Identifier Services: Tracking Objects and Metadata Across Time and Distributed Storage Systems

This paper describes research around Identifier Services (IDS). IDS is designed to bind dispersed data objects and verify aspects of their identity and integrity, independent of where the data are located and whether they are duplicate, partial, private, published, active, or static. IDS will allow individuals and repositories to manage, track, and preserve different types of identifiers and their associated data and metadata. The IDS data model which focuses on research processes and the relationship between their data inputs and outputs will significantly improve provenance metadata of distributed collections at any point of their lifecycle

The Plant Ontology: A common reference ontology for plants

The Plant Ontology (PO) (http://www.plantontology.org) (Jaiswal et al., 2005; Avraham et al., 2008) was designed to facilitate cross-database querying and to foster consistent use of plant-specific terminology in annotation. As new data are generated from the ever-expanding list of plant genome projects, the need for a consistent, cross-taxon vocabulary has grown. To meet this need, the PO is being expanded to represent all plants. This is the first ontology designed to encompass anatomical structures as well as growth and developmental stages across such a broad taxonomic range. While other ontologies such as the Gene Ontology (GO) (The Gene Ontology Consortium, 2010) or Cell Type Ontology (CL) (Bard et al., 2005) cover all living organisms, they are confined to structures at the cellular level and below. The diversity of growth forms and life histories within plants presents a challenge, but also provides unique opportunities to study developmental and evolutionary homology across organisms

The Plant Ontology facilitates comparisons of plant development stages across species

The Plant Ontology (PO) is a community resource consisting of standardized terms, definitions, and logical relations describing plant structures and development stages, augmented by a large database of annotations from genomic and phenomic studies. This paper describes the structure of the ontology and the design principles we used in constructing PO terms for plant development stages. It also provides details of the methodology and rationale behind our revision and expansion of the PO to cover development stages for all plants, particularly the land plants (bryophytes through angiosperms). As a case study to illustrate the general approach, we examine variation in gene expression across embryo development stages in Arabidopsis and maize, demonstrating how the PO can be used to compare patterns of expression across stages and in developmentally different species. Although many genes appear to be active throughout embryo development, we identified a small set of uniquely expressed genes for each stage of embryo development and also between the two species. Evaluating the different sets of genes expressed during embryo development in Arabidopsis or maize may inform future studies of the divergent developmental pathways observed in monocotyledonous versus dicotyledonous species. The PO and its annotation databasemake plant data for any species more discoverable and accessible through common formats, thus providing support for applications in plant pathology, image analysis, and comparative development and evolution

Experimental joint signal-idler quasi-distributions and photon-number statistics for mesoscopic twin beams

Joint signal-idler photoelectron distributions of twin beams containing several tens of photons per mode have been measured recently. Exploiting a microscopic quantum theory for joint quasi-distributions in parametric down-conversion developed earlier we characterize properties of twin beams in terms of quasi-distributions using experimental data. Negative values as well as oscillating behaviour in quantum region are characteristic for the subsequently determined joint signal-idler quasi-distributions of integrated intensities. Also the conditional and difference photon-number distributions are shown to be sub-Poissonian and sub-shot-noise, respectively.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

High rate deposition of thin film cadmium sulphide by pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering

CadmiumSulphide (CdS) is an important n-type semiconductor widely used as a windowlayer in thin film photovoltaics Copper IndiumSelenide, Copper IndiumGallium (di)Selenide, Copper Zinc Tin Sulphide and Cadmium Telluride (CdTe). Cadmium Sulphide has been deposited using a number of techniques but these techniques can be slow (chemical bath deposition and Radio Frequency sputtering) or the uniformity and the control of thickness can be relatively difficult (close space sublimation). In this paper we report on the development of a process using pulsed Direct Current magnetron sputtering which allows nanometre control of thin film thickness using time only. The CdS thin films deposited in this process are highly uniformand smooth. They exhibit the preferred hexagonal structure at room temperature deposition and they have excellent optical properties. Importantly, the process is highly stable despite the use of a semi-insulating magnetron target. Moreover, the process is very fast. The deposition rate using 1.5 kW of power to a 6-inch circular magnetron was measured to be greater than 8 nm/s. This makes the process suitable for industrial deployment

The structural properties of CdS deposited by chemical bath deposition and pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films were deposited by two different processes, chemical bath deposition (CBD), and pulsed DC magnetron sputtering (PDCMS) on fluorine doped-tin oxide coated glass to assess the potential advantages of the pulsed DC magnetron sputtering process. The structural, optical and morphological properties of films obtained by CBD and PDCMS were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The as-grown films were studied and comparisons were drawn between their morphology, uniformity, crystallinity, and the deposition rate of the process. The highest crystallinity is observed for sputtered CdS thin films. The absorption in the visible wavelength increased for PDCMS CdS thin films, due to the higher density of the films. The band gap measured for the as-grown CBD-CdS is 2.38 eV compared to 2.34 eV for PDCMS-CdS, confirming the higher density of the sputtered thin film. The higher deposition rate for PDCMS is a significant advantage of this technique which has potential use for high rate and low cost manufacturing

Clinical practice guidelines for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1).

