage with the potential to become a new therapeutic intervention in human cardiovascular disease