Sample records for iacta est efectos

  1. Proposal for a Cooperative Space Strategy with China

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-04-01

    Space Again: Iacta Alea Est,” George C. Marshall Institute, January 2007, http:/www.marshall.org/pdf /materials/492.pdf (accessed 2 Jan 09). 130 Johnson...pdfserve.informaworld.com /914200__790435634.pdf (accessed 2 Jan 09). Kueter, Jeff. “Crossing the Rubicon in Space Again: Iacta Alea Est.” George C. Marshall Institute

  2. Evaluation of intra-aortic CT angiography performances for the visualisation of spinal vascular malformations' angioarchitecture.

    PubMed

    Clarençon, Frédéric; Di Maria, Federico; Sourour, Nader-Antoine; Gabrieli, Joseph; Nouet, Aurélien; Shotar, Eimad; Cormier, Evelyne; Fahed, Robert; Cornu, Philippe; Chiras, Jacques

    2016-10-01

    To evaluate the performances of the CT-angiography by direct intra-aortic contrast media injection (IA-CTA) for spinal vascular malformations (SVMs)' imaging. Thirteen patients (8 males, 5 females, mean age: 56 y) with suspected SVM underwent IA-CTAs by direct intra-aortic iodinated contrast media injection (5 cc/s; 100 cc) via an arterial femoral or humeral access. Two independent observers evaluated the angioarchitecture of the SVMs and the visualisation of both the Adamkiewicz artery and the anterior spinal artery. Then a consensus was obtained between the 2 reviewers; the results of the IA-CTA were finally compared with those of the full spinal DSA evaluated in consensus. The IA-CTA was feasible in all cases and depicted the SVM in all except one case (92 %). Interrater agreement was good for the location of the SVMs' level. Intermodality (IA-CTA/DSA) agreement was excellent for the level and side of the shunt point, as well as for the SVM subtype evaluation. In 77 % of the cases, the Adamkiewicz artery was satisfactorily seen at the same time on IA-CTA. IA-CTA is a new technique that seems helpful to reach a better understanding of SMVs and may help to tailor more precisely their treatment. • IA-CTA is an accurate technique for the SVMs' angioarchitecture analysis • IA-CTA can locate, at the same time, the Adamkiewicz artery (AKA) • IA-CTA may be helpful in elderly patients with troublesome vasculature.

  3. "Alea Iacta Est" (a case series report of problem and pathological gambling).

    PubMed

    Koić, Elvira; Filaković, Pavo; Djordjević, Veljko; Nadj, Sanea

    2009-09-01

    Gambling or gaming is a common term for a group of various games, activities and behavior that involve wagering money on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money, i.e., a player risks and hopes to get back what he/she had gambled, or to win more. When the player is unable to resist impulses to gamble, and gambling behavior harmfully affects him or the others, then he/she is suffering from the so called "pathological gambling", which is one of six categories of the "Impulse control disorders" in the International Classification of Diseases. Since, at present, there is no standardized program and approach to the problem of gambling in Croatia, and having in mind the arising accessibility and popularity of the "games of chance", the authors are presenting seven cases of problem and pathological gambling and call for broad public discussion on the problem from medical-psychiatric and forensic-point of view. The first patient was treated on an outpatient basis with cognitive-behavioral and family therapy for problem gambling; for the second patient was treated for impulse control disorders; for the third patient gambling was a symptom of psychotic form of depressive disorder; the fourth had primary diagnosis of personality disorder; and the fifth patient was prosecuted for armed robbery and evaluated by a psychiatric expert. The sixth and the seventh patients were women suffering from primary bipolar affective and major depressive disorder, respectively. The authors conclude that, due to the size of the problem and its consequences, the prevention of pathological gambling is very important. The prevention can be carried out primarily through screening at the school level and primary health care services, whereas secondary screening may be conducted through the system of psychiatric care. It is recommended to invest into research, education of a wider population, and development of preventive programs.

  4. Comparison of intra-aortic computed tomography angiography to conventional angiography in the presurgical visualization of the Adamkiewicz artery: first results in patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Clarençon, Frédéric; Di Maria, Federico; Cormier, Evelyne; Gaudric, Julien; Sourour, Nader; Gabrieli, Joseph; Iosif, Christina; Jenny, Catherine; Koskas, Fabien; Chiras, Jacques

    2013-11-01

    The aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity of intra-aortic computed tomography angiography (IA-CTA) to that of regular spinal digital subtraction angiography for the presurgical location of the Adamkiewicz artery (AKA). Thirty patients (21 males, 9 females; mean age 64 years) had an IA-CTA for the location of the AKA before surgery of aneurysm (n = 24) or dissection (n = 6) of the thoracoabdominal aorta. After femoral artery puncture, a pigtail catheter was positioned at the origin of the descending aorta. CT acquisition was performed with an intra-aortic iodinated contrast media injection (15 mL/s, 120 mL). The visualization of the AKA and the location of the feeder(s) to the AKA were independently evaluated by two observers. Interrater agreement was calculated using a kappa test. Spinal angiogram by selective catheterization was systematically performed to confirm the results of the IA-CTA. The AKA was visualized by the IA-CTA in 27/30 cases (90 %); in 26/31 (84 %) cases, the continuity with the aorta was satisfactorily seen. Interrater agreement was good for the visualization of the AKA and its feeder(s): 0.625 and 0.87, respectively. In 75 % of the cases for which the AKA was visualized, the selective catheterization confirmed the results of the IA-CTA. In the remaining 25 % of the cases, the selective catheterization could not be performed due to marked vessels' tortuosity or ostium stenosis. IA-CTA is a feasible technique in a daily practice that presents a good sensitivity for the location of the AKA.

  5. Estudio de los Efectos Gravitomagnéticos en Cuerpos Masivos Rotantes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Velandia Heredia, N.; Tejeiro, J. M.

    2008-03-01

    A partir del estudio de los Efectos Gravitomagnéticos en cuerpos masivos rotantes, planteamos la expresión para medir el desfase en el tiempo, para diferentes observadores, que se dan cuando viajan dos rayos de luz por una guía de onda o de manera libre (geodésicas), en el plano azimutal y en el plano polar. Con lo anterior queremos abordar el experimento tipo Michelson y Morley, de forma que podamos involucrar el valor de la densidad del momento angular (a) en el retraso temporal para los dos haces de luz que viajan por los brazos del interferómetro, cuando este último es ubicado en el plano ecuatorial.

  6. Extensión del Formalismo de Orbitales de Defecto Cuántico al tratamiento del efecto Stark (SQDO).

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Menéndez, J. M.; Martín, I.; Velasco, A. M.

    El estudio experimental de las interacciones de átomos Rydberg altamente excitados con campos eléctricos ha experimentado un creciente interés durante las dos últimas décadas debido, en gran medida, al desarrollo de nuevas técnicas para crear y estudiar átomos Rydberg en el laboratorio. Acompañando a estas nuevas técnicas experimentales, es necesario el desarrollo de modelos teóricos que nos permitan contrastar sus medidas y conocer mejor los fundamentos de los mismos. Desde el punto de vista teórico el conocimiento del desdoblamiento de los niveles energéticos de un átomo en función de la magnitud del campo eléctrico aplicado (lo que se conoce como mapa Stark) es el mejor punto de partida para la descripción del sistema y un prerrequisito fundamental para el cálculo de distintas propiedades atómicas en presencia del campo eléctrico tales como intensidades de transición, umbrales de ionización de campo eléctrico, tiempos de vida, posición y anchura de cruces evitados, etc. En este trabajo presentamos la adaptación del método de orbitales de defecto cuántico [1,2,3] al tratamiento del efecto Stark (SQDO) [4] y su aplicación al cálculo de los desdoblamientos energéticos y fuerzas de oscilador de estados Rydberg en los átomos de Li, Na y K. El propósito de este estudio es, por un lado, desarrollar métodos fiables para la determinación de propiedades atómicas en presencia de campos eléctricos y, por otro, mostrar la fiabilidad de las funciones de onda QDO en la descripción del efecto Stark en sistemas atómicos.

  7. EST databases and web tools for EST projects.

    PubMed

    Shen, Yao-Qing; O'Brien, Emmet; Koski, Liisa; Lang, B Franz; Burger, Gertraud

    2009-01-01

    This chapter outlines key considerations for constructing and implementing an EST database. Instead of showing the technological details step by step, emphasis is put on the design of an EST database suited to the specific needs of EST projects and how to choose the most suitable tools. Using TBestDB as an example, we illustrate the essential factors to be considered for database construction and the steps for data population and annotation. This process employs technologies such as PostgreSQL, Perl, and PHP to build the database and interface, and tools such as AutoFACT for data processing and annotation. We discuss these in comparison to other available technologies and tools, and explain the reasons for our choices.

  8. EST-PAC a web package for EST annotation and protein sequence prediction

    PubMed Central

    Strahm, Yvan; Powell, David; Lefèvre, Christophe

    2006-01-01

    With the decreasing cost of DNA sequencing technology and the vast diversity of biological resources, researchers increasingly face the basic challenge of annotating a larger number of expressed sequences tags (EST) from a variety of species. This typically consists of a series of repetitive tasks, which should be automated and easy to use. The results of these annotation tasks need to be stored and organized in a consistent way. All these operations should be self-installing, platform independent, easy to customize and amenable to using distributed bioinformatics resources available on the Internet. In order to address these issues, we present EST-PAC a web oriented multi-platform software package for expressed sequences tag (EST) annotation. EST-PAC provides a solution for the administration of EST and protein sequence annotations accessible through a web interface. Three aspects of EST annotation are automated: 1) searching local or remote biological databases for sequence similarities using Blast services, 2) predicting protein coding sequence from EST data and, 3) annotating predicted protein sequences with functional domain predictions. In practice, EST-PAC integrates the BLASTALL suite, EST-Scan2 and HMMER in a relational database system accessible through a simple web interface. EST-PAC also takes advantage of the relational database to allow consistent storage, powerful queries of results and, management of the annotation process. The system allows users to customize annotation strategies and provides an open-source data-management environment for research and education in bioinformatics. PMID:17147782

  9. Annotation of Ehux ESTs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kuo, Alan; Grigoriev, Igor

    2009-06-12

    22 percent ESTs do no align with scaffolds. EST Pipeleine assembles 17126 consensi from the noaligned ESTs. Annotation Pipeline predicts 8564 ORFS on the consensi. Domain analysis of ORFs reveals missing genes. Cluster analysis reveals missing genes. Expression analysis reveals potential strain specific genes.

