Identification of Acoustic Emission Sources by Pattern Recognition Techniques

Computer pattern recognition has been used to identify and separate acoustic emission (AE) signals that are similar in appearance but are due to different sources. Simulated joint specimens were tested in the laboratory in which a fatigue crack was grown from the edge of a central loading pin hole. The hardened steel loading pin produced fretting AE by its contact with the 7075 T651 aluminum plate specimens during cyclic loading. The fatigue crack produced AE due to crack growth and to crack face rubbing during load cycling. The AE signals detected at two transducers mounted on opposite sides of the loading pin hole, at 2 in. and 4 in. from the fatigue crack, were digitally recorded at a 5 MHz digitization rate. The waveform features that were extracted from these AE signals and used in the pattern recognition were derived from the frequency spectral content of the waveforms. Better than 90% separation of crack growth from crack face rubbing was achieved using frequency features of the waveforms from either transducer separately. Better than 95% separation of fretting from crack growth or crack face rubbing, separately or combined, was achieved using the ratios of the spectral energies detected at the two transducers

Cholesteatoma of the concha bullosa: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Cholesteatoma is a relatively common disease within the middle ear cavity, but rarely it manifests in the paranasal sinuses. There is, to the best of our knowledge, only one other published case of cholesteatoma inside the concha bullosa in the English language literature.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>An 81-year-old Caucasian woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of nasal obstruction, headache and diplopia. After endoscopic and radiological evaluation a transnasal endoscopic approach was chosen. The diagnosis of cholesteatoma was established by histopathological evaluation of the mass inside the concha bullosa.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although it is rarely seen, cholesteatoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of slow-growing and destructive paranasal masses.</p

Differential Interactions of the Autonomous Pathway RRM Proteins and Chromatin Regulators in the Silencing of Arabidopsis Targets

We have recently shown that two proteins containing RRM-type RNA-binding domains, FCA and FPA, originally identified through their role in flowering time control in Arabidopsis, silence transposons and other repeated sequences in the Arabidopsis genome. In flowering control, FCA and FPA function in the autonomous pathway with conserved chromatin regulators, the histone demethylase FLD and the MSI1-homologue FVE, a conserved WD-repeat protein found in many chromatin complexes. Here, we investigate how the RRM proteins interact genetically with these chromatin regulators at a range of loci in the Arabidopsis genome. We also investigate their interaction with the DNA methylation pathway. In several cases the RRM protein activity at least partially required a chromatin regulator to effect silencing. However, the interactions of the autonomous pathway components differed at each target analysed, most likely determined by certain properties of the target loci and/or other silencing pathways. We speculate that the RNA-binding proteins FCA and FPA function as part of a transcriptome surveillance mechanism linking RNA recognition with chromatin silencing mechanisms

Lessons Learned from a Decade of Sudden Oak Death in California: Evaluating Local Management

Sudden Oak Death has been impacting California’s coastal forests for more than a decade. In that time, and in the absence of a centrally organized and coordinated set of mandatory management actions for this disease in California’s wildlands and open spaces, many local communities have initiated their own management programs. We present five case studies to explore how local-level management has attempted to control this disease. From these case studies, we glean three lessons: connections count, scale matters, and building capacity is crucial. These lessons may help management, research, and education planning for future pest and disease outbreaks

Generation of ESTs for Flowering Gene Discovery and SSR Marker Development in Upland Cotton

BACKGROUND: Upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., is one of the world's most important economic crops. In the absence of the entire genomic sequence, a large number of expressed sequence tag (EST) resources of upland cotton have been generated and used in several studies. However, information about the flower development of this species is rare. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To clarify the molecular mechanism of flower development in upland cotton, 22,915 high-quality ESTs were generated and assembled into 14,373 unique sequences consisting of 4,563 contigs and 9,810 singletons from a normalized and full-length cDNA library constructed from pooled RNA isolated from shoot apexes, squares, and flowers. Comparative analysis indicated that 5,352 unique sequences had no high-degree matches to the cotton public database. Functional annotation showed that several upland cotton homologs with flowering-related genes were identified in our library. The majority of these genes were specifically expressed in flowering-related tissues. Three GhSEP (G. hirsutum L. SEPALLATA) genes determining floral organ development were cloned, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed that these genes were expressed preferentially in squares or flowers. Furthermore, 670 new putative microsatellites with flanking sequences sufficient for primer design were identified from the 645 unigenes. Twenty-five EST-simple sequence repeats were randomly selected for validation and transferability testing in 17 Gossypium species. Of these, 23 were identified as true-to-type simple sequence repeat loci and were highly transferable among Gossypium species. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A high-quality, normalized, full-length cDNA library with a total of 14,373 unique ESTs was generated to provide sequence information for gene discovery and marker development related to upland cotton flower development. These EST resources form a valuable foundation for gene expression profiling analysis, functional analysis of newly discovered genes, genetic linkage, and quantitative trait loci analysis

