2,272 research outputs found
Membrane Traffic and Muscle: Lessons from Human Disease
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73369/1/j.1600-0854.2008.00716.x.pd
An integrated computational pipeline and database to support whole-genome sequence annotation
We describe here our experience in annotating the Drosophila melanogaster genome sequence, in the course of which we developed several new open-source software tools and a database schema to support large-scale genome annotation. We have developed these into an integrated and reusable software system for whole-genome annotation. The key contributions to overall annotation quality are the marshalling of high-quality sequences for alignments and the design of a system with an adaptable and expandable flexible architecture
Sea-level constraints on the amplitude and source distribution of Meltwater Pulse 1A.
During the last deglaciation, sea levels rose as ice sheets retreated. This climate transition was punctuated by periods of more intense melting; the largest and most rapid of these—Meltwater Pulse 1A—occurred about 14,500 years ago, with rates of sea-level rise reaching approximately 4 m per century1, 2, 3. Such rates of rise suggest ice-sheet instability, but the meltwater sources are poorly constrained, thus limiting our understanding of the causes and impacts of the event4, 5, 6, 7. In particular, geophysical modelling studies constrained by tropical sea-level records1, 8, 9 suggest an Antarctic contribution of more than seven metres, whereas most reconstructions10 from Antarctica indicate no substantial change in ice-sheet volume around the time of Meltwater Pulse 1A. Here we use a glacial isostatic adjustment model to reinterpret tropical sea-level reconstructions from Barbados2, the Sunda Shelf3 and Tahiti1. According to our results, global mean sea-level rise during Meltwater Pulse 1A was between 8.6 and 14.6 m (95% probability). As for the melt partitioning, we find an allowable contribution from Antarctica of either 4.1 to 10.0 m or 0 to 6.9 m (95% probability), using two recent estimates11, 12 of the contribution from the North American ice sheets. We conclude that with current geologic constraints, the method applied here is unable to support or refute the possibility of a significant Antarctic contribution to Meltwater Pulse 1A
Patients with allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma share the same pattern of eosinophil and neutrophil degranulation after allergen challenge
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients with allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma demonstrate comparable local and systemic eosinophil inflammation, and yet they present with different clinical pictures. Less is even known about the contribution of neutrophil inflammation in allergic diseases. The aim of the study was to examine the propensity and selectivity of granule release from primed systemic eosinophils and neutrophils in allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma after seasonal and experimental allergen exposure. We hypothesize that the dissimilar clinical manifestations are due to diverse eosinophil and neutrophil degranulation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Nine birch pollen allergic patients with rhinitis, eight with asthma and four controls were studied during pollen season and after nasal and bronchial allergen challenge. Eosinophils and neutrophils were incubated in vitro with assay buffer and opsonized Sephadex particles for spontaneous and C3b-induced granule protein release. The released amount of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) was measured by specific radioimmunoassay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>C3b-induced degranulation resulted in increased release of ECP and MPO from primed blood eosinophils and neutrophils in both allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma during pollen season and after both nasal and bronchial challenge (p-values 0.008 to 0.043). After bronchial challenge, the ECP release was significantly higher in the rhinitic group compared to the asthmatic group [19.8 vs. 13.2%, (p = 0.010)]. The propensity for EPO release was weak in all challenge models but followed the same pattern in both allergic groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Systemically activated eosinophils and neutrophils have similar patterns of degranulation after allergen exposure in allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. The released amount of ECP, EPO and MPO was similar in all allergen challenge models in both allergic groups. Our results indicate that other mechanisms than the magnitude of eosinophil and neutrophil inflammation or the degranulation pattern of the inflammatory cells determines whether or not an allergic patient develops asthma.</p
Three-Nucleon Electroweak Capture Reactions
Recent advances in the study of the p-d radiative and mu-3he weak capture
processes are presented and discussed. The three-nucleon bound and scattering
states are obtained using the correlated-hyperspherical-harmonics method, with
realistic Hamiltonians consisting of the Argonne v14 or Argonne v18 two-nucleon