  10. ApiEST-DB: analyzing clustered EST data of the apicomplexan parasites.

    PubMed

    Li, Li; Crabtree, Jonathan; Fischer, Steve; Pinney, Deborah; Stoeckert, Christian J; Sibley, L David; Roos, David S

    2004-01-01

    ApiEST-DB (http://www.cbil.upenn.edu/paradbs-servlet/) provides integrated access to publicly available EST data from protozoan parasites in the phylum Apicomplexa. The database currently incorporates a total of nearly 100,000 ESTs from several parasite species of clinical and/or veterinary interest, including Eimeria tenella, Neospora caninum, Plasmodium falciparum, Sarcocystis neurona and Toxoplasma gondii. To facilitate analysis of these data, EST sequences were clustered and assembled to form consensus sequences for each organism, and these assemblies were then subjected to automated annotation via similarity searches against protein and domain databases. The underlying relational database infrastructure, Genomics Unified Schema (GUS), enables complex biologically based queries, facilitating validation of gene models, identification of alternative splicing, detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms, identification of stage-specific genes and recognition of phylogenetically conserved and phylogenetically restricted sequences.

  11. Conserved tyrosine 182 residue in hyperthermophilic esterase EstE1 plays a critical role in stabilizing the active site.

    PubMed

    Truongvan, Ngoc; Chung, Hye-Shin; Jang, Sei-Heon; Lee, ChangWoo

    2016-03-01

    An aromatic amino acid, Tyr or Trp, located in the esterase active site wall, is highly conserved, with hyperthermophilic esterases showing preference for Tyr and lower temperature esterases showing preference for Trp. In this study, we investigated the role of Tyr(182) in the active site wall of hyperthermophilic esterase EstE1. Mutation of Tyr to Phe or Ala had a moderate effect on EstE1 thermal stability. However, a small-to-large mutation such as Tyr to His or Trp had a devastating effect on thermal stability. All mutant EstE1 enzymes showed reduced catalytic rates and enhanced substrate affinities as compared with wild-type EstE1. Hydrogen bond formation involving Tyr(182) was unimportant for maintaining EstE1 thermal stability, as the EstE1 structure is already adapted to high temperatures via increased intramolecular interactions. However, removal of hydrogen bond from Tyr(182) significantly decreased EstE1 catalytic activity, suggesting its role in stabilization of the active site. These results suggest that Tyr is preferred over a similarly sized Phe residue or bulky His or Trp residue in the active site walls of hyperthermophilic esterases for stabilizing the active site and regulating catalytic activity at high temperatures.

  12. Characterization of EST-derived and non-EST simple sequence repeats in an F₁ hybrid population of Vitis vinifera L.

    PubMed

    Kayesh, E; Bilkish, N; Liu, G S; Chen, W; Leng, X P; Fang, J G

    2014-03-31

    Among different classes of molecular markers, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are a new resource for developing simple sequence repeat (SSR) functional markers for genotyping and genetic mapping in F1 hybrid populations of Vitis vinifera L. Recently, because of the availability of an enormous amount of data for ESTs in the public domain, the emphasis has shifted from genomic SSRs to EST-SSRs, which belong to transcribed regions of the genome and may have a role in gene expression or function. The objective of this study was to assess the polymorphisms among 94 F1 hybrids from "Early Rose" and "Red Globe" using 25 EST-derived and 25 non-EST SSR markers. A total collection of 362,375 grape ESTs that were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and 2522 EST-SSR sequences were identified. From them, 205 primer pairs were randomly selected, including 176 pairs that were EST-derived and 29 non-EST SSR primer pairs, for polymerase chain reaction amplification. A total of 131 alleles were amplified using 50 pairs of primers; 78 alleles were amplified using EST-derived SSR primers and 53 were from non-EST SSR primers. At most, 6 and 5 alleles were amplified by EST-derived and non-EST SSR primers, respectively. The EST-derived SSR markers showed a maximum polymorphic information content (PIC) value of 1 and a minimum of 0.33 while non-EST SSR markers had maximum and minimum PIC values of 1 and 0.25, respectively. The average PIC value was 0.56 for EST-derived SSR markers and 0.45 for non-EST SSR markers.

  13. Modelo analítico del efecto de PRS sobre satélites GPS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meza, A.; Brunini, C.; Usandivaras, J. C.

    El sistema GPS (Global Position System) es, hoy en día, la herramienta de navegación y posicionamiento más potente y lo será sin duda en la próxima década. Gran parte de su valiosa utilidad se debe a la alta precisión que permite lograr y ésta, a su vez, depende, entre otras causas, de la precisión con que se conocen las órbitas de los satélites. La presión de radiación solar (PRS) fija el límite de la precisión con que pueden calcularse en la actualidad las efemérides satelitarias. El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer una mejor resolución de este fenómeno. El modelo analítico aquí presentado, se basa en el análisis del comportamiento de los residuos de un ajuste por mínimos cuadrados en el que se utiliza el modelo de PRS propuesto por Beutler. El mismo consiste en un modelo determinista del fenómeno con dos parámetros libres. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que, aún después de aplicar dichos parámetros, prevalecen en los residuos efectos semidiurnos en las componentes radial,tangencial y normal. Estos resultados obtenidos se comparan con los de un trabajo desarrollado por el Instituto de Berne (Beutler et al., 1994), en el que se utilizaron como pseudo-observaciones las órbitas precisas del IGS (CODE). El intervalo de integración escogido por este centro fueron las semanas 680 y 681. En resumen se tienen arcos de 14 días para todos los satélites, donde las efemérides precisas de los mismos para los 14 días fueron utilizados como pseudo-observaciones. El modelo de fuerza que empleó dicho centro fue básicamente el tradicional en lo que respecta al modelo de las fuerzas gravitacionales, y para la PRS utilizo el modelo standard de Beutler. Los parámetros de este modelo junto con las 6 condiciones iniciales (posición y velocidad) fueron ajustados por el método general de mínimos cuadrados. Los residuos en la componente radial, tangencial y normal, para los satélites con un buen comportamiento, presentan una

  14. The Human EST Ontology Explorer: a tissue-oriented visualization system for ontologies distribution in human EST collections.

    PubMed

    Merelli, Ivan; Caprera, Andrea; Stella, Alessandra; Del Corvo, Marcello; Milanesi, Luciano; Lazzari, Barbara

    2009-10-15

    The NCBI dbEST currently contains more than eight million human Expressed Sequenced Tags (ESTs). This wide collection represents an important source of information for gene expression studies, provided it can be inspected according to biologically relevant criteria. EST data can be browsed using different dedicated web resources, which allow to investigate library specific gene expression levels and to make comparisons among libraries, highlighting significant differences in gene expression. Nonetheless, no tool is available to examine distributions of quantitative EST collections in Gene Ontology (GO) categories, nor to retrieve information concerning library-dependent EST involvement in metabolic pathways. In this work we present the Human EST Ontology Explorer (HEOE) http://www.itb.cnr.it/ptp/human_est_explorer, a web facility for comparison of expression levels among libraries from several healthy and diseased tissues. The HEOE provides library-dependent statistics on the distribution of sequences in the GO Direct Acyclic Graph (DAG) that can be browsed at each GO hierarchical level. The tool is based on large-scale BLAST annotation of EST sequences. Due to the huge number of input sequences, this BLAST analysis was performed with the aid of grid computing technology, which is particularly suitable to address data parallel task. Relying on the achieved annotation, library-specific distributions of ESTs in the GO Graph were inferred. A pathway-based search interface was also implemented, for a quick evaluation of the representation of libraries in metabolic pathways. EST processing steps were integrated in a semi-automatic procedure that relies on Perl scripts and stores results in a MySQL database. A PHP-based web interface offers the possibility to simultaneously visualize, retrieve and compare data from the different libraries. Statistically significant differences in GO categories among user selected libraries can also be computed. The HEOE provides an

  15. ESTs and EST-linked polymorphisms for genetic mapping and phylogenetic reconstruction in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata

    PubMed Central

    Dreyer, Christine; Hoffmann, Margarete; Lanz, Christa; Willing, Eva-Maria; Riester, Markus; Warthmann, Norman; Sprecher, Andrea; Tripathi, Namita; Henz, Stefan R; Weigel, Detlef

    2007-01-01

    Background The guppy, Poecilia reticulata, is a well-known model organism for studying inheritance and variation of male ornamental traits as well as adaptation to different river habitats. However, genomic resources for studying this important model were not previously widely available. Results With the aim of generating molecular markers for genetic mapping of the guppy, cDNA libraries were constructed from embryos and different adult organs to generate expressed sequence tags (ESTs). About 18,000 ESTs were annotated according to BLASTN and BLASTX results and the sequence information from the 3' UTRs was exploited to generate PCR primers for re-sequencing of genomic DNA from different wild type strains. By comparison of EST-linked genomic sequences from at least four different ecotypes, about 1,700 polymorphisms were identified, representing about 400 distinct genes. Two interconnected MySQL databases were built to organize the ESTs and markers, respectively. A robust phylogeny of the guppy was reconstructed, based on 10 different nuclear genes. Conclusion Our EST and marker databases provide useful tools for genetic mapping and phylogenetic studies of the guppy. PMID:17686157

  16. EST! best practices

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-10-05

    This booklet presents the eighteen winners in a competition for projects that promote environmentally sustainable transportation (EST). These range from car sharing to hydrogen fueled buses to public transit promotion campaign. Each project is presen...