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to provide guidelines for evaluation, treatment, and genetic testing for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). PARTICIPANTS: The group, which comprised 10 experts, including physicians, surgeons, and geneticists from international centers, received no corporate funding or remuneration. PROCESS: Guidelines were developed by reviews of peer-reviewed publications; a draft was prepared, reviewed, and rigorously revised at several stages; and agreed-upon revisions were incorporated. CONCLUSIONS: MEN1 is an autosomal dominant disorder that is due to mutations in the tumor suppressor gene MEN1, which encodes a 610-amino acid protein, menin. Thus, the finding of MEN1 in a patient has important implications for family members because first-degree relatives have a 50% risk of developing the disease and can often be identified by MEN1 mutational analysis. MEN1 is characterized by the occurrence of parathyroid, pancreatic islet, and anterior pituitary tumors. Some patients may also develop carcinoid tumors, adrenocortical tumors, meningiomas, facial angiofibromas, collagenomas, and lipomas. Patients with MEN1 have a decreased life expectancy, and the outcomes of current treatments, which are generally similar to those for the respective tumors occurring in non-MEN1 patients, are not as successful because of multiple tumors, which may be larger, more aggressive, and resistant to treatment, and the concurrence of metastases. The prognosis for MEN1 patients might be improved by presymptomatic tumor detection and undertaking treatment specific for MEN1 tumors. Thus, it is recommended that MEN1 patients and their families should be cared for by multidisciplinary teams comprising relevant specialists with experience in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with endocrine tumors

Complement-Mediated Differential Immune Response of Human Macrophages to Sporothrix Species Through Interaction With Their Cell Wall Peptidorhamnomannans

Funding This work was supported by Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAP-DF)/CNPq, PRONEX grant ID: (FAP-DF, 0193.001.200/2016). VA is supported by the Centre Franco-Indien pour la Promotion de la Recherche Avancée (CEFIPRA) grant No. 5403-1 and ANR-DFG AfuINF grant. IG, VA, and CS were supported by the ANR-FUNHYDRO (ANR-16S-CE110020-01) grant. NG, GB and JW are supported by the Welcome Trust (102705, 097377, 101873, 215599 and 200208) and the Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/2). Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge Dr. Lars Erwig, Dr. Jude Bain, and Dr. Kevin MacKenzie of University of Aberdeen for the scientific and technical support in the video microscopy experiments. LMLB was a research fellow of Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). We acknowledge Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do estado do Rio de Janeiro (Faperj) and Pasteur-Roux-Cantarini postdoctoral fellowship for the research fellowships given to GWPN and SSWW, respectively.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Pathogen- and Host-Directed Antileishmanial Effects Mediated by Polyhexanide (PHMB)

BACKGROUND:Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. CL causes enormous suffering in many countries worldwide. There is no licensed vaccine against CL, and the chemotherapy options show limited efficacy and high toxicity. Localization of the parasites inside host cells is a barrier to most standard chemo- and immune-based interventions. Hence, novel drugs, which are safe, effective and readily accessible to third-world countries and/or drug delivery technologies for effective CL treatments are desperately needed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Here we evaluated the antileishmanial properties and delivery potential of polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB; polyhexanide), a widely used antimicrobial and wound antiseptic, in the Leishmania model. PHMB showed an inherent antileishmanial activity at submicromolar concentrations. Our data revealed that PHMB kills Leishmania major (L. major) via a dual mechanism involving disruption of membrane integrity and selective chromosome condensation and damage. PHMB's DNA binding and host cell entry properties were further exploited to improve the delivery and immunomodulatory activities of unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODN). PHMB spontaneously bound CpG ODN, forming stable nanopolyplexes that enhanced uptake of CpG ODN, potentiated antimicrobial killing and reduced host cell toxicity of PHMB. CONCLUSIONS:Given its low cost and long history of safe topical use, PHMB holds promise as a drug for CL therapy and delivery vehicle for nucleic acid immunomodulators

Measuring the Impact of Conservation : The Growing Importance of Monitoring Fauna, Flora and Funga

Many stakeholders, from governments to civil society to businesses, lack the data they need to make informed decisions on biodiversity, jeopardising efforts to conserve, restore and sustainably manage nature. Here we review the importance of enhancing biodiversity monitoring, assess the challenges involved and identify potential solutions. Capacity for biodiversity monitoring needs to be enhanced urgently, especially in poorer, high-biodiversity countries where data gaps are disproportionately high. Modern tools and technologies, including remote sensing, bioacoustics and environmental DNA, should be used at larger scales to fill taxonomic and geographic data gaps, especially in the tropics, in marine and freshwater biomes, and for plants, fungi and invertebrates. Stakeholders need to follow best monitoring practices, adopting appropriate indicators and using counterfactual approaches to measure and attribute outcomes and impacts. Data should be made openly and freely available. Companies need to invest in collecting the data required to enhance sustainability in their operations and supply chains. With governments soon to commit to the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, the time is right to make a concerted push on monitoring. However, action at scale is needed now if we are to enhance results-based management adequately to conserve the biodiversity and ecosystem services we all depend on.This paper was made possible by funding from the Swiss Network for International Studies to the University of Lausanne (L.F. and P.J.S.) and its partners under the project: "Unblocking the flow of biodiversity data for multi-stakeholder environmental sustainability management". The research was carried out, in part, by GNG at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). PAVB was supported by the project MACRISK-PTDC/BIA-CBI/0625/2021, through the FCT-FundacAo para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia. YNB acknowledges support from the Audemars-Watkins Foundation for the CBCR's protected area monitoring work featured in this paper.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio