620 research outputs found
A novel fluorescence in situ hybridization test for rapid pathogen identification in positive blood cultures
AbstractA novel molecular beacon-based fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test allowing for the identification of a wide range of bacterial pathogens directly in positive blood cultures (BCs) was evaluated with positive BCs of 152 patients. Depending on the Gram stain, either a Gram-negative or a Gram-positive panel was used. The time to result was 30 min, and the hands-on time was only 10 min. Seven per cent of the cultured microorganisms were not included in the FISH panels; the identification rate of those included was 95.2%. Overall, the FISH test enabled accurate pathogen identification in 88.2% of all cases analysed
Phenotypic Effects of an Allele Causing Obligate Parthenogenesis in a Rotifer
Transitions to obligate asexuality have been documented in almost all metazoan taxa, yet the conditions favoring such transitions remained largely unexplored. We address this problem in the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. In this species, a polymorphism at a single locus, op, can result in transitions to obligate parthenogenesis. Homozygotes for the op allele reproduce strictly by asexual reproduction, whereas heterozygous clones (+/op) and wild-type clones (+/+) are cyclical parthenogens that undergo sexual reproduction at high population densities. Here, we examine dosage effects of the op allele by analyzing various life-history characteristics and population traits in 10 clones for each of the 3 possible genotypes (op/op, +/op, and +/+). For most traits, we found that op/op clones differed significantly (P < 0.05) from the 2 cyclical parthenogenetic genotypes (+/+ and +/op). By contrast, the 2 cyclical parthenogenetic genotypes were almost indistinguishable, except that heterozygote individuals were slightly but significantly smaller in body size compared with wild-type individuals. Overall, this indicates that the op allele is selectively neutral in the heterozygous state. Thus, selective sweeps of this allele in natural populations would first require conditions favoring the generation of homozygotes. This may be given by inbreeding in very small populations or by double mutants in very large populations
Spherical-box approach for resonances in presence of Coulomb interaction
The spherical-box approach is extended to calculate the resonance parameters
and the real part of the wave function for single particle resonances in a
potential containing the long-range Coulomb interaction. A model potential is
taken to demonstrate the ability and accuracy of this approach. The calculated
resonance parameters are compared with available results from other methods. It
is shown that in the presence of the Coulomb interaction, the spherical-box
approach works well for not so broad resonances. In particular, for very narrow
resonances, the present method gives resonance parameters in a very high
precision.Comment: 10 pages, 5 EPS figures; to be published in J. Phys.
Dominant B-cell epitopes from cancer/stem cell antigen SOC2 recognized by serum samples from cancer patients
Cataloged from PDF version of article.Human sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) is an important transcriptional factor involved in the pluripotency
and stemness of human embryonic stem cells. SOX2 plays important roles in maintaining cancer stem cell activities
of melanoma and cancers of the brain, prostate, breast, and lung. SOX2 is also a lineage survival oncogene
for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and esophagus. Spontaneous cellular and humoral immune responses
against SOX2 present in cancer patients classify it as a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) shared by lung cancer, glioblastoma,
and prostate cancer among others. In this study, B-cell epitopes were predicted using computer-assisted
algorithms. Synthetic peptides based on the prediction were screened for recognition by serum samples from cancer
patients using ELISA. Two dominant B-cell epitopes, SOX2:52-87 and SOX2:98-124 were identified. Prostate
cancer, glioblastoma and lung cancer serum samples that recognized the above SOX2 epitopes also recognized
the full-length protein based on Western blot. These B-cell epitopes may be used in assessing humoral immune
responses against SOX2 in cancer immunotherapy and stem cell-related transplantation
Norm estimates of complex symmetric operators applied to quantum systems
This paper communicates recent results in theory of complex symmetric
operators and shows, through two non-trivial examples, their potential
usefulness in the study of Schr\"odinger operators. In particular, we propose a
formula for computing the norm of a compact complex symmetric operator. This
observation is applied to two concrete problems related to quantum mechanical
systems. First, we give sharp estimates on the exponential decay of the
resolvent and the single-particle density matrix for Schr\"odinger operators
with spectral gaps. Second, we provide new ways of evaluating the resolvent
norm for Schr\"odinger operators appearing in the complex scaling theory of
resonances
Partial pharmacologic blockade shows sympathetic connection between blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity fluctuations
Cerebral autoregulation (CA) dampens transfer of blood pressure (BP)-fluctuations onto cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV). Thus, CBFV-oscillations precede BP-oscillations. The phase angle (PA) between sympathetically mediated low-frequency (LF: 0.03–0.15 Hz) BP- and CBFV-oscillations is a measure of CA quality. To evaluate whether PA depends on sympathetic modulation, we assessed PA-changes upon sympathetic stimulation with and without pharmacologic sympathetic blockade.