  17. PAVE: program for assembling and viewing ESTs.

    PubMed

    Soderlund, Carol; Johnson, Eric; Bomhoff, Matthew; Descour, Anne

    2009-08-26

    New sequencing technologies are rapidly emerging. Many laboratories are simultaneously working with the traditional Sanger ESTs and experimenting with ESTs generated by the 454 Life Science sequencers. Though Sanger ESTs have been used to generate contigs for many years, no program takes full advantage of the 5' and 3' mate-pair information, hence, many tentative transcripts are assembled into two separate contigs. The new 454 technology has the benefit of high-throughput expression profiling, but introduces time and space problems for assembling large contigs. The PAVE (Program for Assembling and Viewing ESTs) assembler takes advantage of the 5' and 3' mate-pair information by requiring that the mate-pairs be assembled into the same contig and joined by n's if the two sub-contigs do not overlap. It handles the depth of 454 data sets by "burying" similar ESTs during assembly, which retains the expression level information while circumventing time and space problems. PAVE uses MegaBLAST for the clustering step and CAP3 for assembly, however it assembles incrementally to enforce the mate-pair constraint, bury ESTs, and reduce incorrect joins and splits. The PAVE data management system uses a MySQL database to store multiple libraries of ESTs along with their metadata; the management system allows multiple assemblies with variations on libraries and parameters. Analysis routines provide standard annotation for the contigs including a measure of differentially expressed genes across the libraries. A Java viewer program is provided for display and analysis of the results. Our results clearly show the benefit of using the PAVE assembler to explicitly use mate-pair information and bury ESTs for large contigs. The PAVE assembler provides a software package for assembling Sanger and/or 454 ESTs. The assembly software, data management software, Java viewer and user's guide are freely available.

  18. EST Express: PHP/MySQL based automated annotation of ESTs from expression libraries.

    PubMed

    Smith, Robin P; Buchser, William J; Lemmon, Marcus B; Pardinas, Jose R; Bixby, John L; Lemmon, Vance P

    2008-04-10

    Several biological techniques result in the acquisition of functional sets of cDNAs that must be sequenced and analyzed. The emergence of redundant databases such as UniGene and centralized annotation engines such as Entrez Gene has allowed the development of software that can analyze a great number of sequences in a matter of seconds. We have developed "EST Express", a suite of analytical tools that identify and annotate ESTs originating from specific mRNA populations. The software consists of a user-friendly GUI powered by PHP and MySQL that allows for online collaboration between researchers and continuity with UniGene, Entrez Gene and RefSeq. Two key features of the software include a novel, simplified Entrez Gene parser and tools to manage cDNA library sequencing projects. We have tested the software on a large data set (2,016 samples) produced by subtractive hybridization. EST Express is an open-source, cross-platform web server application that imports sequences from cDNA libraries, such as those generated through subtractive hybridization or yeast two-hybrid screens. It then provides several layers of annotation based on Entrez Gene and RefSeq to allow the user to highlight useful genes and manage cDNA library projects.

  19. EST Express: PHP/MySQL based automated annotation of ESTs from expression libraries

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Robin P; Buchser, William J; Lemmon, Marcus B; Pardinas, Jose R; Bixby, John L; Lemmon, Vance P

    2008-01-01

    Background Several biological techniques result in the acquisition of functional sets of cDNAs that must be sequenced and analyzed. The emergence of redundant databases such as UniGene and centralized annotation engines such as Entrez Gene has allowed the development of software that can analyze a great number of sequences in a matter of seconds. Results We have developed "EST Express", a suite of analytical tools that identify and annotate ESTs originating from specific mRNA populations. The software consists of a user-friendly GUI powered by PHP and MySQL that allows for online collaboration between researchers and continuity with UniGene, Entrez Gene and RefSeq. Two key features of the software include a novel, simplified Entrez Gene parser and tools to manage cDNA library sequencing projects. We have tested the software on a large data set (2,016 samples) produced by subtractive hybridization. Conclusion EST Express is an open-source, cross-platform web server application that imports sequences from cDNA libraries, such as those generated through subtractive hybridization or yeast two-hybrid screens. It then provides several layers of annotation based on Entrez Gene and RefSeq to allow the user to highlight useful genes and manage cDNA library projects. PMID:18402700

  20. Identification of true EST alignments for recognising transcribed regions.

    PubMed

    Ma, Chuang; Wang, Jia; Li, Lun; Duan, Mo-Jie; Zhou, Yan-Hong

    2011-01-01

    Transcribed regions can be determined by aligning Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) with genome sequences. The kernel of this strategy is to effectively distinguish true EST alignments from spurious ones. In this study, three measures including Direction Check, Identity Check and Terminal Check were introduced to more effectively eliminate spurious EST alignments. On the basis of these introduced measures and other widely used measures, a computational tool, named ESTCleanser, has been developed to identify true EST alignments for obtaining reliable transcribed regions. The performance of ESTCleanser has been evaluated on the well-annotated human ENCyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) regions using human ESTs in the dbEST database. The evaluation results show that the accuracy of ESTCleanser at exon and intron levels is more remarkably enhanced than that of UCSC-spliced EST alignments. This work would be helpful to EST-based researches on finding new genes, complementing genome annotation, recognising alternative splicing events and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), etc.

  1. Development of a EST dataset and characterization of EST-SSRs in a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb. Et Zucc.) Maxim

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb. Et Zucc.) Maxim, a traditional Chinese medicinal plant species, has been used extensively as genuine medicinal materials. Certain Epimedium species are endangered due to commercial overexploition, while sustainable application studies, conservation genetics, systematics, and marker-assisted selection (MAS) of Epimedium is less-studied due to the lack of molecular markers. Here, we report a set of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and simple sequence repeats (SSRs) identified in these ESTs for E. sagittatum. Results cDNAs of E. sagittatum are sequenced using 454 GS-FLX pyrosequencing technology. The raw reads are cleaned and assembled into a total of 76,459 consensus sequences comprising of 17,231 contigs and 59,228 singlets. About 38.5% (29,466) of the consensus sequences significantly match to the non-redundant protein database (E-value < 1e-10), 22,295 of which are further annotated using Gene Ontology (GO) terms. A total of 2,810 EST-SSRs is identified from the Epimedium EST dataset. Trinucleotide SSR is the dominant repeat type (55.2%) followed by dinucleotide (30.4%), tetranuleotide (7.3%), hexanucleotide (4.9%), and pentanucleotide (2.2%) SSR. The dominant repeat motif is AAG/CTT (23.6%) followed by AG/CT (19.3%), ACC/GGT (11.1%), AT/AT (7.5%), and AAC/GTT (5.9%). Thirty-two SSR-ESTs are randomly selected and primer pairs are synthesized for testing the transferability across 52 Epimedium species. Eighteen primer pairs (85.7%) could be successfully transferred to Epimedium species and sixteen of those show high genetic diversity with 0.35 of observed heterozygosity (Ho) and 0.65 of expected heterozygosity (He) and high number of alleles per locus (11.9). Conclusion A large EST dataset with a total of 76,459 consensus sequences is generated, aiming to provide sequence information for deciphering secondary metabolism, especially for flavonoid pathway in Epimedium. A total of 2,810 EST-SSRs is identified from EST dataset and

  2. A global assembly of cotton ESTs

    PubMed Central

    Udall, Joshua A.; Swanson, Jordan M.; Haller, Karl; Rapp, Ryan A.; Sparks, Michael E.; Hatfield, Jamie; Yu, Yeisoo; Wu, Yingru; Dowd, Caitriona; Arpat, Aladdin B.; Sickler, Brad A.; Wilkins, Thea A.; Guo, Jin Ying; Chen, Xiao Ya; Scheffler, Jodi; Taliercio, Earl; Turley, Ricky; McFadden, Helen; Payton, Paxton; Klueva, Natalya; Allen, Randell; Zhang, Deshui; Haigler, Candace; Wilkerson, Curtis; Suo, Jinfeng; Schulze, Stefan R.; Pierce, Margaret L.; Essenberg, Margaret; Kim, HyeRan; Llewellyn, Danny J.; Dennis, Elizabeth S.; Kudrna, David; Wing, Rod; Paterson, Andrew H.; Soderlund, Cari; Wendel, Jonathan F.

    2006-01-01

    Approximately 185,000 Gossypium EST sequences comprising >94,800,000 nucleotides were amassed from 30 cDNA libraries constructed from a variety of tissues and organs under a range of conditions, including drought stress and pathogen challenges. These libraries were derived from allopolyploid cotton (Gossypium hirsutum; AT and DT genomes) as well as its two diploid progenitors, Gossypium arboreum (A genome) and Gossypium raimondii (D genome). ESTs were assembled using the Program for Assembling and Viewing ESTs (PAVE), resulting in 22,030 contigs and 29,077 singletons (51,107 unigenes). Further comparisons among the singletons and contigs led to recognition of 33,665 exemplar sequences that represent a nonredundant set of putative Gossypium genes containing partial or full-length coding regions and usually one or two UTRs. The assembly, along with their UniProt BLASTX hits, GO annotation, and Pfam analysis results, are freely accessible as a public resource for cotton genomics. Because ESTs from diploid and allotetraploid Gossypium were combined in a single assembly, we were in many cases able to bioinformatically distinguish duplicated genes in allotetraploid cotton and assign them to either the A or D genome. The assembly and associated information provide a framework for future investigation of cotton functional and evolutionary genomics. PMID:16478941

  3. Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags (EST) in Date Palm.

