Properties of odd nuclei and the impact of time-odd mean fields: A systematic Skyrme-Hartree-Fock analysis

We present a systematic analysis of the description of odd nuclei by the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approach augmented with pairing in BCS approximation and blocking of the odd nucleon. Current and spin densities in the Skyrme functional produce time-odd mean fields (TOMF) for odd nuclei. Their effect on basic properties (binding energies, odd-even staggering, separation energies and spectra) is investigated for the three Skyrme parameterizations SkI3, SLy6, and SV-bas. About 1300 spherical and axially-deformed odd nuclei with 16 < Z < 92 are considered. The calculations demonstrate that the TOMF effect is generally small, although not fully negligible. The influence of the Skyrme parameterization and the consistency of the calculations are much more important. With a proper choice of the parameterization, a good description of binding energies and their differences is obtained, comparable to that for even nuclei. The description of low-energy excitation spectra of odd nuclei is of varying quality depending on the nucleus

Detection of a novel gammaherpesvirus (genus Rhadinovirus) in wild muntjac deer in Northern Ireland

This study represents the initial part of an investigation into the potential for non-native, wild, free-living muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi) to carry viruses that could be a threat to livestock. A degenerate PCR assay was used to screen a range of tissues from muntjac deer culled in Northern Ireland for the presence of herpesviral nucleic acids. This was followed by sequencing of PCR amplicons and phylogenetic analysis. We report the detection of a novel gammaherpesvirus most closely related to a type 2 ruminant rhadinovirus from mule deer. It remains to be determined if this new virus is pathogenic to deer or presents a risk to food security through the susceptibility of domestic livestock

Down-regulation of transcription elogation factor A (SII) like 4 (TCEAL4) in anaplastic thyroid cancer

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the most aggressive human malignancies and appears to arise mainly from transformation of pre-existing differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). However, the carcinogenic mechanism of anaplastic transformation remains unclear. Previously, we investigated specific genes related to ATC based on gene expression profiling using cDNA microarray analysis. One of these genes, transcription elongation factor A (SII)-like 4 (TCEAL4), encodes a member of the transcription elongation factor A (SII)-like gene family. The detailed function of TCEAL4 has not been described nor has any association between this gene and human cancers been reported previously. METHODS: To investigate the role of TCEAL4 in ATC carcinogenesis, we examined expression levels of TCEAL4 in ACLs as well as in other types of thyroid cancers and normal human tissue. RESULTS: Expression of TCEAL4 was down-regulated in all 11 ACLs as compared to either normal thyroid tissues or papillary and follicular thyroid cancerous tissues. TCEAL4 was expressed ubiquitously in all normal human tissues tested. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report of altered TCEAL4 expression in human cancers. We suggest that loss of TCEAL4 expression might be associated with development of ATC from DTC. Further functional studies are required

Decreased expression of haemoglobin beta (HBB) gene in anaplastic thyroid cancer and recovory of its expression inhibits cell growth

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the most fulminant and foetal diseases in human malignancies. However, the genetic alterations and carcinogenic mechanisms of ATC are still unclear. Recently, we investigated the gene expression profile of 11 anaplastic thyroid cancer cell lines (ACL) and significant decreased expression of haemoglobin beta (HBB) gene in ACL. Haemoglobin beta is located at 11p15.5, where loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was reported in various kinds of cancers, including ATC, and it has been suggested that novel tumour suppressor genes might exist in this region. In order to clarify the meaning of decreased expression of HBB in ATC, the expression status of HBB was investigated with ACL, ATC, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and normal human tissues. Haemoglobin beta showed significant decreased expression in ACLs and ATCs; however, in PTC, HBB expressed equal to the normal thyroid gland. In addition, HBB expressed in normal human tissues ubiquitously. To validate the tumour-suppressor function of HBB, cell growth assay was performed. Forced expression of HBB in KTA2 cell, which is a kind of ACL, significantly suppressed KTA2 growth. The mechanism of downregulation of HBB in ATC is still unclear; however, our results suggested the possibility of HBB as a novel tumour-suppressor gene

Cildb: a knowledgebase for centrosomes and cilia

Ciliopathies, pleiotropic diseases provoked by defects in the structure or function of cilia or flagella, reflect the multiple roles of cilia during development, in stem cells, in somatic organs and germ cells. High throughput studies have revealed several hundred proteins that are involved in the composition, function or biogenesis of cilia. The corresponding genes are potential candidates for orphan ciliopathies. To study ciliary genes, model organisms are used in which particular questions on motility, sensory or developmental functions can be approached by genetics. In the course of high throughput studies of cilia in Paramecium tetraurelia, we were confronted with the problem of comparing our results with those obtained in other model organisms. We therefore developed a novel knowledgebase, Cildb, that integrates ciliary data from heterogeneous sources. Cildb links orthology relationships among 18 species to high throughput ciliary studies, and to OMIM data on human hereditary diseases. The web interface of Cildb comprises three tools, BioMart for complex queries, BLAST for sequence homology searches and GBrowse for browsing the human genome in relation to OMIM information for human diseases. Cildb can be used for interspecies comparisons, building candidate ciliary proteomes in any species, or identifying candidate ciliopathy genes