Improved reference genome of Aedes aegypti informs arbovirus vector control

Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infect more than 400 million people each year with dangerous viral pathogens including dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya. Progress in understanding the biology of mosquitoes and developing the tools to fight them has been slowed by the lack of a high-quality genome assembly. Here we combine diverse technologies to produce the markedly improved, fully re-annotated AaegL5 genome assembly, and demonstrate how it accelerates mosquito science. We anchored physical and cytogenetic maps, doubled the number of known chemosensory ionotropic receptors that guide mosquitoes to human hosts and egg-laying sites, provided further insight into the size and composition of the sex-determining M locus, and revealed copy-number variation among glutathione S-transferase genes that are important for insecticide resistance. Using high-resolution quantitative trait locus and population genomic analyses, we mapped new candidates for dengue vector competence and insecticide resistance. AaegL5 will catalyse new biological insights and intervention strategies to fight this deadly disease vector

Energetic electron generation by forward stimulated raman scattering using 0.35 and .053 micron laser light in a plasma

This research investigates the use of high-powered lasers to produce 50-100 keV x-ray sources for applications for programs such as Stockpile Stewardship and nuclear weapons effects testing (NWET). To produce these x-ray sources requires irradiating targets with intense laser light to efficiently generate high-energy electrons. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) of intense laser light produces electron plasma waves, which in turn generate high-energy electrons. To make a high-energy x-ray source, the maximization of this laser- driven instability is desired. Using computer simulations, we show that SRS can be driven by using a combination of frequency-tripled and a 'seed' beam of frequency doubled Neodymium laser light in a plasma of the appropriate density. Electron plasma waves with a high phase velocity are produced, which trap electrons and accelerate them to high energy. These energetic electrons will in turn generate high energy x-rays via collisions with nearby dense material. By adjusting the angle between the 0.35 micrometers and 0.53 micrometers laser beams, the characteristic temperature of the heated electrons (and the x-rays) can be varied. We show one and two-dimensional simulations and illustrate the important role that laser-driven ion fluctuations play.http://archive.org/details/energeticelectro109451095

Ordering Principles in Decagonal Al-Co-Ni Quasicrystals

The discovery of quasicrystals has extended the traditional concept that crystalline matter is a periodic arrangement of identical units such as atoms or molecules. The typical quasicrystal is an intermetallic compound in which the building blocks are arranged in a non-periodic but highly ordered way. Of particular interest is the study of these ordering principles as a function of chemical composition and temperature in decagonal quasicrystals where periodic and aperiodic ordering even coexists in the same crystal structure. Structural information from diffraction experiments is the key for revealing these ordering principles and the prerequisite for a comprehensive study of the structure–property relationships. We present here the first all-inclusive in-situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction study of decagonal Al70Co12Ni18, a stable quasicrystal with a wealth of diffraction phenomena