    PubMed

    Al-Faifi, Sulieman A; Migdadi, Hussein M; Algamdi, Salem S; Khan, Mohammad Altaf; Al-Obeed, Rashid S; Ammar, Megahed H; Jakse, Jerenj

    2017-01-01

    Expressed sequence tags (EST) were generated from a normalized cDNA library of the date palm Sukkari cv. to understand the high-quality and better field performance of this well-known commercial cultivar. A total of 6943 high-quality ESTs were generated, out of them 6671 are submitted to the GenBank dbEST (LIBEST_028537). The generated ESTs were assembled into 6362 unigenes, consisting of 494 (14.4%) contigs and 5868 (84.53%) singletons. The functional annotation shows that the majority of the ESTs are associated with binding (44%), catalytic (40%), transporter (5%), and structural molecular (5%) activities. The blastx results show that 73% of unigenes are significantly similar to known plant genes and 27% are novel. The latter could be of particular interest in date palm genetic studies. Further analysis shows that some ESTs are categorized as stress/defense- and fruit development-related genes. These newly generated ESTs could significantly enhance date palm EST databases in the public domain and are available to scientists and researchers across the globe. This knowledge will facilitate the discovery of candidate genes that govern important developmental and agronomical traits in date palm. It will provide important resources for developing genetic tools, comparative genomics, and genome evolution among date palm cultivars.

  4. ESAP plus: a web-based server for EST-SSR marker development.

    PubMed

    Ponyared, Piyarat; Ponsawat, Jiradej; Tongsima, Sissades; Seresangtakul, Pusadee; Akkasaeng, Chutipong; Tantisuwichwong, Nathpapat

    2016-12-22

    Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) have become widely used as molecular markers in plant genetic studies due to their abundance, high allelic variation at each locus and simplicity to analyze using conventional PCR amplification. To study plants with unknown genome sequence, SSR markers from Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs), which can be obtained from the plant mRNA (converted to cDNA), must be utilized. With the advent of high-throughput sequencing technology, huge EST sequence data have been generated and are now accessible from many public databases. However, SSR marker identification from a large in-house or public EST collection requires a computational pipeline that makes use of several standard bioinformatic tools to design high quality EST-SSR primers. Some of these computational tools are not users friendly and must be tightly integrated with reference genomic databases. A web-based bioinformatic pipeline, called EST Analysis Pipeline Plus (ESAP Plus), was constructed for assisting researchers to develop SSR markers from a large EST collection. ESAP Plus incorporates several bioinformatic scripts and some useful standard software tools necessary for the four main procedures of EST-SSR marker development, namely 1) pre-processing, 2) clustering and assembly, 3) SSR mining and 4) SSR primer design. The proposed pipeline also provides two alternative steps for reducing EST redundancy and identifying SSR loci. Using public sugarcane ESTs, ESAP Plus automatically executed the aforementioned computational pipeline via a simple web user interface, which was implemented using standard PHP, HTML, CSS and Java scripts. With ESAP Plus, users can upload raw EST data and choose various filtering options and parameters to analyze each of the four main procedures through this web interface. All input EST data and their predicted SSR results will be stored in the ESAP Plus MySQL database. Users will be notified via e-mail when the automatic process is completed and they can

  5. A Bayesian nonparametric method for prediction in EST analysis

    PubMed Central

    Lijoi, Antonio; Mena, Ramsés H; Prünster, Igor

    2007-01-01

    Background Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) analyses are a fundamental tool for gene identification in organisms. Given a preliminary EST sample from a certain library, several statistical prediction problems arise. In particular, it is of interest to estimate how many new genes can be detected in a future EST sample of given size and also to determine the gene discovery rate: these estimates represent the basis for deciding whether to proceed sequencing the library and, in case of a positive decision, a guideline for selecting the size of the new sample. Such information is also useful for establishing sequencing efficiency in experimental design and for measuring the degree of redundancy of an EST library. Results In this work we propose a Bayesian nonparametric approach for tackling statistical problems related to EST surveys. In particular, we provide estimates for: a) the coverage, defined as the proportion of unique genes in the library represented in the given sample of reads; b) the number of new unique genes to be observed in a future sample; c) the discovery rate of new genes as a function of the future sample size. The Bayesian nonparametric model we adopt conveys, in a statistically rigorous way, the available information into prediction. Our proposal has appealing properties over frequentist nonparametric methods, which become unstable when prediction is required for large future samples. EST libraries, previously studied with frequentist methods, are analyzed in detail. Conclusion The Bayesian nonparametric approach we undertake yields valuable tools for gene capture and prediction in EST libraries. The estimators we obtain do not feature the kind of drawbacks associated with frequentist estimators and are reliable for any size of the additional sample. PMID:17868445

  6. El efecto de la panfotocoagulación con láser en edema macular diabético con el fotocoagulador Pascal® versus el láser de argón convencional.

    PubMed

    Mahgoub, Mohamed M; Macky, Tamer A

    2017-07-11

    Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio fue comparar el efecto de la panfotocoagulación (PFC) en el edema macular diabético (EMD) en pacientes con retinopatía diabética proliferativa (RDP) con el fotocoagulador Pascal® (FP) vs. un fotocoagulador con láser de argón convencional (FLAC). Métodos: Se aleatorizó el uso de FP o FLAC en ochenta ojos con RDP y EMD con afectación central de la mácula. Ambos grupos tuvieron una evaluación de base de mejor agudeza visual corregida y fueron examinados con tomografía de coherencia óptica y angiografía con fluoresceína. Resultados: El número medio de disparos de láser en los grupos de FP y FLAC fue 1.726,10 y 752,00 en la sesión 1 y 1.589,00 y 830,00 (p < 0,001) en la sesión 2, respectivamente. El grosor foveal central (GFC) medio antes de comenzar el estudio fue 306 ± 100 y 314 ± 98 en los grupos de FP y FLAC, respectivamente. A las 8 semanas, el GFC medio fue 332 ± 116 y 347 ± 111 en los grupos de FP y FLAC, respectivamente (p > 0,05). La MAVC media fue similar durante el periodo de estudio y no hubo ninguna diferencia significativa entre los grupos (p > 0,05). Conclusiones: El FP y el FLAC mostraron efectos similares en el EMD en ojos con RDP y fueron igualmente seguros sin un aumento significativo del GFC. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  7. Wheat EST resources for functional genomics of abiotic stress

    PubMed Central

    Houde, Mario; Belcaid, Mahdi; Ouellet, François; Danyluk, Jean; Monroy, Antonio F; Dryanova, Ani; Gulick, Patrick; Bergeron, Anne; Laroche, André; Links, Matthew G; MacCarthy, Luke; Crosby, William L; Sarhan, Fathey

    2006-01-01

    Background Wheat is an excellent species to study freezing tolerance and other abiotic stresses. However, the sequence of the wheat genome has not been completely characterized due to its complexity and large size. To circumvent this obstacle and identify genes involved in cold acclimation and associated stresses, a large scale EST sequencing approach was undertaken by the Functional Genomics of Abiotic Stress (FGAS) project. Results We generated 73,521 quality-filtered ESTs from eleven cDNA libraries constructed from wheat plants exposed to various abiotic stresses and at different developmental stages. In addition, 196,041 ESTs for which tracefiles were available from the National Science Foundation wheat EST sequencing program and DuPont were also quality-filtered and used in the analysis. Clustering of the combined ESTs with d2_cluster and TGICL yielded a few large clusters containing several thousand ESTs that were refractory to routine clustering techniques. To resolve this problem, the sequence proximity and "bridges" were identified by an e-value distance graph to manually break clusters into smaller groups. Assembly of the resolved ESTs generated a 75,488 unique sequence set (31,580 contigs and 43,908 singletons/singlets). Digital expression analyses indicated that the FGAS dataset is enriched in stress-regulated genes compared to the other public datasets. Over 43% of the unique sequence set was annotated and classified into functional categories according to Gene Ontology. Conclusion We have annotated 29,556 different sequences, an almost 5-fold increase in annotated sequences compared to the available wheat public databases. Digital expression analysis combined with gene annotation helped in the identification of several pathways associated with abiotic stress. The genomic resources and knowledge developed by this project will contribute to a better understanding of the different mechanisms that govern stress tolerance in wheat and other cereals. PMID

  8. Rapid in silico cloning of genes using expressed sequence tags (ESTs).

    PubMed

    Gill, R W; Sanseau, P

    2000-01-01

    Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are short single-pass DNA sequences obtained from either end of cDNA clones. These ESTs are derived from a vast number of cDNA libraries obtained from different species. Human ESTs are the bulk of the data and have been widely used to identify new members of gene families, as markers on the human chromosomes, to discover polymorphism sites and to compare expression patterns in different tissues or pathologies states. Information strategies have been devised to query EST databases. Since most of the analysis is performed with a computer, the term "in silico" strategy has been coined. In this chapter we will review the current status of EST databases, the pros and cons of EST-type data and describe possible strategies to retrieve meaningful information.

  9. Analysis of SSR information in EST resources of sugarcane

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Expressed sequence tags ( ESTs) offer the opportunity to exploit single, low -copy, conserved sequence motifs for the development of simple sequence repeats ( SSRs). The total of 262 113 ESTs of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) in the database of NCBI were downloaded and analyzed, which resulted in...

  10. AFT-QuEST Consortium Yearbook. Proceedings of the QuEST Consortium (April 2-6, 1972).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC.

    This book contains the proceedings from the QuEST Consortium held on April 2-6, 1972, which focused on problems of method and technique in teaching as well as on resource organization. The program schedule for the Consortium is presented with the following goals: (a) investigation of educational policy issues, action programs, and projects and (b)…

  11. La inserción en el mercado laboral de los inmigrantes latinos en España y en los Estados Unidos: Diferencias por país de origen y estatus legal

    PubMed Central

    Connor, Phillip; Massey, Douglas

    2013-01-01

    Resumen Este artículo compara los resultados económicos entre los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España y Estados Unidos. Detectamos un efecto de selección por el que la mayoría de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España proceden de Sudamérica de un entorno de clases medias, mientras la mayoría de los inmigrantes que van a los Estados Unidos son centroamericanos de clase baja. Este efecto de selección explica las diferencias transnacionales en la probabilidad de empleo, logro ocupacional y salarios obtenidos. A pesar de las diferencias en los orígenes y las características de los latinoamericanos en ambos países, los factores demográficos, humanos y de capital social parecen operar de forma similar en ambos países; y cuando los modelos se estiman separadamente por estatus legal, descubrimos que los efectos se acentúan más entre los inmigrantes irregulares cuando se los compara con los regulares, especialmente en Estados Unidos. PMID:24532857

  12. Sequence analysis of 497 mouse brain ESTs expressed in the substantia nigra

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stewart, G.J.; Savioz, A.; Davies, R.W.

