High Heritability Is Compatible with the Broad Distribution of Set Point Viral Load in HIV Carriers.

Set point viral load in HIV patients ranges over several orders of magnitude and is a key determinant of disease progression in HIV. A number of recent studies have reported high heritability of set point viral load implying that viral genetic factors contribute substantially to the overall variation in viral load. The high heritability is surprising given the diversity of host factors associated with controlling viral infection. Here we develop an analytical model that describes the temporal changes of the distribution of set point viral load as a function of heritability. This model shows that high heritability is the most parsimonious explanation for the observed variance of set point viral load. Our results thus not only reinforce the credibility of previous estimates of heritability but also shed new light onto mechanisms of viral pathogenesis

Mining electron density for functionally relevant protein polysterism in crystal structures.

This review focuses on conceptual and methodological advances in our understanding and characterization of the conformational heterogeneity of proteins. Focusing on X-ray crystallography, we describe how polysterism, the interconversion of pre-existing conformational substates, has traditionally been analyzed by comparing independent crystal structures or multiple chains within a single crystal asymmetric unit. In contrast, recent studies have focused on mining electron density maps to reveal previously 'hidden' minor conformational substates. Functional tests of the importance of minor states suggest that evolutionary selection shapes the entire conformational landscape, including uniquely configured conformational substates, the relative distribution of these substates, and the speed at which the protein can interconvert between them. An increased focus on polysterism may shape the way protein structure and function is studied in the coming years

Lack of an HSP70 heat shock response in two Antarctic marine invertebrates

Members of the HSP70 gene family comprising the inducible (HSP70) genes and GRP78 (glucose-regulated protein 78 kDa) were identified in an Antarctic sea star (Odontaster validus) and an Antarctic gammarid (Paraceradocus gibber). These genes were surveyed for expression levels via Q-PCR after an acute 2-hour heat shock experiment in both animals and a time course assay in O. validus. No significant up-regulation was detected for any of the genes in either of the animals during the acute heat shock. The time course experiment in O. validus produced slightly different results with an initial down regulation in these genes at 2°C, but no significant up-regulation of the genes either at 2 or 6°C. Therefore, the classical heat shock response is absent in both species. The data is discussed in the context of the organisms’ thermal tolerance and the applicability of HSP70 to monitor thermal stress in Antarctic marine organisms

Rates and predictors of recurrent work disability due to common mental health disorders in the United States.

ContextDespite the high prevalence of work disability due to common mental disorders (CMD), no information exists on the rates and predictors of recurrence in a United States population.ObjectiveTo estimate recurrent work disability statistics and evaluate factors associated with recurrence due to CMDs including adjustment, anxiety, bipolar, and depressive disorders.MethodsRecurrent work disability statistics were calculated using a nationwide database of disability claims. For the CMDs, univariate and multiple variable analyses were used to examine demographic factors and comorbidities associated with the time to recurrence.ResultsOf the CMDs, cases with bipolar (n = 3,017) and depressive disorders (n = 20,058) had the highest recurrence densities, 98.7 and 70.9 per 1000 person-years, respectively. These rates were more than three times higher than recurrence rates for other chronic disorders (e.g., diabetes, asthma; n = 105,558) and non-chronic disorders (e.g., injury, acute illnesses; n = 153,786). Individuals with CMD were also more likely to have a subsequent disability distinct from their mental health condition. Risk factors for recurrent CMD disability included being younger, being an hourly employee, living in a geographic area with more college graduates, having more previous psychiatric visits, having a previous work leave, and the type of work industry.ConclusionsResults indicate that CMD patients may benefit from additional care and disability management both during and after their work absence to help prevent subsequent CMD and non-CMD related leaves

Vortex motion phase separator for zero gravity liquid transfer

A vortex motion phase separator is disclosed for transferring a liquid in a zero gravity environment while at the same time separating the liquid from vapors found within either the sender or the receiving tanks. The separator comprises a rigid sender tank having a circular cross-section and rigid receiver tank having a circular cross-section. A plurality of ducts connects the sender tank and the receiver tank. Disposed within the ducts connecting the receiver tank and the sender tank is a pump and a plurality of valves. The pump is powered by an electric motor and is adapted to draw either the liquid or a mixture of the liquid and the vapor from the sender tank. Initially, the mixture drawn from the sender tank is directed through a portion of the ductwork and back into the sender tank at a tangent to the inside surface of the sender tank, thereby creating a swirling vortex of the mixture within the sender tank. As the pumping action increases, the speed of the swirling action within the sender tank increases creating an increase in the centrifugal force operating on the mixture. The effect of the centrifugal force is to cause the heavier liquid to migrate to the inside surface of the sender tank and to separate from the vapor. When this separation reaches a predetermined degree, control means is activated to direct the liquid conveyed by the pump directly into the receiver tank. At the same time, the vapor within the receiver tank is directed from the receiver tank back into the sender tank. This flow continues until substantially all of the liquid is transferred from the sender tank to the receiver tank