and Tucson-Melbourne or Urbana IX three-nucleon interactions. The
electromagnetic and weak transition operators include one- and two-body
contributions. The theoretical accuracy achieved in these calculations allows
for interesting comparisons with experimental data.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, invited talk at the CFIF Fall Workshop: Nuclear
Dynamics, from Quarks to Nuclei, Lisbon, 31st of October - 1st of November
200
A Copine family member, Cpne8, is a candidate quantitative trait gene for prion disease incubation time in mouse
Prion disease incubation time in mice is determined by many factors including genetic background. The prion gene itself plays a major role in incubation time; however, other genes are also known to be important. Whilst quantitative trait loci (QTL) studies have identified multiple loci across the genome, these regions are often large, and with the exception of Hectd2 on Mmu19, no quantitative trait genes or nucleotides for prion disease incubation time have been demonstrated. In this study, we use the Northport heterogeneous stock of mice to reduce the size of a previously identified QTL on Mmu15 from approximately 25 to 1.2 cM. We further characterised the genes in this region and identify Cpne8, a member of the copine family, as the most promising candidate gene. We also show that Cpne8 mRNA is upregulated at the terminal stage of disease, supporting a role in prion disease. Applying these techniques to other loci will facilitate the identification of key pathways in prion disease pathogenesis
Spatially Explicit Data: Stewardship and Ethical Challenges in Science
Scholarly communication is at an unprecedented turning point created in part by the increasing saliency of data stewardship and data sharing. Formal data management plans represent a new emphasis in research, enabling access to data at higher volumes and more quickly, and the potential for replication and augmentation of existing research. Data sharing has recently transformed the practice, scope, content, and applicability of research in several disciplines, in particular in relation to spatially specific data. This lends exciting potentiality, but the most effective ways in which to implement such changes, particularly for disciplines involving human subjects and other sensitive information, demand consideration. Data management plans, stewardship, and sharing, impart distinctive technical, sociological, and ethical challenges that remain to be adequately identified and remedied. Here, we consider these and propose potential solutions for their amelioration
The Impact of Fillers on Lineup Performance
Filler siphoning theory posits that the presence of fillers (known innocents) in a lineup protects an innocent suspect
from being chosen by siphoning choices away from that innocent suspect. This mechanism has been proposed as
an explanation for why simultaneous lineups (viewing all lineup members at once) induces better performance than
showups (one-person identification procedures). We implemented filler siphoning in a computational model (WITNESS,
Clark, Applied Cognitive Psychology 17:629–654, 2003), and explored the impact of the number of fillers (lineup size)
and filler quality on simultaneous and sequential lineups (viewing lineups members in sequence), and compared
both to showups. In limited situations, we found that filler siphoning can produce a simultaneous lineup performance
advantage, but one that is insufficient in magnitude to explain empirical data. However, the magnitude of the empirical
simultaneous lineup advantage can be approximated once criterial variability is added to the model. But this modification
works by negatively impacting showups rather than promoting more filler siphoning. In sequential lineups, fillers were
found to harm performance. Filler siphoning fails to clarify the relationship between simultaneous lineups and sequential
lineups or showups. By incorporating constructs like filler siphoning and criterial variability into a computational model,
and trying to approximate empirical data, we can sort through explanations of eyewitness decision-making, a prerequisite
for policy recommendations.Charges for publication of this article sponsored by University of Oklahoma Libraries Open Access/Subvention Fund.Ye
Ab initio alpha-alpha scattering
Processes involving alpha particles and alpha-like nuclei comprise a major
part of stellar nucleosynthesis and hypothesized mechanisms for thermonuclear
supernovae. In an effort towards understanding alpha processes from first
principles, we describe in this letter the first ab initio calculation of
alpha-alpha scattering. We use lattice effective field theory to describe the
low-energy interactions of nucleons and apply a technique called the adiabatic
projection method to reduce the eight-body system to an effective two-cluster
system. We find good agreement between lattice results and experimental phase
shifts for S-wave and D-wave scattering. The computational scaling with
particle number suggests that alpha processes involving heavier nuclei are also
within reach in the near future.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
- …