    1997-01-15

    The use of subtracted, region-specific cDNA libraries combined with single-pass cDNA sequencing allows the discovery of novel genes and facilitates molecular description of the tissue or region involved. We report the sequence of 497 mouse expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from two subtracted libraries enriched for cDNAs expressed in the substantia nigra, a brain region with important roles in movement control and Parkinson disease. Of these, 238 ESTs give no database matches and therefore derive from novel genes. A further 115 ESTs show sequence similarity to ESTs from other organisms, which themselves do not yield any significant database matches to genesmore » of known function. Fifty-six ESTs show sequence similarity to previously identified genes whose mouse homologues have not been reported. The total number of ESTs reported that are new for the mouse is 407, which, together with the 90 ESTs corresponding to known mouse genes or cDNAs, contributes to the molecular description of the substantia nigra. 21 refs., 4 tabs.« less

  13. Enhancement/upgrade of Engine Structures Technology Best Estimator (EST/BEST) Software System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shah, Ashwin

    2003-01-01

    This report describes the work performed during the contract period and the capabilities included in the EST/BEST software system. The developed EST/BEST software system includes the integrated NESSUS, IPACS, COBSTRAN, and ALCCA computer codes required to perform the engine cycle mission and component structural analysis. Also, the interactive input generator for NESSUS, IPACS, and COBSTRAN computer codes have been developed and integrated with the EST/BEST software system. The input generator allows the user to create input from scratch as well as edit existing input files interactively. Since it has been integrated with the EST/BEST software system, it enables the user to modify EST/BEST generated files and perform the analysis to evaluate the benefits. Appendix A gives details of how to use the newly added features in the EST/BEST software system.

  14. EL MANEJO DE LA BIODIVERSIDAD EN EL SIGLO XXI

    Treesearch

    ARIEL E. LUGO

    2001-01-01

    ser humano está transformando rápidamente el planeta Tierra (Meyer y Turner, 1994; Vitousek et al., 1997a). Su actividad tiene efectos globales que modifican el ambiente terrícola (Tabla I). Estos cambios, que comenzaron con la revolución industrial del siglo XIX, serán más notables en el siglo XXI en lo que se ha denominado la era Homogeocena donde el efecto dominante...

  15. AFT-QuEST Consortium Yearbook. Proceedings of the AFT-QuEST Consortium (April 22-26, 1973).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC.

    This document is a report on the proceedings of the 1973 American Federation of Teachers-Quality Educational Standards in Teaching (AFT-QuEST) consortium sponsored by the AFT. Included in this document are the texts of speeches and outlines of workshops and iscussions. The document is divided into the following sections: goals, major proposals,…

  16. The construction of an EST database for Bombyx mori and its application

    PubMed Central

    Mita, Kazuei; Morimyo, Mitsuoki; Okano, Kazuhiro; Koike, Yoshiko; Nohata, Junko; Kawasaki, Hideki; Kadono-Okuda, Keiko; Yamamoto, Kimiko; Suzuki, Masataka G.; Shimada, Toru; Goldsmith, Marian R.; Maeda, Susumu

    2003-01-01

    To build a foundation for the complete genome analysis of Bombyx mori, we have constructed an EST database. Because gene expression patterns deeply depend on tissues as well as developmental stages, we analyzed many cDNA libraries prepared from various tissues and different developmental stages to cover the entire set of Bombyx genes. So far, the Bombyx EST database contains 35,000 ESTs from 36 cDNA libraries, which are grouped into ≈11,000 nonredundant ESTs with the average length of 1.25 kb. The comparison with FlyBase suggests that the present EST database, SilkBase, covers >55% of all genes of Bombyx. The fraction of library-specific ESTs in each cDNA library indicates that we have not yet reached saturation, showing the validity of our strategy for constructing an EST database to cover all genes. To tackle the coming saturation problem, we have checked two methods, subtraction and normalization, to increase coverage and decrease the number of housekeeping genes, resulting in a 5–11% increase of library-specific ESTs. The identification of a number of genes and comprehensive cloning of gene families have already emerged from the SilkBase search. Direct links of SilkBase with FlyBase and WormBase provide ready identification of candidate Lepidoptera-specific genes. PMID:14614147

  17. Mining SNPs from EST sequences using filters and ensemble classifiers.

    PubMed

    Wang, J; Zou, Q; Guo, M Z

    2010-05-04

    Abundant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provide the most complete information for genome-wide association studies. However, due to the bottleneck of manual discovery of putative SNPs and the inaccessibility of the original sequencing reads, it is essential to develop a more efficient and accurate computational method for automated SNP detection. We propose a novel computational method to rapidly find true SNPs in public-available EST (expressed sequence tag) databases; this method is implemented as SNPDigger. EST sequences are clustered and aligned. SNP candidates are then obtained according to a measure of redundant frequency. Several new informative biological features, such as the structural neighbor profiles and the physical position of the SNP, were extracted from EST sequences, and the effectiveness of these features was demonstrated. An ensemble classifier, which employs a carefully selected feature set, was included for the imbalanced training data. The sensitivity and specificity of our method both exceeded 80% for human genetic data in the cross validation. Our method enables detection of SNPs from the user's own EST dataset and can be used on species for which there is no genome data. Our tests showed that this method can effectively guide SNP discovery in ESTs and will be useful to avoid and save the cost of biological analyses.

  18. Two EST-derived marker systems for cultivar identification in tree peony.

    PubMed

    Zhang, J J; Shu, Q Y; Liu, Z A; Ren, H X; Wang, L S; De Keyser, E

    2012-02-01

    Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa Andrews), a woody deciduous shrub, belongs to the section Moutan DC. in the genus of Paeonia of the Paeoniaceae family. To increase the efficiency of breeding, two EST-derived marker systems were developed based on a tree peony expressed sequence tag (EST) database. Using target region amplification polymorphism (TRAP), 19 of 39 primer pairs showed good amplification for 56 accessions with amplicons ranging from 120 to 3,000 bp long, among which 99.3% were polymorphic. In contrast, 7 of 21 primer pairs demonstrated adequate amplification with clear bands for simple sequence repeats (SSRs) developed from ESTs, and a total of 33 alleles were found in 56 accessions. The similarity matrices generated by TRAP and EST-SSR markers were compared, and the Mantel test (r = 0.57778, P = 0.0020) showed a moderate correlation between the two types of molecular markers. TRAP markers were suitable for DNA fingerprinting and EST-SSR markers were more appropriate for discriminating synonyms (the same cultivars with different names due to limited information exchanged among different geographic areas). The two sets of EST-derived markers will be used further for genetic linkage map construction and quantitative trait locus detection in tree peony.

  19. Development of an Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) Resource for Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

    PubMed Central

    Lazo, G. R.; Chao, S.; Hummel, D. D.; Edwards, H.; Crossman, C. C.; Lui, N.; Matthews, D. E.; Carollo, V. L.; Hane, D. L.; You, F. M.; Butler, G. E.; Miller, R. E.; Close, T. J.; Peng, J. H.; Lapitan, N. L. V.; Gustafson, J. P.; Qi, L. L.; Echalier, B.; Gill, B. S.; Dilbirligi, M.; Randhawa, H. S.; Gill, K. S.; Greene, R. A.; Sorrells, M. E.; Akhunov, E. D.; Dvořák, J.; Linkiewicz, A. M.; Dubcovsky, J.; Hossain, K. G.; Kalavacharla, V.; Kianian, S. F.; Mahmoud, A. A.; Miftahudin; Ma, X.-F.; Conley, E. J.; Anderson, J. A.; Pathan, M. S.; Nguyen, H. T.; McGuire, P. E.; Qualset, C. O.; Anderson, O. D.

    2004-01-01

    This report describes the rationale, approaches, organization, and resource development leading to a large-scale deletion bin map of the hexaploid (2n = 6x = 42) wheat genome (Triticum aestivum L.). Accompanying reports in this issue detail results from chromosome bin-mapping of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) representing genes onto the seven homoeologous chromosome groups and a global analysis of the entire mapped wheat EST data set. Among the resources developed were the first extensive public wheat EST collection (113,220 ESTs). Described are protocols for sequencing, sequence processing, EST nomenclature, and the assembly of ESTs into contigs. These contigs plus singletons (unassembled ESTs) were used for selection of distinct sequence motif unigenes. Selected ESTs were rearrayed, validated by 5′ and 3′ sequencing, and amplified for probing a series of wheat aneuploid and deletion stocks. Images and data for all Southern hybridizations were deposited in databases and were used by the coordinators for each of the seven homoeologous chromosome groups to validate the mapping results. Results from this project have established the foundation for future developments in wheat genomics. PMID:15514037

  20. SEAN: SNP prediction and display program utilizing EST sequence clusters.

    PubMed

    Huntley, Derek; Baldo, Angela; Johri, Saurabh; Sergot, Marek

    2006-02-15

    SEAN is an application that predicts single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using multiple sequence alignments produced from expressed sequence tag (EST) clusters. The algorithm uses rules of sequence identity and SNP abundance to determine the quality of the prediction. A Java viewer is provided to display the EST alignments and predicted SNPs.

