1,851 research outputs found

    Effects of larval competition on a quantitive character in Drosophila melanogaster

    Get PDF

    Проблеми становлення і розвитку інформаційного законодавства в контексті євроінтеграції України

    Get PDF
    Щодо розвитку права і правової науки в інформаційній сфері в Україні.О развитии права и правовой науки в информационной сфере в Украине.On the development of law and law science in the informative sphere of Ukraine

    Апеляційний перегляд постанов місцевого суду, винесених за розглядом скарг на постанову про порушення кримінальної справи

    Get PDF
    Досліджуються основні проблеми апеляційної перевірки правомірності порушення кримінальної справи.Исследованы основные проблемы апелляционной проверки правомерности возбуж­дения уголовного дела.The article is dedicated to the main problems of the appellate review of instituting pros­ecution

    The evolution of biofilm-forming Wrinkly Spreaders in static microcosms and drip-fed columns selects for subtle differences in wrinkleality and fitness

    Get PDF
    Experimental evolution studies are used to investigate bacterial adaptive radiation in simple microcosms. In the case of the Wrinkly Spreader, a class of biofilm-forming adaptive mutants of Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25, the current paradigm is that they are only evolutionarily successful in static microcosms where they outcompete other lineages for O2 at the air–liquid interface. However, we have isolated Wrinkly Spreaders from drip-fed glass bead columns as an example of parallel evolution. These mutants are adaptive, with competitive fitness advantages on columns of 1.28–1.78. This might be explained by the enhanced attachment characteristically shown by Wrinkly Spreaders, allowing them to resist liquid flow through the column pore network. A comparison of column and static microcosm-isolated Wrinkly Spreaders showed that many aspects of wrinkleality, including colony reversion, microcosm growth, biofilm strength and attachment, as well as fitness in static microcosms, were significantly different within and between the two groups of mutants. These findings indicate that the two environments had selected for Wrinkly Spreaders with subtly differing degrees of wrinkleality and fitnesses, suggesting that aspects of the Wrinkly Spreader phenotype may have different relative values in static microcosms and drip-fed columns

    Study of diffusion weighted MRI as a predictive biomarker of response during radiotherapy for high and intermediate risk squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx: The MeRInO study

    Get PDF
    Introduction and background: A significant proportion of patients with intermediate and high risk squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx (OPSCC) continue to relapse locally despite radical chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The toxicity of the current combination of intensified dose per fraction radiotherapy and platinum based chemotherapy limits further uniform intensification. If a predictive biomarker for outcomes from CRT can be identified during treatment then individualised and adaptive treatment strategies may be employed. Methods/design: The MeRInO study is a prospective observational imaging study of patients with intermediate and high risk, locally advanced OPSCC receiving radical RT or concurrent CRT Patients undergo diffusion weighted MRI prior to treatment (MRI_1) and during the third week of RT (MRI_2). Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements will be made on each scan for previously specified target lesions (primary and lymph nodes) and change in ADC calculated. Patients will be followed up and disease status for each target lesion noted. The primary aim of the MeRInO study is to determine the threshold change in ADC from baseline to week 3 of RT that may identify the sub-group of non-responders during treatment. Discussion: The use of DW-MRI as a predictive biomarker during RT for SCC H&N is in its infancy but studies to date have found that response to treatment may indeed be predicted by comparison of DW-MRI carried out before and during treatment. However, previous studies have included all sub-sites and biological sub-types. Establishing ADC thresholds that predict for local failure is an essential step towards using DW-MRI to improve the therapeutic ratio in treating SCC H&N. This would be done most robustly in a specific H&N sub-site and in sub-types with similar biological behaviour. The MeRInO study will help establish these thresholds in OPSCC

    Methylomic trajectories across human fetal brain development

    Get PDF
    Open access articleEpigenetic processes play a key role in orchestrating transcriptional regulation during development. The importance of DNA methylation in fetal brain development is highlighted by the dynamic expression of de novo DNA methyltransferases during the perinatal period and neurodevelopmental deficits associated with mutations in the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene. However, our knowledge about the temporal changes to the epigenome during fetal brain development has, to date, been limited. We quantified genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation at ∼ 400,000 sites in 179 human fetal brain samples (100 male, 79 female) spanning 23 to 184 d post-conception. We identified highly significant changes in DNA methylation across fetal brain development at >7% of sites, with an enrichment of loci becoming hypomethylated with fetal age. Sites associated with developmental changes in DNA methylation during fetal brain development were significantly underrepresented in promoter regulatory regions but significantly overrepresented in regions flanking CpG islands (shores and shelves) and gene bodies. Highly significant differences in DNA methylation were observed between males and females at a number of autosomal sites, with a small number of regions showing sex-specific DNA methylation trajectories across brain development. Weighted gene comethylation network analysis (WGCNA) revealed discrete modules of comethylated loci associated with fetal age that are significantly enriched for genes involved in neurodevelopmental processes. This is, to our knowledge, the most extensive study of DNA methylation across human fetal brain development to date, confirming the prenatal period as a time of considerable epigenomic plasticity.MRCUniversity of Exeter Medical SchoolWellcome Trus

