251 research outputs found
Scallop swimming kinematics and muscle performance: modelling the effects of "within-animal" variation in temperature sensitivity
Escape behaviour was investigated in Queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis) acclimated to 5, 10 or 15 degrees C and tested at their acclimation temperature. Scallops are active molluscs, able to escape from predators by jet-propelled swimming using a striated muscle working in opposition to an elastic hinge ligament. The first cycle of the escape response was recorded using high-speed video ( 250 Hz) and whole-animal velocity and acceleration determined. Muscle shortening velocity, force and power output were calculated using measurements of valve movement and jet area, and a simple biomechanical model. The average shortening speed of the adductor muscle had a Q(10) of 2.04, significantly reducing the duration of the jetting phase of the cycle with increased temperature. Muscle lengthening velocity and the overall duration of the clap cycle were changed little over the range 5 - 15 degrees C, as these parameters were controlled by the relatively temperature-insensitive, hinge ligament. Improvements in the average power output of the adductor muscle over the first clap cycle ( 222 vs. 139 W kg(-1) wet mass at 15 and 5 degrees C respectively) were not translated into proportional increases in overall swimming velocity, which was only 32% higher at 15 degrees C ( 0.37m s(-1)) than 5 degrees C (0.28 m s(-1))
Heterologous expression screens in Nicotiana benthamiana identify a candidate effector of the wheat Yellow Rust Pathogen that associates with processing bodies
Rust fungal pathogens of wheat (Triticum spp.) affect crop yields worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying the virulence of these pathogens remain elusive, due to the limited availability of suitable molecular genetic research tools. Notably, the inability to perform high-throughput analyses of candidate virulence proteins (also known as effectors) impairs progress. We previously established a pipeline for the fast-forward screens of rust fungal candidate effectors in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. This pipeline involves selecting candidate effectors in silico and performing cell biology and protein-protein interaction assays in planta to gain insight into the putative functions of candidate effectors. In this study, we used this pipeline to identify and characterize sixteen candidate effectors from the wheat yellow rust fungal pathogen Puccinia striiformis f sp tritici. Nine candidate effectors targeted a specific plant subcellular compartment or protein complex, providing valuable information on their putative functions in plant cells. One candidate effector, PST02549, accumulated in processing bodies (P-bodies), protein complexes involved in mRNA decapping, degradation, and storage. PST02549 also associates with the P-body-resident ENHANCER OF mRNA DECAPPING PROTEIN 4 (EDC4) from N. benthamiana and wheat. We propose that P-bodies are a novel plant cell compartment targeted by pathogen effectors
Pathotyping the Zoonotic Pathogen Streptococcus suis: Novel Genetic Markers To Differentiate Invasive Disease-Associated Isolates from Non-Disease-Associated Isolates from England and Wales.
Streptococcus suis is one of the most important zoonotic bacterial pathogens of pigs, causing significant economic losses to the global swine industry. S. suis is also a very successful colonizer of mucosal surfaces, and commensal strains can be found in almost all pig populations worldwide, making detection of the S. suis species in asymptomatic carrier herds of little practical value in predicting the likelihood of future clinical relevance. The value of future molecular tools for surveillance and preventative health management lies in the detection of strains that genetically have increased potential to cause disease in presently healthy animals. Here we describe the use of genome-wide association studies to identify genetic markers associated with the observed clinical phenotypes (i) invasive disease and (ii) asymptomatic carriage on the palatine tonsils of pigs on UK farms. Subsequently, we designed a multiplex PCR to target three genetic markers that differentiated 115 S. suis isolates into disease-associated and non-disease-associated groups, that performed with a sensitivity of 0.91, a specificity of 0.79, a negative predictive value of 0.91, and a positive predictive value of 0.79 in comparison to observed clinical phenotypes. We describe evaluation of our pathotyping tool, using an out-of-sample collection of 50 previously uncharacterized S. suis isolates, in comparison to existing methods used to characterize and subtype S. suis isolates. In doing so, we show our pathotyping approach to be a competitive method to characterize S. suis isolates recovered from pigs on UK farms and one that can easily be updated to incorporate global strain collections.This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Knowledge Transfer Network CASE studentship co-funded by Zoetis (previously Pfizer Animal Health UK) and with significant contribution from BQP Ltd (Award Reference: BB/L502479/1). Funding bodies provided scholarship support but had no part in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data or in writing the manuscript. AWT is supported by a BBSRC Longer and Larger (LoLa) grant (Award Reference: BB/G019274/1). LAW is supported by a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship funded by the Royal Society (Grant Number: DH140195) and a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship co-funded by the Royal Society and Wellcome Trust (Grant Number: 109385/Z/15/Z)
Search for CP violation in D+âÏÏ+ and D+sâK0SÏ+ decays
A search for CP violation in D + â ÏÏ + decays is performed using data collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fbâ1 at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. The CP -violating asymmetry is measured to be (â0.04 ± 0.14 ± 0.14)% for candidates with K â K + mass within 20 MeV/c 2 of the Ï meson mass. A search for a CP -violating asymmetry that varies across the Ï mass region of the D + â K â K + Ï + Dalitz plot is also performed, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the CP asymmetry in the D+sâK0SÏ+ decay is measured to be (0.61 ± 0.83 ± 0.14)%
Study of decays to the final state and evidence for the decay
A study of decays is performed for the first time
using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0
collected by the LHCb experiment in collisions at centre-of-mass energies
of and TeV. Evidence for the decay
is reported with a significance of 4.0 standard deviations, resulting in the
measurement of
to
be .