  1. Construction of new EST-SSRs for Fusarium resistant wheat breeding.

    PubMed

    Yumurtaci, Aysen; Sipahi, Hulya; Al-Abdallat, Ayed; Jighly, Abdulqader; Baum, Michael

    2017-06-01

    Surveying Fusarium resistance in wheat with easy applicable molecular markers such as simple sequence repeats (SSRs) is a prerequest for molecular breeding. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are one of the main sources for development of new SSR candidates. Therefore, 18.292 publicly available wheat ESTs were mined and genotyping of newly developed 55 EST-SSR derived primer pairs produced clear fragments in ten wheat cultivars carrying different levels of Fusarium resistance. Among the proved markers, 23 polymorphic EST-SSRs were obtained and related alleles were mostly found on B and D genome. Based on the fragment profiling and similarity analysis, a 327bp amplicon, which was a product of contig 1207 (chromosome 5BL), was detected only in Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistant cultivars (CM82036 and Sumai) and the amino acid sequences showed a similarity to pathogen related proteins. Another FHB resistance related EST-SSR, Contig 556 (chromosome 1BL) produced a 151bp fragment in Sumai and was associated to wax2-like protein. A polymorphic 204bp fragment, derived from Contig 578 (chromosome 1DL), was generated from root rot (FRR) resistant cultivars (2-49; Altay2000 and Sunco). A total of 98 alleles were displayed with an average of 1.8 alleles per locus and the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.11 to 0.78. Dendrogram tree with two main and five sub-groups were displayed the highest genetic relationship between FRR resistant cultivars (2-49 and Altay2000), FRR sensitive cultivars (Seri82 and Scout66) and FHB resistant cultivars (CM82036 and Sumai). Thus, exploitation of these candidate EST-SSRs may help to genotype other wheat sources for Fusarium resistance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Genetic variation patterns of American chestnut populations at EST-SSRs

    Treesearch

    Oliver Gailing; C. Dana Nelson

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study is to analyze patterns of genetic variation at genic expressed sequence tag - simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) and at chloroplast DNA markers in populations of American chestnut (Castanea dentata Borkh.) to assist in conservation and breeding efforts. Allelic diversity at EST-SSRs decreased significantly from southwest to northeast along...

  3. Exploring root symbiotic programs in the model legume Medicago truncatula using EST analysis.

    PubMed

    Journet, Etienne-Pascal; van Tuinen, Diederik; Gouzy, Jérome; Crespeau, Hervé; Carreau, Véronique; Farmer, Mary-Jo; Niebel, Andreas; Schiex, Thomas; Jaillon, Olivier; Chatagnier, Odile; Godiard, Laurence; Micheli, Fabienne; Kahn, Daniel; Gianinazzi-Pearson, Vivienne; Gamas, Pascal

    2002-12-15

    We report on a large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing and analysis program aimed at characterizing the sets of genes expressed in roots of the model legume Medicago truncatula during interactions with either of two microsymbionts, the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti or the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices. We have designed specific tools for in silico analysis of EST data, in relation to chimeric cDNA detection, EST clustering, encoded protein prediction, and detection of differential expression. Our 21 473 5'- and 3'-ESTs could be grouped into 6359 EST clusters, corresponding to distinct virtual genes, along with 52 498 other M.truncatula ESTs available in the dbEST (NCBI) database that were recruited in the process. These clusters were manually annotated, using a specifically developed annotation interface. Analysis of EST cluster distribution in various M.truncatula cDNA libraries, supported by a refined R test to evaluate statistical significance and by 'electronic northern' representation, enabled us to identify a large number of novel genes predicted to be up- or down-regulated during either symbiotic root interaction. These in silico analyses provide a first global view of the genetic programs for root symbioses in M.truncatula. A searchable database has been built and can be accessed through a public interface.

  4. Prediction of EST functional relationships via literature mining with user-specified parameters.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hei-Chia; Huang, Tian-Hsiang

    2009-04-01

    The massive amount of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) gathered over recent years has triggered great interest in efficient applications for genomic research. In particular, EST functional relationships can be used to determine a possible gene network for biological processes of interest. In recent years, many researchers have tried to determine EST functional relationships by analyzing the biological literature. However, it has been challenging to find efficient prediction methods. Moreover, an annotated EST is usually associated with many functions, so successful methods must be able to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant functions based on user specifications. This paper proposes a method to discover functional relationships between ESTs of interest by analyzing literature from the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, with user-specified parameters for selecting keywords. This method performs better than the multiple kernel documents method in setting up a specific threshold for gathering materials. The method is also able to uncover known functional relationships, as shown by a comparison with the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database. The reliable EST relationships predicted by the proposed method can help to construct gene networks for specific biological functions of interest.

  5. Update of the Diatom EST Database: a new tool for digital transcriptomics

    PubMed Central

    Maheswari, Uma; Mock, Thomas; Armbrust, E. Virginia; Bowler, Chris

    2009-01-01

    The Diatom Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) Database was constructed to provide integral access to ESTs from these ecologically and evolutionarily interesting microalgae. It has now been updated with 130 000 Phaeodactylum tricornutum ESTs from 16 cDNA libraries and 77 000 Thalassiosira pseudonana ESTs from seven libraries, derived from cells grown in different nutrient and stress regimes. The updated relational database incorporates results from statistical analyses such as log-likelihood ratios and hierarchical clustering, which help to identify differentially expressed genes under different conditions, and allow similarities in gene expression in different libraries to be investigated in a functional context. The database also incorporates links to the recently sequenced genomes of P. tricornutum and T. pseudonana, enabling an easy cross-talk between the expression pattern of diatom orthologs and the genome browsers. These improvements will facilitate exploration of diatom responses to conditions of ecological relevance and will aid gene function identification of diatom-specific genes and in silico gene prediction in this largely unexplored class of eukaryotes. The updated Diatom EST Database is available at http://www.biologie.ens.fr/diatomics/EST3. PMID:19029140

  6. The pEst version 2.1 user's manual

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murray, James E.; Maine, Richard E.

    1987-01-01

    This report is a user's manual for version 2.1 of pEst, a FORTRAN 77 computer program for interactive parameter estimation in nonlinear dynamic systems. The pEst program allows the user complete generality in definig the nonlinear equations of motion used in the analysis. The equations of motion are specified by a set of FORTRAN subroutines; a set of routines for a general aircraft model is supplied with the program and is described in the report. The report also briefly discusses the scope of the parameter estimation problem the program addresses. The report gives detailed explanations of the purpose and usage of all available program commands and a description of the computational algorithms used in the program.

  7. The Est3 protein associates with yeast telomerase through an OB-fold domain

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Jaesung S.; Mandell, Edward K.; Tucey, Timothy M.; Morris, Danna K.; Victoria, Lundblad

    2009-01-01

    The Est3 protein is a small regulatory subunit of yeast telomerase which is dispensable for enzyme catalysis but essential for telomere replication in vivo. Using structure prediction combined with in vivo characterization, we show here that Est3 consists of a predicted OB (oligo-saccharide/oligo-nucleotide binding) fold. Mutagenesis of predicted surface residues was used to generate a functional map of one surface of Est3, which identified a site that mediates association with the telomerase complex. Surprisingly, the predicted OB-fold of Est3 is structurally similar to the OB-fold of the mammalian TPP1 protein, despite the fact that Est3 and TPP1, as components of telomerase and a telomere capping complex, respectively, perform functionally distinct tasks at chromosome ends. The analysis performed on Est3 may be instructive in generating comparable missense mutations on the surface of the OB-fold domain of TPP1. PMID:19172754

  8. Mater semper incertus est: who's your mummy?

    PubMed

    D'alton-Harrison, Rita

    2014-01-01

    In English law, the legal term for father has been given a broad definition but the definition of mother remains rooted in biology with the Roman law principle mater semper certa est (the mother is always certain) remaining the norm. However, motherhood may be acquired through giving birth to a child, by donation of gametes or by caring and nurturing a child so that the identity of the mother is no longer certain particularly in the case of surrogacy arrangements. While the law in the UK may automatically recognise the parental status of a commissioning father in a traditional surrogacy arrangement, the parental status of the commissioning mother is not automatically recognised in either a traditional or a gestational surrogacy arrangement. Thus the maxim mater est quam gestation demonstrat (meaning the mother is demonstrated by gestation) is also not approached consistently in the legal interpretation of parentage or motherhood in surrogacy as against other assisted reproduction methods. This raises questions about the extent to which motherhood should be affected by the method of reproduction and whether the sociological and philosophical concept of motherhood should, in the case of surrogacy, give rise to a new principle of 'mater semper incertus est' (the mother is uncertain). This article will argue that the time has come to move away from a legal definition of 'mother' that is based on biology to one that recognises the different forms of motherhood. © The Author [2014]. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. 9 CFR 307.7 - Safety requirements for electrical stimulating (EST) equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... requirements for electrical stimulating (EST) equipment. (a) General. Electrical stimulating (EST) equipment is... of facilitating blood removal. These provisions do not apply to electrical equipment used to stun and... generate pulsed DC or AC voltage for stimulation and is separate from the equipment used to apply the...

  10. 9 CFR 307.7 - Safety requirements for electrical stimulating (EST) equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... requirements for electrical stimulating (EST) equipment. (a) General. Electrical stimulating (EST) equipment is... of facilitating blood removal. These provisions do not apply to electrical equipment used to stun and... generate pulsed DC or AC voltage for stimulation and is separate from the equipment used to apply the...

  11. EVER-EST: European Virtual Environment for Research in Earth Science Themes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Glaves, H.; Albani, M.

