Hsp21potentiates antifungal drug tolerance in Candida albicans

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

1+3 Covariant Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies II: The almost - Friedmann Lemaitre model

This is the second of a series of papers extending the 1+3 covariant and gauge invariant treatment of kinetic theory to an examination of Cosmic Microwave Background temperature anisotropies arising from inhomogeneities in the early universe. The first paper dealt with algebraic issues. Here we derive the mode form of the integrated Boltzmann equations, first, giving a covariant version of the standard derivation using the mode recursion relations, second, demonstrating the link to the multipole divergence equations and finally various analytic ways of solving the resulting equations are discussed. A general integral form of solution is obtained for the equations with Thomson scattering. The covariant Friedmann-Lemaitre multipole form of the transport equations are found using the covariant and gauge-invariant generalization of the Peebles and Yu expansion in Thompson scattering time. The dispersion relations and damping scale are then obtained from the covariant approach. The equations are integrated to give the covariant and gauge-invariant equivalent of the canonical scalar sourced anisotropies. We carry out a simple treatment of the matter dominated free-streaming projection, slow decoupling, and tight-coupling cases, with the aim both giving a unified transparent derivation of this range of results and clarifying the connection between the more usual approaches (for example that of Hu and Sugiyama) and the treatment for scalar perturbations (for example the treatment of Challinor and Lasenby).Comment: To appear in Annals of Physic

Discovery of protein–DNA interactions by penalized multivariate regression

Discovering which regulatory proteins, especially transcription factors (TFs), are active under certain experimental conditions and identifying the corresponding binding motifs is essential for understanding the regulatory circuits that control cellular programs. The experimental methods used for this purpose are laborious. Computational methods have been proven extremely effective in identifying TF-binding motifs (TFBMs). In this article, we propose a novel computational method called MotifExpress for discovering active TFBMs. Unlike existing methods, which either use only DNA sequence information or integrate sequence information with a single-sample measurement of gene expression, MotifExpress integrates DNA sequence information with gene expression measured in multiple samples. By selecting TFBMs that are significantly associated with gene expression, we can identify active TFBMs under specific experimental conditions and thus provide clues for the construction of regulatory networks. Compared with existing methods, MotifExpress substantially reduces the number of spurious results. Statistically, MotifExpress uses a penalized multivariate regression approach with a composite absolute penalty, which is highly stable and can effectively find the globally optimal set of active motifs. We demonstrate the excellent performance of MotifExpress by applying it to synthetic data and real examples of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. MotifExpress is available at http://www.stat.illinois.edu/~pingma/MotifExpress.htm

Binding of Human Milk to Pathogen Receptor DC-SIGN Varies with Bile Salt-Stimulated Lipase (BSSL) Gene Polymorphism

OBJECTIVE: Dendritic cells bind an array of antigens and DC-SIGN has been postulated to act as a receptor for mucosal pathogen transmission. Bile salt-stimulated lipase (BSSL) from human milk potently binds DC-SIGN and blocks DC-SIGN mediated trans-infection of CD4(+) T-lymphocytes with HIV-1. Objective was to study variation in DC-SIGN binding properties and the relation between DC-SIGN binding capacity of milk and BSSL gene polymorphisms. STUDY DESIGN: ELISA and PCR were used to study DC-SIGN binding properties and BSSL exon 11 size variation for human milk derived from 269 different mothers distributed over 4 geographical regions. RESULTS: DC-SIGN binding properties were highly variable for milks derived from different mothers and between samplings from different geographical regions. Differences in DC-SIGN binding were correlated with a genetic polymorphism in BSSL which is related to the number of 11 amino acid repeats at the C-terminus of the protein. CONCLUSION: The observed variation in DC-SIGN binding properties among milk samples may have implications for the risk of mucosal transmission of pathogens during breastfeeding

Mites Parasitic on Australasian and African Spiders Found in the Pet Trade; a Redescription of Ljunghia pulleinei Womersley

Parasitic mites associated with spiders are spreading world-wide through the trade in tarantulas and other pet species. Ljunghia pulleinei Womersley, a mesostigmatic laelapid mite originally found in association with the mygalomorph spider Selenocosmia stirlingi Hogg (Theraphosidae) in Australia, is redescribed and illustrated on the basis of specimens from the African theraphosid spider Pterinochilus chordatus (Gersta¨cker) kept in captivity in the British Isles (Wales). The mite is known from older original descriptions of Womersley in 1956; the subsequent redescription of Domrow in 1975 seems to be questionable in conspecificity of treated specimens with the type material. Some inconsistencies in both descriptions are recognised here as intraspecific variability of the studied specimens. The genus Arachnyssus Ma, with species A. guangxiensis (type) and A. huwenae, is not considered to be a valid genus, and is included in synonymy with Ljunghia Oudemans. A new key to world species of the genus Ljunghia is provided