Fine-Scale Mapping of Natural Variation in Fly Fecundity Identifies Neuronal Domain of Expression and Function of an Aquaporin

To gain insight into the molecular genetic basis of standing variation in fitness related traits, we identify a novel factor that regulates the molecular and physiological basis of natural variation in female Drosophila melanogaster fecundity. Genetic variation in female fecundity in flies derived from a wild orchard population is heritable and largely independent of other measured life history traits. We map a portion of this variation to a single QTL and then use deficiency mapping to further refine this QTL to 5 candidate genes. Ubiquitous expression of RNAi against only one of these genes, an aquaporin encoded by Drip, reduces fecundity. Within our mapping population Drip mRNA level in the head, but not other tissues, is positively correlated with fecundity. We localize Drip expression to a small population of corazonin producing neurons located in the dorsolateral posterior compartments of the protocerebrum. Expression of Drip–RNAi using both the pan-neuronal ELAV-Gal4 and the Crz-Gal4 drivers reduces fecundity. Low-fecundity RILs have decreased Crz expression and increased expression of pale, the enzyme encoding the rate-limiting step in the production of dopamine, a modulator of insect life histories. Taken together these data suggest that natural variation in Drip expression in the corazonin producing neurons contributes to standing variation in fitness by altering the concentration of two neurohormones

Evidence of breed-dependent differences in susceptibility to porcine circovirus type-2-associated disease and lesions

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) has been confirmed as the primary cause of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). However, in the field, PMWS is seen only in a small percentage of pigs infected with PCV2. The overall objective of the study reported here was to determine whether host genetic differences in the susceptibility to PCV2-associated disease exist among selected breeds of pigs. This study included Duroc (n = 23), Landrace (n = 19), and Large White (n = 21) pigs. The pigs were infected intranasally and intramuscularly at 5-7 weeks of age with PCV2. A portion of the pigs (31/63; 30.2%) had low passively acquired PCV2 antibodies at the time of infection. There were no differences in mean weight gain, rectal temperature, or respiratory score. Clinical disease compatible with PMWS was observed only in the Landrace pigs. Most of the PCV2-infected pigs had enlarged lymph nodes, and individual Duroc and Landrace pigs had mottled tan lungs. PCV2-associated lymphoid depletion and granulomatous inflammation were observed in pigs of all breeds. Three of 19 Landrace pigs and none of the Duroc or Large White pigs developed severe lymphoid lesions associated with large amounts of intralesional PCV2 antigen typical of PMWS. Compared with seronegative Landrace pigs, Landrace pigs that had low maternal antibodies at the time of PCV2 inoculation had significantly (P &lt;0.05) less-severe PCV2-associated lesions. The results suggest a predisposition of the Landrace pigs of this study to PCV2-induced disease and lesions, and that low levels of passively acquired antibodies are protective

The cerebrospinal fluid proteome in HIV infection: change associated with disease severity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Central nervous system (CNS) infection is a nearly universal feature of untreated systemic HIV infection with a clinical spectrum that ranges from chronic asymptomatic infection to severe cognitive and motor dysfunction. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has played an important part in defining the character of this evolving infection and response to treatment. To further characterize CNS HIV infection and its effects, we applied advanced high-throughput proteomic methods to CSF to identify novel proteins and their changes with disease progression and treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After establishing an <it>accurate mass and time </it>(AMT) tag database containing 23,141 AMT tags for CSF peptides, we analyzed 91 CSF samples by LC-MS from 12 HIV-uninfected and 14 HIV-infected subjects studied in the context of initiation of antiretroviral therapy and correlated abundances of identified proteins a) within and between subjects, b) with all other proteins across the entire sample set, and c) with "external" CSF biomarkers of infection (HIV RNA), immune activation (neopterin) and neural injury (neurofilament light chain protein, NFL). We identified a mean of 2,333 +/- 328 (SD) peptides covering 307 +/-16 proteins in the 91 CSF sample set. Protein abundances differed both between and within subjects sampled at different time points and readily separated those with and without HIV infection. Proteins also showed inter-correlations across the sample set that were associated with biologically relevant dynamic processes. One-hundred and fifty proteins showed correlations with the external biomarkers. For example, using a threshold of cross correlation coefficient (Pearson's) ≤ -0.3 and ≥0.3 for potentially meaningful relationships, a total of 99 proteins correlated with CSF neopterin (43 negative and 56 positive correlations) and related principally to neuronal plasticity and survival and to innate immunity. Pathway analysis defined several networks connecting the identified proteins, including one with amyloid precursor protein as a central node.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Advanced CSF proteomic analysis enabled the identification of an array of novel protein changes across the spectrum of CNS HIV infection and disease. This initial analysis clearly demonstrated the value of contemporary state-of-the-art proteomic CSF analysis as a discovery tool in HIV infection with likely similar application to other neurological inflammatory and degenerative diseases.</p