    2016-12-01

    EVER-EST is an EC Horizon 2020 project having the goal to develop a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) providing a state-of-the-art solution to allow Earth Scientists to preserve their work and publications for reference and future reuse, and to share with others. The availability of such a solution, based on an innovative concept and state of art technology infrastructure, will considerably enhance the quality of how Earth Scientists work together within their own institution and also across other organizations, regions and countries. The concept of Research Objects (ROs), used in the Earth Sciences for the first time, will form the backbone of the EVER-EST VRE infrastructure. ROs will enhance the ability to preserve, re-use and share entire or individual parts of scientific workflows and all the resources related to a specific scientific investigation. These ROs will also potentially be used as part of the scholarly publication process. EVER-EST is building on technologies developed during almost 15 years of research on Earth Science data management infrastructures. The EVER-EST VRE Service Oriented Architecture is being meticulously designed to accommodate at best the requirements of a wide range of Earth Science communities and use cases: focus is put on common requirements and on minimising the level of complexity in the EVER-EST VRE to ensure future sustainability within the user communities beyond the end of the project. The EVER-EST VRE will be validated through its customisation and deployment by four Virtual Research Communities (VRCs) from different Earth Science disciplines and will support enhanced interaction between data providers and scientists in the Earth Science domain. User community will range from bio-marine researchers (Sea Monitoring use case), to common foreign and security policy institutions and stakeholders (Land Monitoring for Security use case), natural hazards forecasting systems (Natural Hazards use case), and disaster and risk

  12. Generation, annotation and analysis of ESTs from Trichoderma harzianum CECT 2413

    PubMed Central

    Vizcaíno, Juan Antonio; González, Francisco Javier; Suárez, M Belén; Redondo, José; Heinrich, Julian; Delgado-Jarana, Jesús; Hermosa, Rosa; Gutiérrez, Santiago; Monte, Enrique; Llobell, Antonio; Rey, Manuel

    2006-01-01

    Background The filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum is used as biological control agent of several plant-pathogenic fungi. In order to study the genome of this fungus, a functional genomics project called "TrichoEST" was developed to give insights into genes involved in biological control activities using an approach based on the generation of expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Results Eight different cDNA libraries from T. harzianum strain CECT 2413 were constructed. Different growth conditions involving mainly different nutrient conditions and/or stresses were used. We here present the analysis of the 8,710 ESTs generated. A total of 3,478 unique sequences were identified of which 81.4% had sequence similarity with GenBank entries, using the BLASTX algorithm. Using the Gene Ontology hierarchy, we performed the annotation of 51.1% of the unique sequences and compared its distribution among the gene libraries. Additionally, the InterProScan algorithm was used in order to further characterize the sequences. The identification of the putatively secreted proteins was also carried out. Later, based on the EST abundance, we examined the highly expressed genes and a hydrophobin was identified as the gene expressed at the highest level. We compared our collection of ESTs with the previous collections obtained from Trichoderma species and we also compared our sequence set with different complete eukaryotic genomes from several animals, plants and fungi. Accordingly, the presence of similar sequences in different kingdoms was also studied. Conclusion This EST collection and its annotation provide a significant resource for basic and applied research on T. harzianum, a fungus with a high biotechnological interest. PMID:16872539

  13. Exploiting a wheat EST database to assess genetic diversity

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Expressed sequence tag (EST) markers have been used to assess variety and genetic diversity in wheat (Triticum aestivum). In this study, 1549 ESTs from wheat infested with yellow rust were used to examine the genetic diversity of six susceptible and resistant wheat cultivars. The aim of using these cultivars was to improve the competitiveness of public wheat breeding programs through the intensive use of modern, particularly marker-assisted, selection technologies. The F2 individuals derived from cultivar crosses were screened for resistance to yellow rust at the seedling stage in greenhouses and adult stage in the field to identify DNA markers genetically linked to resistance. Five hundred and sixty ESTs were assembled into 136 contigs and 989 singletons. BlastX search results showed that 39 (29%) contigs and 96 (10%) singletons were homologous to wheat genes. The database-matched contigs and singletons were assigned to eight functional groups related to protein synthesis, photosynthesis, metabolism and energy, stress proteins, transporter proteins, protein breakdown and recycling, cell growth and division and reactive oxygen scavengers. PCR analyses with primers based on the contigs and singletons showed that the most polymorphic functional categories were photosynthesis (contigs) and metabolism and energy (singletons). EST analysis revealed considerable genetic variability among the Turkish wheat cultivars resistant and susceptible to yellow rust disease and allowed calculation of the mean genetic distance between cultivars, with the greatest similarity (0.725) being between Harmankaya99 and Sönmez2001, and the lowest (0.622) between Aytin98 and Izgi01. PMID:21637582

  14. Exploiting a wheat EST database to assess genetic diversity.

    PubMed

    Karakas, Ozge; Gurel, Filiz; Uncuoglu, Ahu Altinkut

    2010-10-01

    Expressed sequence tag (EST) markers have been used to assess variety and genetic diversity in wheat (Triticum aestivum). In this study, 1549 ESTs from wheat infested with yellow rust were used to examine the genetic diversity of six susceptible and resistant wheat cultivars. The aim of using these cultivars was to improve the competitiveness of public wheat breeding programs through the intensive use of modern, particularly marker-assisted, selection technologies. The F(2) individuals derived from cultivar crosses were screened for resistance to yellow rust at the seedling stage in greenhouses and adult stage in the field to identify DNA markers genetically linked to resistance. Five hundred and sixty ESTs were assembled into 136 contigs and 989 singletons. BlastX search results showed that 39 (29%) contigs and 96 (10%) singletons were homologous to wheat genes. The database-matched contigs and singletons were assigned to eight functional groups related to protein synthesis, photosynthesis, metabolism and energy, stress proteins, transporter proteins, protein breakdown and recycling, cell growth and division and reactive oxygen scavengers. PCR analyses with primers based on the contigs and singletons showed that the most polymorphic functional categories were photosynthesis (contigs) and metabolism and energy (singletons). EST analysis revealed considerable genetic variability among the Turkish wheat cultivars resistant and susceptible to yellow rust disease and allowed calculation of the mean genetic distance between cultivars, with the greatest similarity (0.725) being between Harmankaya99 and Sönmez2001, and the lowest (0.622) between Aytin98 and Izgi01.

  15. MELOGEN: an EST database for melon functional genomics

    PubMed Central

    Gonzalez-Ibeas, Daniel; Blanca, José; Roig, Cristina; González-To, Mireia; Picó, Belén; Truniger, Verónica; Gómez, Pedro; Deleu, Wim; Caño-Delgado, Ana; Arús, Pere; Nuez, Fernando; Garcia-Mas, Jordi; Puigdomènech, Pere; Aranda, Miguel A

    2007-01-01

    Background Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is one of the most important fleshy fruits for fresh consumption. Despite this, few genomic resources exist for this species. To facilitate the discovery of genes involved in essential traits, such as fruit development, fruit maturation and disease resistance, and to speed up the process of breeding new and better adapted melon varieties, we have produced a large collection of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from eight normalized cDNA libraries from different tissues in different physiological conditions. Results We determined over 30,000 ESTs that were clustered into 16,637 non-redundant sequences or unigenes, comprising 6,023 tentative consensus sequences (contigs) and 10,614 unclustered sequences (singletons). Many potential molecular markers were identified in the melon dataset: 1,052 potential simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 356 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found. Sixty-nine percent of the melon unigenes showed a significant similarity with proteins in databases. Functional classification of the unigenes was carried out following the Gene Ontology scheme. In total, 9,402 unigenes were mapped to one or more ontology. Remarkably, the distributions of melon and Arabidopsis unigenes followed similar tendencies, suggesting that the melon dataset is representative of the whole melon transcriptome. Bioinformatic analyses primarily focused on potential precursors of melon micro RNAs (miRNAs) in the melon dataset, but many other genes potentially controlling disease resistance and fruit quality traits were also identified. Patterns of transcript accumulation were characterised by Real-Time-qPCR for 20 of these genes. Conclusion The collection of ESTs characterised here represents a substantial increase on the genetic information available for melon. A database (MELOGEN) which contains all EST sequences, contig images and several tools for analysis and data mining has been created. This set of sequences constitutes

  16. Construction, database integration, and application of an Oenothera EST library.

    PubMed

    Mrácek, Jaroslav; Greiner, Stephan; Cho, Won Kyong; Rauwolf, Uwe; Braun, Martha; Umate, Pavan; Altstätter, Johannes; Stoppel, Rhea; Mlcochová, Lada; Silber, Martina V; Volz, Stefanie M; White, Sarah; Selmeier, Renate; Rudd, Stephen; Herrmann, Reinhold G; Meurer, Jörg

    2006-09-01

    Coevolution of cellular genetic compartments is a fundamental aspect in eukaryotic genome evolution that becomes apparent in serious developmental disturbances after interspecific organelle exchanges. The genus Oenothera represents a unique, at present the only available, resource to study the role of the compartmentalized plant genome in diversification of populations and speciation processes. An integrated approach involving cDNA cloning, EST sequencing, and bioinformatic data mining was chosen using Oenothera elata with the genetic constitution nuclear genome AA with plastome type I. The Gene Ontology system grouped 1621 unique gene products into 17 different functional categories. Application of arrays generated from a selected fraction of ESTs revealed significantly differing expression profiles among closely related Oenothera species possessing the potential to generate fertile and incompatible plastid/nuclear hybrids (hybrid bleaching). Furthermore, the EST library provides a valuable source of PCR-based polymorphic molecular markers that are instrumental for genotyping and molecular mapping approaches.

  17. ESTuber db: an online database for Tuber borchii EST sequences.

    PubMed

    Lazzari, Barbara; Caprera, Andrea; Cosentino, Cristian; Stella, Alessandra; Milanesi, Luciano; Viotti, Angelo

    2007-03-08

    The ESTuber database (http://www.itb.cnr.it/estuber) includes 3,271 Tuber borchii expressed sequence tags (EST). The dataset consists of 2,389 sequences from an in-house prepared cDNA library from truffle vegetative hyphae, and 882 sequences downloaded from GenBank and representing four libraries from white truffle mycelia and ascocarps at different developmental stages. An automated pipeline was prepared to process EST sequences using public software integrated by in-house developed Perl scripts. Data were collected in a MySQL database, which can be queried via a php-based web interface. Sequences included in the ESTuber db were clustered and annotated against three databases: the GenBank nr database, the UniProtKB database and a third in-house prepared database of fungi genomic sequences. An algorithm was implemented to infer statistical classification among Gene Ontology categories from the ontology occurrences deduced from the annotation procedure against the UniProtKB database. Ontologies were also deduced from the annotation of more than 130,000 EST sequences from five filamentous fungi, for intra-species comparison purposes. Further analyses were performed on the ESTuber db dataset, including tandem repeats search and comparison of the putative protein dataset inferred from the EST sequences to the PROSITE database for protein patterns identification. All the analyses were performed both on the complete sequence dataset and on the contig consensus sequences generated by the EST assembly procedure. The resulting web site is a resource of data and links related to truffle expressed genes. The Sequence Report and Contig Report pages are the web interface core structures which, together with the Text search utility and the Blast utility, allow easy access to the data stored in the database.

