Guiding Neutral Atoms with a Wire

We demonstrate guiding of cold neutral atoms along a current carrying wire. Atoms either move in Kepler-like orbits around the wire or are guided in a potential tube on the side of the wire which is created by applying an additional homogeneous bias field. These atom guides are very versatile and promising for applications in atom optics.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR

Sektionskonzept Meta(daten), Terminologien und Provenienz zur Einrichtung einer Sektion im Verein Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur (NFDI) e.V

Die Sektion befasst sich mit den Themenbereichen (Meta)daten, Terminologien und Provenienz. Aufgabenfelder der Sektion umfassen organisatorische Aspekte (Kollaboration, Wissenstransfer), inhaltliche Aspekte (z.B. Modellierung/Ontologien) und infrastrukturelle Perspektiven (Entwicklung von Standards / Basisdiensten). Eine der wesentlichen Aufgaben der Sektion wird sein, die Arbeit der NFDI-Konsortien im Bereich (Meta)daten, Terminologien und Provenienz entlang der FAIR Kriterien wechselseitig sichtbar zu machen, zu harmonisieren und nachnutzbar zu machen. Hierbei wird die Sektion in enger Rückkopplung mit den Sektionen “Common Infrastructures” sowie “Ethical, Social and Legal Aspects” insbesondere die Themenbereiche Terminologien und Provenienz bearbeiten. (1) Im Themenbereich Metadaten und Forschungsdaten - im Folgenden kurz (Meta)daten - beschäftigt sich die Sektion mit Fragen zur (Meta-)daten-Harmonisierung, Auffindbarkeit von Daten, allgemeine Daten- und Metadaten-Standards mit Blick auf ein mögliches NFDI-Kernmetadatenformat sowie Formatumwandlungen und Persistent-Identifier-Systemen. (2) Im Themenbereich Terminologien beschäftigt sich die Sektion mit community- und disziplinenübergreifenden Definitionen von Top-Level Ontologien und Mappings von Ontologien sowie Best Practices zur Modellierung von Terminologien, Vokabularen und Ontologien sowie darauf aufbauenden Diensten zur Datenintegration (z.B. Terminology Service, Knowledge Graphs etc.). (3) Im Themenbereich Provenienz befasst sich die Sektion mit rechtlichen, technischen und kulturellen Aspekten des Entstehungskontextes von (Meta)daten (z.B. im Rahmen von Experimenten, Laborbüchern, Digitalisierungsprozessen etc.) und entwirft Vorschläge für einheitliche und nachvollziehbare Dokumentationsverfahren zur Beantwortung der Fragen nach dem was, wo, wann, wer, wie und warum der Datenerzeugung und Datenprozessierung. Hierbei entwickelt die Sektion Empfehlungen für die Abbildung der Provenienz in einem möglichen NFDI-Kernmetadatenformat

Primary cilia contribute to the aggressiveness of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a highly malignant brain tumor in infants that is characterized by loss of nuclear expression of SMARCB1 or SMARCA4 proteins. Recent studies show that AT/RTs comprise three molecular subgroups, namely AT/RT-TYR, AT/RT-MYC and AT/RT-SHH. The subgroups show distinct expression patterns of genes involved in ciliogenesis, however, little is known about the functional roles of primary cilia in the biology of AT/RT. Here, we show that primary cilia are present across all AT/RT subgroups with specific enrichment in AT/RT-TYR patient samples. Furthermore, we demonstrate that primary ciliogenesis contributes to AT/RT biology in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, we observed a significant decrease in proliferation and clonogenicity following disruption of primary ciliogenesis in AT/RT cell line models. Additionally, apoptosis was significantly increased via the induction of STAT1 and DR5 signaling, as detected by proteogenomic profiling. In a Drosophila model of SMARCB1 deficiency, concomitant knockdown of several cilia-associated genes resulted in a substantial shift of the lethal phenotype with more than 20% of flies reaching adulthood. We also found significantly extended survival in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model of AT/RT upon disruption of primary ciliogenesis. Taken together, our findings indicate that primary ciliogenesis or its downstream signaling contributes to the aggressiveness of AT/RT and, therefore, may constitute a novel therapeutic target

Diversity of Bacteroidetes in high altitude saline evaporitic basins in northern Chile