The effect of surface reflection and clouds on the estimation of total ozone from satellite measurements

The total amount of ozone in a vertical column is being measured by Nimbus 4 and 7 observations of the intensity of ultraviolet sunlight scattered from the earth. The algorithm for deriving the amount of ozone from the observations uses the assumption that the surface reflects the light isotropically and the albedo is independent of wavelength. The effects of anisotropic surfaces and clouds on the estimate of total ozone are computed for models of the earth-atmosphere system

Effect of molecular anisotropy on the intensity and degree of polarization of light scattered from model atmospheres

Computations of the intensity, flux, degree of polarization, and the positions of neutral points are presented for models of the terrestrial gaseous and hazy atmospheres by incorporating the molecular anisotropy due to air in the Rayleigh scattering optical thickness and phase matrix. Molecular anisotropy causes significant changes in the intensity, flux and the degree of polarization of the scattered light. The positions of neutral points do not change significantly. When the Rayleigh scattering optical thickness is kept constant and the molecular anisotropy factor is included only in the Rayleigh phase matrix, the flux does not change and the intensity and positions of neutron points change by a small amount. The changes in the degree of polarization are still significant

A systematic review of reported reassortant viral lineages of influenza A

BACKGROUND: Most previous evolutionary studies of influenza A have focussed on genetic drift, or reassortment of specific gene segments, hosts or subtypes. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify reported claimed reassortant influenza A lineages with genomic data available in GenBank, to obtain 646 unique first-report isolates out of a possible 20,781 open-access genomes. RESULTS: After adjusting for correlations, only: swine as host, China, Europe, Japan and years between 1997 and 2002; remained as significant risk factors for the reporting of reassortant viral lineages. For swine H1, more reassortants were observed in the North American H1 clade compared with the Eurasian avian-like H1N1 clade. Conversely, for avian H5 isolates, a higher number of reported reassortants were observed in the European H5N2/H3N2 clade compared with the H5N2 North American clade. CONCLUSIONS: Despite unavoidable biases (publication, database choice and upload propensity) these results synthesize a large majority of the current literature on novel reported influenza A reassortants and are a potentially useful prerequisite to inform further algorithmic studies. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1298-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

The effect of finite field size on classification and atmospheric correction

The atmospheric effect on the upward radiance of sunlight scattered from the Earth-atmosphere system is strongly influenced by the contrasts between fields and their sizes. For a given atmospheric turbidity, the atmospheric effect on classification of surface features is much stronger for nonuniform surfaces than for uniform surfaces. Therefore, the classification accuracy of agricultural fields and urban areas is dependent not only on the optical characteristics of the atmosphere, but also on the size of the surface do not account for the nonuniformity of the surface have only a slight effect on the classification accuracy; in other cases the classification accuracy descreases. The radiances above finite fields were computed to simulate radiances measured by a satellite. A simulation case including 11 agricultural fields and four natural fields (water, soil, savanah, and forest) was used to test the effect of the size of the background reflectance and the optical thickness of the atmosphere on classification accuracy. It is concluded that new atmospheric correction methods, which take into account the finite size of the fields, have to be developed to improve significantly the classification accuracy

Supersymmetric Lifshitz-like backgrounds from N=4 SYM with heavy quark density

We examine a class of gravity backgrounds obtained by considering the backreaction of a spatially uniform density of mutually BPS Wilson lines or heavy quarks in N=4 SUSY Yang-Mills theory. The configurations preserve eight supercharges and an SO(5) subgroup of the SO(6) R-symmetry. They are obtained by considering the 1/4-BPS geometries associated to smeared string/D3-brane (F1-D3) intersections. We argue that for the (partially) localized intersection, the geometry exhibits a flow from AdS_5 x S^5 in the UV to a novel IR scaling solution displaying anisotropic Lifshitz-like scaling with dynamical critical exponent z=7, hyperscaling violation and a logarithmic running dilaton. We also obtain a two-parameter family of smeared 1/4-BPS solutions on the Coulomb branch of N=4 SYM exhibiting Lifshitz scaling and hyperscaling violation. For a certain parametric range these yield IR geometries which are conformal to AdS_2 x R^3, and which have been argued to be relevant for fermionic physics.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures, references added, version published in JHEP, Feb. 201