The impact of phages on interspecific competition in experimental populations of bacteria

BACKGROUND: Phages are thought to play a crucial role in the maintenance of diversity in natural bacterial communities. Theory suggests that phages impose density dependent regulation on bacterial populations, preventing competitive dominants from excluding less competitive species. To test this, we constructed experimental communities containing two bacterial species (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and their phage parasites. Communities were propagated at two environmental temperatures that reversed the outcome of competition in the absence of phage. RESULTS: The evenness of coexistence was enhanced in the presence of a phage infecting the superior competitor and in the presence of phage infecting both competitors. This occurred because phage altered the balance of competitive interactions through reductions in density of the superior competitor, allowing concomitant increases in density of the weaker competitor. However, even coexistence was not equally stable at the two environmental temperatures. CONCLUSION: Phage can alter competitive interactions between bacterial species in a way that is consistent with the maintenance of coexistence. However, the stability of coexistence is likely to depend upon the nature of the constituent bacteria-bacteriophage interactions and environmental conditions

Investigating how queer people of color use ICTs to cope with stigma

Stigma is an attribute that differentiates and negatively classifies an individual within a specific categorized identity. Multiple identities are stigmatized, such as the LGBTQ and PoC communities. When these identities are layered on top of one another, so are the stigmas associated with them, and this creates an increased risk of negative consequences. Literature indicates that a way to ameliorate these negative consequences is to find ways to cope. This lit- erature review analyzes the current research regarding what is known about how QPOC leverage ICTs as a tool for coping with stigma. Overall, it was found that not much is known about the particular ICTs QPoC are leveraging to cope, nor is there much knowledge on how they are using these unidentified ICTs. Further research is necessary to better understand what ICTs are being used and how QPoC are using them in order to help ameliorate the negative consequences of stigma

The potential consequences for cell Signaling by a class of NOD-Like Receptor proteins (NLRs) bearing an N-terminal signal sequence

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for the work on cellular 2A-like sequences.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Outstanding Questions in Flower Metabolism

The great diversity of flowers, their color, odor, taste, and shape, is mostly a result of the metabolic processes that occur in this reproductive organ when the flower and its tissues develop, grow, and finally die. Some of these metabolites serve to advertise flowers to animal pollinators, other confer protection towards abiotic stresses, and a large proportion of the molecules of the central metabolic pathways have bioenergetic and signaling functions that support growth and the transition to fruits and seeds. Although recent studies have advanced our general understanding of flower metabolism, several questions still await an answer. Here, we have compiled a list of open questions on flower metabolism encompassing molecular aspects, as well as topics of relevance for agriculture and the ecosystem. These questions include the study of flower metabolism through development, the biochemistry of nectar and its relevance to promoting plant‐pollinator interaction, recycling of metabolic resources after flowers whiter and die, as well as the manipulation of flower metabolism by pathogens. We hope with this review to stimulate discussion on the topic of flower metabolism and set a reference point to return to in the future when assessing progress in the field

Analysis of De Novo HOXA 13 Polyalanine Expansions Supports Replication Slippage Without Repair in Their Generation

Polyalanine repeat expansion diseases are hypothesized to result from unequal chromosomal recombination, yet mechanistic studies are lacking. We identified two de novo cases of hand‐foot‐genital syndrome (HFGS) associated with polyalanine expansions in HOXA13 that afforded rare opportunities to investigate the mechanism. The first patient with HFGS was heterozygous for a de novo nine codon polyalanine expansion. Haplotype investigation showed that the expansion arose on the maternally inherited chromosome but not through unequal crossing over between homologs, leaving unequal sister chromatid exchange during mitosis or meiosis or slipped mispairing as possible explanations. The asymptomatic father of the second patient with HFGS was mosaic for a six codon polyalanine expansion. Multiple tissue PCR and clonal analysis of paternal fibroblasts showed only expansion/WT and WT/WT clones, and haplotype data showed that two unaffected offspring inherited the same paternal allele without the expansion, supporting a postzygotic origin. Absence of the contracted allele in the mosaic father does not support sister chromatid exchange in the origin of the expansion. Mosaicism for HOXA13 polyalanine expansions may be associated with a normal phenotype, making examination of parental DNA essential in apparently de novo HFGS cases to predict accurate recurrence risks. We could not find an example in the literature where unequal sister chromatid exchange has been proven for any polyalanine expansion, suggesting that the principal mechanism for polyalanine expansions (and contractions) is slipped mispairing without repair or that the true frequency of unequal sister chromatid exchange involving these repeats is low. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97454/1/ajmga35843.pd

Wind Energy Forecasting at Different Time Horizons with Individual and Global Models

This paper has been presented at: 14th IFIP International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Applications and InnovationsIn this work two different machine learning approaches have been studied to predict wind power for different time horizons: individual and global models. The individual approach constructs a model for each horizon while the global approach obtains a single model that can be used for all horizons. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. Each individual model is trained with data pertaining to a single horizon, thus it can be specific for that horizon, but can use fewer data for training than the global model, which is constructed with data belonging to all horizons. Support Vector Machines have been used for constructing the individual and global models. This study has been tested on energy production data obtained from the Sotavento wind farm and meteorological data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, for a 5 × 5 grid around Sotavento. Also, given the large amount of variables involved, a feature selection algorithm (Sequential Forward Selection) has been used in order to improve the performance of the models. Experimental results show that the global model is more accurate than the individual ones, specially when feature selection is used.The authors acknowledge financial support granted by the Spanish Ministry of Science under contract ENE2014-56126-C2-2-R

Antenatal screening and the gendering of genetic responsibility

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study is to explore men's and women's perceptions of antenatal blood screening. The study will assess the impact of these perceptions on decision-making regarding diagnostic testing and selective abortion, and on parental feelings of genetic responsibility. By exploring gender and antenatal screening in this way, the research aims to contribute to our understanding of lay perceptions of genetic screening and increase our knowledge of the decision-making process in screening.</p> <p>Research design</p> <p>This qualitative study will be based on semi-structured interviews with twenty pregnant women and twenty male partners in the post-industrial city of Sheffield, UK. All interviews will be taped, transcribed and analysed thematically using NVIVO, a qualitative software package.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The findings of this study have relevance to existing debates on the social and ethical implications of reproductive genetics. A better understanding of male and female perceptions of the screening process could improve guidance and practice in antenatal screening and genetic counselling. It will also inform and contribute to the development of theory on gender and genetic screening.</p