11,867 research outputs found
Response to Owen, H.G. (2014), Discussion on “Aldiss, D.T., Under-representation of faults on geological maps of the London region: reasons, consequences and solutions” [Proc. Geol. Assoc. 124 (2013) 929–945]
Positive Selection by Purified MHC Class II / Thymic Epithelial Cells In Vitro: Costimulatory Signals Mediated by B7 Are Not Involved
We have investigated the possibility that the costimulatory signals required for activation of
mature T cells also play a role in providing differentiation signals for positive selection
during T-cell development. We show that purified MHC Class II+ thymic epithelial cells are
able to support positive selection in vitro but lack both the functional capacity to deliver
costimulatory signals and expression of the costimulatory ligand B7. Our results suggest that
the additional signals provided by costimulatory ligands are not required for TCR-mediated
positive selection, although other ancillary signals provided by thymic epithelial cells may
be involved
Staphylococcus aureus in the oral cavity: a three-year retrospective analysis of clinical laboratory data
OBJECTIVE: A retrospective analysis of laboratory data to investigate the isolation of Staphylococcus aureus from the oral cavity and facial area in specimens submitted to a regional diagnostic oral microbiology laboratory. METHODS: A hand search of laboratory records for a three-year period (1998-2000) was performed for specimens submitted to the regional diagnostic oral microbiology laboratory based at Glasgow Dental Hospital and School. Data were collected from forms where S. aureus was isolated. These data included demographics, referral source, specimen type, methicillin susceptibility and clinical details. RESULTS: For the period 1998-2000, there were 5,005 specimens submitted to the laboratory. S. aureus was isolated from 1,017 specimens, of which 967 (95%) were sensitive to methicillin (MSSA) and 50 (5%) were resistant to methicillin (MRSA). The 1,017 specimens were provided from 615 patients. MRSA was isolated from 37 (6%) of patients. There was an increasing incidence of S. aureus with age, particularly in the greater than 70 years age group. The most common specimen from which MSSA was isolated was an oral rinse (38%) whilst for MRSA isolates this was a tongue swab (28%). The clinical condition most commonly reported for MSSA isolates was angular cheilitis (22%). Erythema, swelling, pain or burning of the oral mucosa was the clinical condition most commonly reported for MRSA isolates (16%). Patients from whom the MSSA isolates were recovered were most commonly (55%) seen in the oral medicine clinic at the dental hospital, whilst patients with MRSA were more commonly seen in primary care settings such as nursing homes, hospices and general dental practice (51%). CONCLUSION: In line with more recent surveys, this retrospective study suggests that S. aureus may be a more frequent isolate from the oral cavity than hitherto suspected. A small proportion of the S. aureus isolates were MRSA. There were insufficient data available to determine whether the S. aureus isolates were colonising or infecting the oral cavity. However, the role of S. aureus in several diseases of the oral mucosa merits further investigation
Genetic assimilation of ancestral plasticity during parallel adaptation to Zinc contamination in Silene uniflora
Phenotypic plasticity in ancestral populations is hypothesized to facilitate adaptation, but evidence is piecemeal and often contradictory. Further, whether ancestral plasticity increases the probability of parallel adaptive changes has not been explored. The most general finding is that ancestral responses to a new environment are reversed following adaptation (known as reversion). We investigated the contribution of ancestral plasticity to adaptive evolution of gene expression in two independently evolved lineages of zinc-tolerant Silene uniflora. We found that the general pattern of reversion is driven by the absence of a widespread stress response in zinc-adapted plants compared with zinc-sensitive plants. We show that ancestral plasticity that moves expression closer to the optimum value in the new environment influences the evolution of gene expression among genes that are likely to be involved in adaptation and increases the chance that genes are recruited repeatedly during adaptation. However, despite convergence in gene expression levels between independently adapted lineages, ancestral plasticity does not influence how similar expression values of adaptive genes become. Surprisingly, we also observed that ancestral plasticity that increases fitness often becomes genetically determined and fixed, that is, genetically assimilated. These results emphasize the important role of ancestral plasticity in parallel adaptation
Medical consequences of pathogenic CNVs in adults: Analysis of the UK Biobank