    Bioinformatics characterization of BcsA-like orphan proteins suggest they form a novel family of pseudomonad cyclic-β-glucan synthases

    Get PDF
    Bacteria produce a variety of polysaccharides with functional roles in cell surface coating, surface and host interactions, and biofilms. We have identified an ‘Orphan’ bacterial cellulose synthase catalytic subunit (BcsA)-like protein found in four model pseudomonads, P. aeruginosa PA01, P. fluorescens SBW25, P. putida KT2440 and P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000. Pairwise alignments indicated that the Orphan and BcsA proteins shared less than 41% sequence identity suggesting they may not have the same structural folds or function. We identified 112 Orphans among soil and plant-associated pseudomonads as well as in phytopathogenic and human opportunistic pathogenic strains. The wide distribution of these highly conserved proteins suggest they form a novel family of synthases producing a different polysaccharide. In silico analysis, including sequence comparisons, secondary structure and topology predictions, and protein structural modelling, revealed a two-domain transmembrane ovoid-like structure for the Orphan protein with a periplasmic glycosyl hydrolase family GH17 domain linked via a transmembrane region to a cytoplasmic glycosyltransferase family GT2 domain. We suggest the GT2 domain synthesises β-(1,3)-glucan that is transferred to the GH17 domain where it is cleaved and cyclised to produce cyclic-β-(1,3)-glucan (CβG). Our structural models are consistent with enzymatic characterisation and recent molecular simulations of the PaPA01 and PpKT2440 GH17 domains. It also provides a functional explanation linking PaPAK and PaPA14 Orphan (also known as NdvB) transposon mutants with CβG production and biofilm-associated antibiotic resistance. Importantly, cyclic glucans are also involved in osmoregulation, plant infection and induced systemic suppression, and our findings suggest this novel family of CβG synthases may provide similar range of adaptive responses for pseudomonads.<br/

    Biosurfactants as Bioremediation Tools Isolated from Bacteria Found in Industrial Wastewaters of the Kakuri Drain Kaduna, Northern Nigeria

    Get PDF
    Biosurfactants are chemical substances produced in living spaces or excreted extracellular hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties that confer on the organism the ability to accumulate between fluid phases thus reducing surface and interfacial tension. Biosurfactants are produced by several microorganisms which include Bacillus sp., Candida antactica, Acinetobacter and Psudomonas aeruginosa. The physiological role of biosurfactant production in microorganisms include among others, the ability to make substrates readily available for uptake by the cells in adverse environmental conditions. Biosurfactant applications in the environmental industries are promising due to their biodegradability, low toxicity, and effectiveness in enhancing biodegradation and solubilization of low solubility compounds. Bacterial strains isolated from the Kakuri drain expressed high Liquid Surface Tension Reducing Activity (LSTRA).Strains were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the API20E Kit. Strain Ali31 (P.aeruginosa) recorded a mean surface tension of 29.033mN/m, while the lowest surface tension recorded amongst the strains was 28.840mN/m by strain Ali13 (P.aeruginosa).The model strain recorded a mean of 57.979mN/m. Several factors however influence biosurfactant production, such as nature of carbon source, temperature, pH and aeration

    Salivary androgens in adolescence and their value as a marker of puberty: results from the SCAMP cohort

    Get PDF
    Context: Salivary androgens represent non-invasive biomarkers of puberty that may have utility in clinical and population studies. Objective: To understand normal age-related variation in salivary sex steroids and demonstrate their correlation to pubertal development in young adolescents. Design, Setting, and participants: School-based cohort study of 1,495 adolescents at two time points for collecting saliva samples approximately two years apart. Outcome measures: The saliva samples were analyzed for five androgens (testosterone, androstenedione (A4), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) and 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione (11-OHA4)) using LC-MS/MS; in addition, salivary dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and oestradiol (OE2) were analyzed by ELISA. Pubertal staging was self-reported using the pubertal development scale (PDS). Results: In 1,236 saliva samples from 903 boys aged between 11-16 years, salivary androgens except DHEA exhibited an increasing trend with an advancing age (ANOVA, p<0.001), with salivary testosterone and A4 concentration showing the strongest correlation (r=0.55, p<0.001 and r=0.48, p<0.001, respectively). In a subgroup analysis of 155 and 63 saliva samples in boys and girls, respectively morning salivary testosterone concentrations showed the highest correlation with composite PDS scores and voice-breaking category from PDS self-report in boys (r=0.75, r=0.67, respectively). In girls, salivary DHEA and OE2 had negligible correlations with age or composite PDS scores. Conclusion: In boys aged 11-16 years, increase in salivary testosterone and A4 is associated with self-reported pubertal progress and represent valid non-invasive biomarkers of puberty in boys
    corecore