287 research outputs found
HLA Class I and KIR Genes Do Not Protect Against HIV Type 1 Infection in Highly Exposed Uninfected Individuals With Hemophilia A
A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving patients with hemophilia A who were exposed to but uninfected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) did not reveal genetic variants associated with resistance to HIV-1 infection, beyond homozygosity for CCR5-Î32. Since variation in HLA class I and KIR genes is not well interrogated by standard GWAS techniques, we tested whether these 2 loci were involved in protection from HIV-1 infection in the same hemophilia cohort, using controls from the general population. Our data indicate that HLA class I alleles, presence or absence of KIR genes, and functionally relevant combinations of the HLA/KIR genotypes are not involved in resistance to parenterally transmitted HIV-1 infectio
Nonlinear dynamics of waves and modulated waves in 1D thermocapillary flows. I: General presentation and periodic solutions
We present experimental results on hydrothermal traveling-waves dynamics in
long and narrow 1D channels. The onset of primary traveling-wave patterns is
briefly presented for different fluid heights and for annular or bounded
channels, i.e., within periodic or non-periodic boundary conditions. For
periodic boundary conditions, by increasing the control parameter or changing
the discrete mean-wavenumber of the waves, we produce modulated waves patterns.
These patterns range from stable periodic phase-solutions, due to supercritical
Eckhaus instability, to spatio-temporal defect-chaos involving traveling holes
and/or counter-propagating-waves competition, i.e., traveling sources and
sinks. The transition from non-linearly saturated Eckhaus modulations to
transient pattern-breaks by traveling holes and spatio-temporal defects is
documented. Our observations are presented in the framework of coupled complex
Ginzburg-Landau equations with additional fourth and fifth order terms which
account for the reflection symmetry breaking at high wave-amplitude far from
onset. The second part of this paper (nlin.PS/0208030) extends this study to
spatially non-periodic patterns observed in both annular and bounded channel.Comment: 45 pages, 21 figures (elsart.cls + AMS extensions). Accepted in
Physica D. See also companion paper "Nonlinear dynamics of waves and
modulated waves in 1D thermocapillary flows. II: Convective/absolute
transitions" (nlin.PS/0208030). A version with high resolution figures is
available on N.G. web pag
Nonlinear dynamics of waves and modulated waves in 1D thermocapillary flows. II: Convective/absolute transitions
We present experimental results on hydrothermal waves in long and narrow 1D
channels. In a bounded channel, we describe the primary and secondary
instabilities leading to waves and modulated waves in terms of
convective/absolute transitions. Because of on the combined effect of finite
group velocity and of the presence of boundaries, the wave-patterns are
non-uniform in space. We also investigate non-uniform wave-patterns observed in
an annular channel in the presence of sources and sinks of hydrothermal waves.
We connect our observations with the complex Ginzburg-Landau model equation in
the very same way as in the first part of the paper (nlin.PS/0208029).Comment: 37 pages, 23 figures (elsart.cls + AMS extensions). Accepted in
Physica D. See also companion paper "Nonlinear dynamics of waves and
modulated waves in 1D thermocapillary flows. I: General presentation and
periodic solutions" (nlin.PS/0208029). A version with high resolution figures
is available on N.G. webpag
Obesity and brain structure in schizophrenia - ENIGMA study in 3021 individuals
Schizophrenia is frequently associated with obesity, which is linked with neurostructural alterations. Yet, we do not understand how the brain correlates of obesity map onto the brain changes in schizophrenia. We obtained MRI-derived brain cortical and subcortical measures and body mass index (BMI) from 1260 individuals with schizophrenia and 1761 controls from 12 independent research sites within the ENIGMA-Schizophrenia Working Group. We jointly modeled the statistical effects of schizophrenia and BMI using mixed effects. BMI was additively associated with structure of many of the same brain regions as schizophrenia, but the cortical and subcortical alterations in schizophrenia were more widespread and pronounced. Both BMI and schizophrenia were primarily associated with changes in cortical thickness, with fewer correlates in surface area. While, BMI was negatively associated with cortical thickness, the significant associations between BMI and surface area or subcortical volumes were positive. Lastly, the brain correlates of obesity were replicated among large studies and closely resembled neurostructural changes in major depressive disorders. We confirmed widespread associations between BMI and brain structure in individuals with schizophrenia. People with both obesity and schizophrenia showed more pronounced brain alterations than people with only one of these conditions. Obesity appears to be a relevant factor which could account for heterogeneity of brain imaging findings and for differences in brain imaging outcomes among people with schizophrenia
The Isolation of Nucleic Acids from Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded TissuesâWhich Methods Are Useful When?
Museums and pathology collections around the world represent an archive of genetic material to study populations and diseases. For preservation purposes, a large portion of these collections has been fixed in formalin-containing solutions, a treatment that results in cross-linking of biomolecules. Cross-linking not only complicates isolation of nucleic acid but also introduces polymerase âblocksâ during PCR. A wide variety of methods exists for the recovery of DNA and RNA from archival tissues, and although a number of previous studies have qualitatively compared the relative merits of the different techniques, very few have undertaken wide scale quantitative comparisons. To help address this issue, we have undertaken a study that investigates the quality of nucleic acids recovered from a test panel of fixed specimens that have been manipulated following a number of the published protocols. These include methods of pre-treating the samples prior to extraction, extraction and nucleic acid purification methods themselves, and a post-extraction enzymatic repair technique. We find that although many of the published methods have distinct positive effects on some characteristics of the nucleic acids, the benefits often come at a cost. In addition, a number of the previously published techniques appear to have no effect at all. Our findings recommend that the extraction methodology adopted should be chosen carefully. Here we provide a quick reference table that can be used to determine appropriate protocols for particular aims
Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in âs = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fbâ1 of protonâproton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at âs = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements
Velocity-space sensitivity of the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer at JET
The velocity-space sensitivities of fast-ion diagnostics are often described by so-called weight functions. Recently, we formulated weight functions showing the velocity-space sensitivity of the often dominant beam-target part of neutron energy spectra. These weight functions for neutron emission spectrometry (NES) are independent of the particular NES diagnostic. Here we apply these NES weight functions to the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR at JET. By taking the instrumental response function of TOFOR into account, we calculate time-of-flight NES weight functions that enable us to directly determine the velocity-space sensitivity of a given part of a measured time-of-flight spectrum from TOFOR
Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.
Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field
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