Background: Genomic CNVs increase the risk for early-onset neurodevelopmental disorders, but their impact on medical outcomes in later life is still poorly understood. The UK Biobank allows us to study the medical consequences of CNVs in middle and old age in half a million well-phenotyped adults. Methods: We analysed all Biobank participants for the presence of 54 CNVs associated with genomic disorders or clinical phenotypes, including their reciprocal deletions or duplications. After array quality control and exclusion of first-degree relatives, we compared 381 452 participants of white British or Irish origin who carried no CNVs with carriers of each of the 54 CNVs (ranging from 5 to 2843 persons). We used logistic regression analysis to estimate the risk of developing 58 common medical phenotypes (3132 comparisons). Results and conclusions: Many of the CNVs have profound effects on medical health and mortality, even in people who have largely escaped early neurodevelopmental outcomes. Forty-six CNV–phenotype associations were significant at a false discovery rate threshold of 0.1, all in the direction of increased risk. Known medical consequences of CNVs were confirmed, but most identified associations are novel. Deletions at 16p11.2 and 16p12.1 had the largest numbers of significantly associated phenotypes (seven each). Diabetes, hypertension, obesity and renal failure were affected by the highest numbers of CNVs. Our work should inform clinicians in planning and managing the medical care of CNV carriers
Accelerator system for the PRISM based muon to electron conversion experiment
The next generation of lepton flavor violation experiments need high
intensity and high quality muon beams. Production of such beams requires
sending a short, high intensity proton pulse to the pion production target,
capturing pions and collecting the resulting muons in the large acceptance
transport system. The substantial increase of beam quality can be obtained by
applying the RF phase rotation on the muon beam in the dedicated FFAG ring,
which was proposed for the PRISM project.This allows to reduce the momentum
spread of the beam and to purify from the unwanted components like pions or
secondary protons. A PRISM Task Force is addressing the accelerator and
detector issues that need to be solved in order to realize the PRISM
experiment. The parameters of the required proton beam, the principles of the
PRISM experiment and the baseline FFAG design are introduced. The spectrum of
alternative designs for the PRISM FFAG ring are shown. Progress on ring main
systems like injection and RF are presented. The current status of the study
and its future directions are discussed.Comment: Studies performed within the PRISM Task Force initiativ
What effect have NHS commissioners’ policies for body mass index had on access to knee replacement surgery in England?:An interrupted time series analysis from the National Joint Registry
ObjectiveTo assess the impact of local commissioners' policies for body mass index on access to knee replacement surgery in England.MethodsA Natural Experimental Study using interrupted time series and difference-in-differences analysis. We used National Joint Registry for England data linked to the 2015 Index of Multiple Deprivation for 481,555 patients who had primary knee replacement surgery in England between January 2009 and December 2019. Clinical Commissioning Group policies introduced before June 2018 to alter access to knee replacement for patients who were overweight or obese were considered the intervention. The main outcome measures were rate per 100,000 of primary knee replacement surgery and patient demographics (body mass index, Index of Multiple Deprivation, independently-funded surgery) over time.ResultsRates of surgery had a sustained fall after the introduction of a policy (trend change of -0.98 operations per 100,000 population aged 40+, 95% confidence interval -1.22 to -0.74, PConclusionsBody mass index policy introduction was associated with decreases in the rates of knee replacement surgery across localities that introduced policies. This affected all patient groups, not just obese patients at whom the policies were targeted. Changes in patient demographics seen after policy introduction suggest these policies may increase health inequalities and further qualitative research is needed to understand their implementation and impact
Infrared Emission from Supernova Remnants: Formation and Destruction of Dust
We review the observations of dust emission in supernova rem- nants (SNRs)
and supernovae (SNe). Theoretical calculations suggest that SNe, particularly
core-collapse, should make significant quantities of dust, perhaps as much as a
solar mass. Observations of extragalactic SNe have yet to find anywhere near
this amount, but this may be the result of observa- tional limitations. SN
1987A, in the process of transitioning from a SN to an SNR, does show signs of
a significant amount of dust forming in its ejecta, but whether this dust will
survive the passage of the reverse shock to be injected into the ISM is
unknown. IR observations of SNRs have not turned up significant quantities of
dust, and the dust that is observed is generally swept-up by the forward shock,
rather than created in the ejecta. Because the shock waves also destroy dust in
the ISM, we explore the question of whether SNe might be net destroyers, rather
than net creators of dust in the universe.Comment: Published in the Springer Handbook of Supernova
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