The phylum Bacteroidetes represents one of the most abundant bacterial groups of marine and freshwater bacterioplankton. We investigated the diversity of Bacteroidetes in water and sediment samples from three evaporitic basins located in the highlands of northern Chile. We used both 16S rRNA gene clone libraries created with targeted Bacteroidetes-specific primers and separation of specifically amplified gene fragments by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). DGGE analysis revealed a reduced richness of these organisms in samples from Salar de Huasco (two to four DGGE bands) increasing in Salar de Ascotán (two to seven DGGE bands) and Laguna Tebenquiche at Salar de Atacama (four to eight DGGE bands). Cluster analysis (WPGMA) of DGGE bands showed that bands from Salar de Huasco and Salar de Ascotán grouped together and samples from Salar de Atacama formed separate clusters in water and sediment samples, reflecting different Bacteroidetes communities between sites. Most of the sequences analyzed belonged to the family Flavobacteriaceae and clustered with the genera Psychroflexus, Gillisia, Maribacter, Muricauda, Flavobacterium, and Salegentibacter. The most abundant phylotype was highly related to Psychroflexus spp. and was recovered from all three study sites. The similarity of the analyzed sequences with their closest relatives in GenBank was typically <97% and notably lower when compared with type strains, demonstrating the unique character of these sequences. Culture efforts will be necessary to get a better description of the diversity of this group in saline evaporitic basins of northern Chile

Phylogenetic Identification of Fungi Isolated from the Marine Sponge Tethya aurantium and Identification of Their Secondary Metabolites

Fungi associated with the marine sponge Tethya aurantium were isolated and identified by morphological criteria and phylogenetic analyses based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. They were evaluated with regard to their secondary metabolite profiles. Among the 81 isolates which were characterized, members of 21 genera were identified. Some genera like Acremonium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Phoma, and Trichoderma are quite common, but we also isolated strains belonging to genera like Botryosphaeria, Epicoccum, Parasphaeosphaeria, and Tritirachium which have rarely been reported from sponges. Members affiliated to the genera Bartalinia and Volutella as well as to a presumably new Phoma species were first isolated from a sponge in this study. On the basis of their classification, strains were selected for analysis of their ability to produce natural products. In addition to a number of known compounds, several new natural products were identified. The scopularides and sorbifuranones have been described elsewhere. We have isolated four additional substances which have not been described so far. The new metabolite cillifuranone (1) was isolated from Penicillium chrysogenum strain LF066. The structure of cillifuranone (1) was elucidated based on 1D and 2D NMR analysis and turned out to be a previously postulated intermediate in sorbifuranone biosynthesis. Only minor antibiotic bioactivities of this compound were found so far

Development of a World Health Organization International Reference Panel for different genotypes of hepatitis E virus for nucleic acid amplification testing.

Globally, hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis. Epidemiology and clinical presentation of hepatitis E vary greatly by location and are affected by the HEV genotype. Nucleic acid amplification technique (NAT)-based assays are important for the detection of acute HEV infection as well for monitoring chronic cases of hepatitis E. The aim of the study was to evaluate a panel of samples containing different genotypes of HEV for use in nucleic NAT-based assays. The panel of samples comprises eleven different members including HEV genotype 1a (2 strains), 1e, 2a, 3b, 3c, 3e, 3f, 4c, 4g as well as a human isolate related to rabbit HEV. Each laboratory assayed the panel members directly against the 1 World Health Organization (WHO) International Standard (IS) for HEV RNA (6329/10) which is based upon a genotype 3 a strain. The samples for evaluation were distributed to 24 laboratories from 14 different countries and assayed on three separate days. Of these, 23 participating laboratories returned a total of 32 sets of data; 17 from quantitative assays and 15 from qualitative assays. The assays used consisted of a mixture of in-house developed and commercially available assays. The results showed that all samples were detected consistently by the majority of participants, although in some cases, some samples were detected less efficiently. Based on the results of the collaborative study the panel (code number 8578/13) was established as the "1st International Reference Panel (IRP) for all HEV genotypes for NAT-based assays" by the WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization. This IRP will be important for assay validation and ensuring adequate detection of different genotypes and clinically important sub-genotypes of HEV

Why all blood donations should be tested for hepatitis E virus (HEV)

Background Hepatitis E is a liver disease caused by a small RNA virus known as hepatitis E virus (HEV). Four major genotypes infect humans, of which genotype 1 and 2 (HEV-1, HEV-2) are endemic mainly in Asia and responsible for waterborne epidemics. HEV-3 and HEV-4 are widely distributed in pigs and can be transmitted to humans mainly by undercooked meat, and contact with pigs. HEV-3 is the main genotype in industrialised countries with moderate climate conditions and object of this debate. Main text Whereas an HEV-3 infection in healthy humans is mostly asymptomatic, HEV-3 can induce chronic infection in immunocompromised individuals and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) in patients with underlying liver diseases. The number of reported cases of HEV-infections in industrialised nations increased significantly in the last years. Since HEV-3 has been transmitted by blood transfusion to other humans, testing of blood donors has been introduced or introduction is being discussed in some industrialised countries. In this article we summarise the arguments in favour of testing all blood donations for HEV-3. Conclusion The number of HEV infection in the population and the possibility of HEV transmission by blood transfusion are increasing. Transmission by blood transfusion can be dangerous for the recipients considering their immunosuppressive status, underlying disease or other circumstances requiring blood transfusion. This argues in favour of testing all blood donations for HEV-3 to prevent transmission.Peer Reviewe