In 10 healthy, young men, we monitored mean BP and CBFV before and during 120-second cold pressor stimulation (CPS) of one foot (0 °C ice-water). We calculated mean values, standard deviations and sympathetic LF-powers of all signals, and PAs between LF-BP- and LF–CBFV-oscillations. We repeated measurements after ingestion of the adrenoceptor-blocker carvedilol (25 mg). We compared parameters before and during CPS, without and after carvedilol (analysis of variance, post-hoc t-tests, significance: p < 0.05).
Without carvedilol, CPS increased BP, CBFV, BP-LF- and CBFV-LF-powers, and shortened PA. Carvedilol decreased resting BP, CBFV, BP-LF- and CBFV-LF-powers, while PAs remained unchanged. During CPS, BPs, CBFVs, BP-LF- and CBFV-LF-powers were lower, while PAs were longer with than without carvedilol. With carvedilol, CPS no longer shortened resting PA.
Sympathetic activation shortens PA. Partial adrenoceptor blockade abolishes this PA-shortening. Thus, PA-measurements provide a subtle marker of sympathetic influences on CA and might refine CA evaluation
Conceptual Foundations for a Service-oriented Knowledge and Learning Architecture: Supporting Content, Process and Ontology Maturing
Abstract: The knowledge maturing model views learning activities as embedded into, interwoven with, and even indistinguishable from everyday work processes. Learning is understood as an inherently social and collaborative activity. The Knowledge Maturing Process Model structures this process into five phases: expressing ideas, distributing in communities, formalizing, ad-hoc learning and standardization. It is applicable not only for content but also to process knowledge and semantics. In the MATURE IP two toolsets will be develop that support the maturing process: a personal learning environment and an organisation learning environment integrating the levels of individuals, communities and organisation. The development is guided by the SER theory of seeding, evolutionary growth and reseeding and is based on generally applicable maturing services
The association between real-life markers of phone use and cognitive performance, health-related quality of life and sleep
INTRODUCTION: The real-life short-term implications of electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on cognitive performance and health-related quality of life have not been well studied. The SPUTNIC study (Study Panel on Upcoming Technologies to study Non-Ionizing radiation and Cognition) aimed to investigate possible correlations between mobile phone radiation and human health, including cognition, health-related quality of life and sleep. METHODS: Adult participants tracked various daily markers of RF-EMF exposures (cordless calls, mobile calls, and mobile screen time 4 h prior to each assessment) as well as three health outcomes over ten study days: 1) cognitive performance, 2) health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and 3) sleep duration and quality. Cognitive performance was measured through six "game-like" tests, assessing verbal and visuo-spatial performance repeatedly. HRQoL was assessed as fatigue, mood and stress on a Likert-scale (1-10). Sleep duration and efficiency was measured using activity trackers. We fitted mixed models with random intercepts per participant on cognitive, HRQoL and sleep scores. Possible time-varying confounders were assessed at daily intervals by questionnaire and used for model adjustment. RESULTS: A total of 121 participants ultimately took part in the SPUTNIC study, including 63 from Besancon and 58 from Basel. Self-reported wireless phone use and screen time were sporadically associated with visuo-spatial and verbal cognitive performance, compatible with chance findings. We found a small but robust significant increase in stress 0.03 (0.00-0.06; on a 1-10 Likert-scale) in relation to a 10-min increase in mobile phone screen time. Sleep duration and quality were not associated with either cordless or mobile phone calls, or with screen time. DISCUSSION: The study did not find associations between short-term RF-EMF markers and cognitive performance, HRQoL, or sleep duration and quality. The most consistent finding was increased stress in relation to more screen time, but no association with cordless or mobile phone call time
From spin liquid to magnetic ordering in the anisotropic kagome Y-Kapellasite Y3Cu9(OH)19Cl8: a single crystal study
Y3Cu9(OH)19Cl8 realizes an original anisotropic kagome model hosting a rich
magnetic phase diagram [M. Hering et al, npj Computational Materials 8, 1
(2022)]. We present an improved synthesis of large phase-pure single crystals
via an external gradient method. These crystals were investigated in details by
susceptibility, specific heat, thermal expansion, neutron scattering and local
muSR and NMR techniques. At variance with polycristalline samples, the study of
single crystals gives evidence for subtle structural instabilities at 33K and
13K which preserve the global symmetry of the system and thus the magnetic
model. At 2.1K the compound shows a magnetic transition to a coplanar (1/3,1/3)
long range order as predicted theoretically. However our analysis of the spin
wave excitations yields magnetic interactions which locate the compound closer
to the phase boundary to a classical jammed spin liquid phase. Enhanced quantum
fluctuations at this boundary may be responsible for the strongly reduced
ordered moment of the Cu2+, estimated to be 0.075muB from muSR
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