Deletion 22q13.3 syndrome

The deletion 22q13.3 syndrome (deletion 22q13 syndrome or Phelan-McDermid syndrome) is a chromosome microdeletion syndrome characterized by neonatal hypotonia, global developmental delay, normal to accelerated growth, absent to severely delayed speech, and minor dysmorphic features. The deletion occurs with equal frequency in males and females and has been reported in mosaic and non-mosaic forms. Due to lack of clinical recognition and often insufficient laboratory testing, the syndrome is under-diagnosed and its true incidence remains unknown. Common physical traits include long eye lashes, large or unusual ears, relatively large hands, dysplastic toenails, full brow, dolicocephaly, full cheeks, bulbous nose, and pointed chin. Behavior is autistic-like with decreased perception of pain and habitual chewing or mouthing. The loss of 22q13.3 can result from simple deletion, translocation, ring chromosome formation and less common structural changes affecting the long arm of chromosome 22, specifically the region containing the SHANK3 gene. The diagnosis of deletion 22q13 syndrome should be considered in all cases of hypotonia of unknown etiology and in individuals with absent speech. Although the deletion can sometimes be detected by high resolution chromosome analysis, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) or array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) is recommended for confirmation. Differential diagnosis includes syndromes associated with hypotonia, developmental delay, speech delay and/or autistic-like affect (Prader-Willi, Angelman, Williams, Smith-Magenis, Fragile X, Sotos, FG, trichorhinophalangeal and velocardiofacial syndromes, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy). Genetic counseling is recommended and parental laboratory studies should be considered to identify cryptic rearrangements and detect parental mosaicism. Prenatal diagnosis should be offered for future pregnancies in those families with inherited rearrangements. Individuals with deletion 22q13 should have routine examinations by the primary care physician as well as genetic evaluations with referral to specialists if neurological, gastrointestinal, renal, or other systemic problems are suspected. Affected individuals benefit from early intervention programs, intense occupational and communication therapies, adaptive exercise and sport programs, and other therapies to strengthen their muscles and increase their communication skills. No apparent life-threatening organic abnormalities accompany the diagnosis of deletion 22q13

Evaluation of a synthetic single-crystal diamond detector for relative dosimetry on the Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion radiosurgery system

Purpose: To evaluate the new commercial PTW-60019 synthetic single-crystal microDiamond detector (PTW, Freiburg, Germany) for relative dosimetry measurements on a clinical Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion radiosurgery system. Methods: Detector output ratios (DORs) for 4 and 8 mm beams were measured using a micro- Diamond (PTW-60019), a stereotactic unshielded diode [IBA stereotactic field detector (SFD)], a shielded diode (IBA photon field detector), and GafChromic EBT3 films. Both parallel and transversal acquisition directions were considered for PTW-60019 measurements. Measured DORs were compared to the new output factor reference values for Gamma Knife Perfexion (0.814 and 0.900 for 4 and 8 mm, respectively). Profiles in the three directions were also measured for the 4 mm beam to evaluate full width at half maximum (FWHM) and penumbra and to compare them with the corresponding Leksell GammaPlan profiles. Results: FWHM and penumbra for PTW-60019 differed from the calculated values by less than 0.2 and 0.3 mm, for the parallel and transversal acquisitions, respectively. GafChromic films showed FWHM and penumbra within 0.1 mm. The output ratio obtained with the PTW-60019 for the 4 mm field was 1.6% greater in transverse direction compared to the nominal value. Comparable differences up to 0.8% and 1.0% for, respectively, GafChromic films and SFD were found. Conclusions: The microDiamond PTW-60019 is a suitable detector for commissioning and routine use of Gamma Knife with good agreement of both DORs and profiles in the three directions

Small but crucial : the novel small heat shock protein Hsp21 mediates stress adaptation and virulence in Candida albicans

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Signatures of Relativistic Neutrinos in CMB Anisotropy and Matter Clustering

We present a detailed analytical study of ultra-relativistic neutrinos in cosmological perturbation theory and of the observable signatures of inhomogeneities in the cosmic neutrino background. We note that a modification of perturbation variables that removes all the time derivatives of scalar gravitational potentials from the dynamical equations simplifies their solution notably. The used perturbations of particle number per coordinate, not proper, volume are generally constant on superhorizon scales. In real space an analytical analysis can be extended beyond fluids to neutrinos. The faster cosmological expansion due to the neutrino background changes the acoustic and damping angular scales of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). But we find that equivalent changes can be produced by varying other standard parameters, including the primordial helium abundance. The low-l integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect is also not sensitive to neutrinos. However, the gravity of neutrino perturbations suppresses the CMB acoustic peaks for the multipoles with l>~200 while it enhances the amplitude of matter fluctuations on these scales. In addition, the perturbations of relativistic neutrinos generate a *unique phase shift* of the CMB acoustic oscillations that for adiabatic initial conditions cannot be caused by any other standard physics. The origin of the shift is traced to neutrino free-streaming velocity exceeding the sound speed of the photon-baryon plasma. We find that from a high resolution, low noise instrument such as CMBPOL the effective number of light neutrino species can be determined with an accuracy of sigma(N_nu) = 0.05 to 0.09, depending on the constraints on the helium abundance.Comment: 38 pages, 7 figures. Version accepted for publication in PR

User-Centered Design of a National Medical Registry for Tick-Borne Diseases

Tick-borne diseases are increasing in a global perspective, with Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis as the most frequent. The Norwegian National Ad-visory Unit on Tick-borne Diseases is preparing the development of a national medical registry for clinical follow-up of patients with tick-borne diseases based on the best practice guidelines and for research purposes. This paper presents the methodological approach of a user-centered design process applied in the in-itial phase of the registry development. A user workshop identified user needs, requirements and proposed a service workflow for the registry operation. As the next step, a simulation of the proposed service workflow was performed in a clinical laboratory together with end-user groups. The main contribution of this paper lies on the methodological descriptions of the user-centered design pro-cess, and how to facilitate the active contribution of end-users in a technical de-velopment process within a health care context.User-Centered Design of a National Medical Registry for Tick-Borne DiseasesacceptedVersionNivå