Protein Engineering of <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> Oxidosqualene-Lanosterol Cyclase into Parkeol Synthase

A <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> oxidosqualene-lanosterol cyclase mutant, ERG7^{T384Y/Q450H/V454I}, produced parkeol but not lanosterol as the sole end product. Parkeol undergoes downstream metabolism to generate compounds <b>9</b> and <b>10</b>. In vitro incubation of parkeol produced a product profile similar to that of the in vivo experiment. In summary, parkeol undergoes a metabolic pathway similar to that of cycloartenol in yeast but distinct from that of lanosterol in yeast, suggesting that two different metabolic pathways of postoxidosqualene cyclization may exist in <i>S. cerevisiae</i>

Increased incidence of herpes zoster in adultpatients with peptic ulcer disease: apopulation-based cohort study

Background Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) has been linked to immunological dysfunctions and malnutrition—both are predictors of herpes zoster (HZ). We hypothesized that PUD patients might have a greater risk for developing HZ.Methods Using the longitudinal National Health Insurance Research Database, we conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study to evaluate the incidence of HZ in adult PUD patients and controls matched by age and gender. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression were conducted to compare differences in the development of HZ. The effects of comorbidities on the risk of HZ and the associations between different risk factors of PUD and HZ were assessed by subgroup analyses.Results We identified 41 229 adults PUD patients and 41 229 controls. Over an 8-year follow-up, the cumulative incidence of HZ in PUD patients (11.76/1000 person-years) was significantly higher than controls (6.56/1000 person-years) (P < 0.001, by log-rank test). After adjusting for potential confounders, PUD was an independent predictor for HZ (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.77, 95% confidence interval 1.64–1.91, P < 0.001). Major risk factors of PUD were non-selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsNSAID) usage and Helicobacter pylori infection. Subgroup analyses revealed that PUD is an independent predictor of HZ after excluding the potential confounding effects of the comorbidities; PUD associated with the combination of nsNSAID usage and Helicobacter pylori infection leads to greatest risk of HZ.Conclusions Adults with PUD are at increased risk of HZ independently compared with the general population. Further studies are required to clarify the nature of the associations between HZ and PUD

High Energy Physics Opportunities Using Reactor Antineutrinos

Nuclear reactors are uniquely powerful, abundant, and flavor-pure sources of antineutrinos that continue to play a vital role in the US neutrino physics program. The US reactor antineutrino physics community is a diverse interest group encompassing many detection technologies and many particle physics topics, including Standard Model and short-baseline oscillations, BSM physics searches, and reactor flux and spectrum modeling. The community's aims offer strong complimentary with numerous aspects of the wider US neutrino program and have direct relevance to most of the topical sub-groups composing the Snowmass 2021 Neutrino Frontier. Reactor neutrino experiments also have a direct societal impact and have become a strong workforce and technology development pipeline for DOE National Laboratories and universities. This white paper, prepared as a submission to the Snowmass 2021 community organizing exercise, will survey the state of the reactor antineutrino physics field and summarize the ways in which current and future reactor antineutrino experiments can play a critical role in advancing the field of particle physics in the next decade

High Energy Physics Opportunities Using Reactor Antineutrinos

Nuclear reactors are uniquely powerful, abundant, and flavor-pure sources of antineutrinos that continue to play a vital role in the US neutrino physics program. The US reactor antineutrino physics community is a diverse interest group encompassing many detection technologies and many particle physics topics, including Standard Model and short-baseline oscillations, BSM physics searches, and reactor flux and spectrum modeling. The community's aims offer strong complimentary with numerous aspects of the wider US neutrino program and have direct relevance to most of the topical sub-groups composing the Snowmass 2021 Neutrino Frontier. Reactor neutrino experiments also have a direct societal impact and have become a strong workforce and technology development pipeline for DOE National Laboratories and universities. This white paper, prepared as a submission to the Snowmass 2021 community organizing exercise, will survey the state of the reactor antineutrino physics field and summarize the ways in which current and future reactor antineutrino experiments can play a critical role in advancing the field of particle physics in the next decade