Here denotes a branching fraction while and
are the production cross-sections for and mesons.
An indication of weak annihilation is found for the region
, with a significance of
2.4 standard deviations.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-022.html,
link to supplemental material inserted in the reference
Study of DJ meson decays to D+Ïâ, D0Ï+ and Dâ+Ïâ final states in pp collisions
A study of D+Ïâ, D0Ï+ and Dâ+Ïâ final states is performed using pp collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fbâ1, collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the LHCb detector. The D1(2420)0 resonance is observed in the Dâ+Ïâ final state and the Dâ2(2460) resonance is observed in the D+Ïâ, D0Ï+ and Dâ+Ïâ final states. For both resonances, their properties and spin-parity assignments are obtained. In addition, two natural parity and two unnatural parity resonances are observed in the mass region between 2500 and 2800 MeV. Further structures in the region around 3000 MeV are observed in all the Dâ+Ïâ, D+Ïâ and D0Ï+ final states
The worldwide NORM production and a fully automated gamma-ray spectrometer for their characterization
Materials containing radionuclides of natural origin, which is modified by
human made processes and being subject to regulation because of their
radioactivity are known as NORM. We present a brief review of the main
categories of non-nuclear industries together with the levels of activity
concentration in feed raw materials, products and waste, including mechanisms
of radioisotope enrichments. The global management of NORM shows a high level
of complexity, mainly due to different degrees of radioactivity enhancement and
the huge amount of worldwide waste production. The future tendency of
guidelines concerning environmental protection will require both a systematic
monitoring based on the ever-increasing sampling and high performance of gamma
ray spectroscopy. On the ground of these requirements a new low background
fully automated high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer MCA_Rad has been
developed. The design of Pb and Cu shielding allowed to reach a background
reduction of two order of magnitude with respect to laboratory radioactivity. A
severe lowering of manpower cost is obtained through a fully automation system,
which enables up to 24 samples to be measured without any human attendance. Two
coupled HPGe detectors increase the detection efficiency, performing accurate
measurements on sample volume (180 cc) with a reduction of sample transport
cost of material. Details of the instrument calibration method are presented.
MCA_Rad system can measure in less than one hour a typical NORM sample enriched
in U and Th with some hundreds of Bq/kg, with an overall uncertainty less than
5%. Quality control of this method has been tested. Measurements of certified
reference materials RGK-1, RGU-2 and RGTh-1 containing concentrations of K, U
and Th comparable to NORM have been performed, resulting an overall relative
discrepancy of 5% among central values within the reported uncertainty.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, 6 table
Study of production and cold nuclear matter effects in pPb collisions at=5 TeV
Production of mesons in proton-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy = 5 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.6 nb(-1). The mesons of transverse momenta up to 15 GeV/c are reconstructed in the dimuon decay mode. The rapidity coverage in the centre-of-mass system is 1.5 < y < 4.0 (forward region) and -5.0 < y < -2.5 (backward region). The forward-backward production ratio and the nuclear modification factor for (1S) mesons are determined. The data are compatible with the predictions for a suppression of (1S) production with respect to proton-proton collisions in the forward region, and an enhancement in the backward region. The suppression is found to be smaller than in the case of prompt J/psi mesons
Measurement of D s <sup>±</sup> production asymmetry in pp collisions at âs=7 and 8 TeV
The inclusive production asymmetry is measured in collisions
collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of
and 8 TeV. Promptly produced mesons are used, which decay as
, with . The measurement is
performed in bins of transverse momentum, , and rapidity, ,
covering the range GeV and . No kinematic
dependence is observed. Evidence of nonzero production asymmetry is
found with a significance of 3.3 standard deviations.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2018-010.htm
Observation of the decay Î <sub>b</sub> <sup>0</sup> âââÏ(2S)pÏ<sup>â</sup>
International audienceThe Cabibbo-suppressed decay Î âââÏ(2S)pÏ is observed for the first time using a data sample collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions corresponding to 1.0, 2.0 and 1.9 fb of integrated luminosity at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, respectively. The Ï(2S) mesons are reconstructed in the ΌΌ final state. The branching fraction with respect to that of the Î âââÏ(2S)pK decay mode is measured to b
- âŠ