  18. Comparative mapping in the Fagaceae and beyond with EST-SSRs

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Genetic markers and linkage mapping are basic prerequisites for comparative genetic analyses, QTL detection and map-based cloning. A large number of mapping populations have been developed for oak, but few gene-based markers are available for constructing integrated genetic linkage maps and comparing gene order and QTL location across related species. Results We developed a set of 573 expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) and located 397 markers (EST-SSRs and genomic SSRs) on the 12 oak chromosomes (2n = 2x = 24) on the basis of Mendelian segregation patterns in 5 full-sib mapping pedigrees of two species: Quercus robur (pedunculate oak) and Quercus petraea (sessile oak). Consensus maps for the two species were constructed and aligned. They showed a high degree of macrosynteny between these two sympatric European oaks. We assessed the transferability of EST-SSRs to other Fagaceae genera and a subset of these markers was mapped in Castanea sativa, the European chestnut. Reasonably high levels of macrosynteny were observed between oak and chestnut. We also obtained diversity statistics for a subset of EST-SSRs, to support further population genetic analyses with gene-based markers. Finally, based on the orthologous relationships between the oak, Arabidopsis, grape, poplar, Medicago, and soybean genomes and the paralogous relationships between the 12 oak chromosomes, we propose an evolutionary scenario of the 12 oak chromosomes from the eudicot ancestral karyotype. Conclusions This study provides map locations for a large set of EST-SSRs in two oak species of recognized biological importance in natural ecosystems. This first step toward the construction of a gene-based linkage map will facilitate the assignment of future genome scaffolds to pseudo-chromosomes. This study also provides an indication of the potential utility of new gene-based markers for population genetics and comparative mapping within and beyond the

  19. New Currents in Education: A Preliminary Review. QuEST Paper 10.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bhaerman, Robert D.

    This booklet describes nine "new currents" in education with the recommendation that local and state federations of the American Federation of Teachers create QuEST committees of teachers to study the implications of all these issues and develop statements and QuEST action programs on them as they relate to local and state situations. The issues…

  20. The interaction between the yeast telomerase RNA and the Est1 protein requires three structural elements.

    PubMed

    Lubin, Johnathan W; Tucey, Timothy M; Lundblad, Victoria

    2012-09-01

    In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the telomerase enzyme is composed of a 1.3-kb TLC1 RNA that forms a complex with Est2 (the catalytic subunit) and two regulatory proteins, Est1 and Est3. Previous work has identified a conserved 5-nt bulge, present in a long helical arm of TLC1, which mediates binding of Est1 to TLC1. However, increased expression of Est1 can bypass the consequences of removal of this RNA bulge, indicating that there are additional binding site(s) for Est1 on TLC1. We report here that a conserved single-stranded internal loop immediately adjacent to the bulge is also required for the Est1-RNA interaction; furthermore, a TLC1 variant that lacks this internal loop but retains the bulge cannot be suppressed by Est1 overexpression, arguing that the internal loop may be a more critical element for Est1 binding. An additional structural feature consisting of a single-stranded region at the base of the helix containing the bulge and internal loop also contributes to recognition of TLC1 by Est1, potentially by providing flexibility to this helical arm. Association of Est1 with each of these TLC1 motifs was assessed using a highly sensitive biochemical assay that simultaneously monitors the relative levels of the Est1 and Est2 proteins in the telomerase complex. The identification of three elements of TLC1 that are required for Est1 association provides a detailed view of this particular protein-RNA interaction.

  1. Factors Influencing Worker Morale: Evaluating Provider Demographics, Workplace Environment and Using ESTs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patterson-Silver Wolf, David A.; Dulmus, Catherine N.; Maguin, Eugene; Cristalli, Maria

    2013-01-01

    Objectives: Mental health organizations are strongly encouraged to implement empirically supported treatments (ESTs); however, little is known about their working environments. The present study investigated how provider demographics, workplace environment, and whether ESTs were used affected the worker morale. Method: Frontline workers…

  2. SolEST database: a "one-stop shop" approach to the study of Solanaceae transcriptomes.

    PubMed

    D'Agostino, Nunzio; Traini, Alessandra; Frusciante, Luigi; Chiusano, Maria Luisa

    2009-11-30

    Since no genome sequences of solanaceous plants have yet been completed, expressed sequence tag (EST) collections represent a reliable tool for broad sampling of Solanaceae transcriptomes, an attractive route for understanding Solanaceae genome functionality and a powerful reference for the structural annotation of emerging Solanaceae genome sequences. We describe the SolEST database http://biosrv.cab.unina.it/solestdb which integrates different EST datasets from both cultivated and wild Solanaceae species and from two species of the genus Coffea. Background as well as processed data contained in the database, extensively linked to external related resources, represent an invaluable source of information for these plant families. Two novel features differentiate SolEST from other resources: i) the option of accessing and then visualizing Solanaceae EST/TC alignments along the emerging tomato and potato genome sequences; ii) the opportunity to compare different Solanaceae assemblies generated by diverse research groups in the attempt to address a common complaint in the SOL community. Different databases have been established worldwide for collecting Solanaceae ESTs and are related in concept, content and utility to the one presented herein. However, the SolEST database has several distinguishing features that make it appealing for the research community and facilitates a "one-stop shop" for the study of Solanaceae transcriptomes.

  3. The Use of EST Expression Matrixes for the Quality Control of Gene Expression Data

    PubMed Central

    Milnthorpe, Andrew T.; Soloviev, Mikhail

    2012-01-01

    EST expression profiling provides an attractive tool for studying differential gene expression, but cDNA libraries' origins and EST data quality are not always known or reported. Libraries may originate from pooled or mixed tissues; EST clustering, EST counts, library annotations and analysis algorithms may contain errors. Traditional data analysis methods, including research into tissue-specific gene expression, assume EST counts to be correct and libraries to be correctly annotated, which is not always the case. Therefore, a method capable of assessing the quality of expression data based on that data alone would be invaluable for assessing the quality of EST data and determining their suitability for mRNA expression analysis. Here we report an approach to the selection of a small generic subset of 244 UniGene clusters suitable for identification of the tissue of origin for EST libraries and quality control of the expression data using EST expression information alone. We created a small expression matrix of UniGene IDs using two rounds of selection followed by two rounds of optimisation. Our selection procedures differ from traditional approaches to finding “tissue-specific” genes and our matrix yields consistency high positive correlation values for libraries with confirmed tissues of origin and can be applied for tissue typing and quality control of libraries as small as just a few hundred total ESTs. Furthermore, we can pick up tissue correlations between related tissues e.g. brain and peripheral nervous tissue, heart and muscle tissues and identify tissue origins for a few libraries of uncharacterised tissue identity. It was possible to confirm tissue identity for some libraries which have been derived from cancer tissues or have been normalised. Tissue matching is affected strongly by cancer progression or library normalisation and our approach may potentially be applied for elucidating the stage of normalisation in normalised libraries or for cancer

  4. ASFinder: a tool for genome-wide identification of alternatively splicing transcripts from EST-derived sequences.

    PubMed

    Min, Xiang Jia

    2013-01-01

    Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) are a rich resource for identifying Alternatively Splicing (AS) genes. The ASFinder webserver is designed to identify AS isoforms from EST-derived sequences. Two approaches are implemented in ASFinder. If no genomic sequences are provided, the server performs a local BLASTN to identify AS isoforms from ESTs having both ends aligned but an internal segment unaligned. Otherwise, ASFinder uses SIM4 to map ESTs to the genome, then the overlapping ESTs that are mapped to the same genomic locus and have internal variable exon/intron boundaries are identified as AS isoforms. The tool is available at http://proteomics.ysu.edu/tools/ASFinder.html.

  5. A proposed OB-fold with a protein-interaction surface in Candida albicans telomerase protein Est3

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Eun Young; Wang, Feng; Lei, Ming; Lue, Neal F

    2008-01-01

    Ever shorter telomeres 3 (Est3) is an essential telomerase regulatory subunit thought to be unique to budding yeasts. Here we use multiple sequence alignment and hidden Markov model–hidden Markov model (HMM-HMM) comparison to uncover potential similarities between Est3 and the mammalian telomeric protein Tpp1. Analysis of site-specific mutants of Candida albicans Est3 revealed functional distinctions between residues that are conserved between Est3 and Tpp1 and those that are unique to Est3. Although both types of residues are important for telomere maintenance in vivo, only the former contributes to telomerase activity in vitro and facilitates the association of Est3 with telomerase core components. Consistent with a function in protein-protein interaction, the residues common to Est3 and Tpp1 map to one face of an OB-fold model structure, away from the canonical nucleic acid binding surface. We propose that Est3 and the OB-fold domain of Tpp1 mediate a conserved function in telomerase regulation. PMID:19172753

  6. Crystal Structure and Functional Characterization of an Esterase (EaEST) from Exiguobacterium antarcticum.

    PubMed

    Lee, Chang Woo; Kwon, Sena; Park, Sun-Ha; Kim, Boo-Young; Yoo, Wanki; Ryu, Bum Han; Kim, Han-Woo; Shin, Seung Chul; Kim, Sunghwan; Park, Hyun; Kim, T Doohun; Lee, Jun Hyuck

    2017-01-01

    A novel microbial esterase, EaEST, from a psychrophilic bacterium Exiguobacterium antarcticum B7, was identified and characterized. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing structural analysis and biochemical characterization of an esterase isolated from the genus Exiguobacterium. Crystal structure of EaEST, determined at a resolution of 1.9 Å, showed that the enzyme has a canonical α/β hydrolase fold with an α-helical cap domain and a catalytic triad consisting of Ser96, Asp220, and His248. Interestingly, the active site of the structure of EaEST is occupied by a peracetate molecule, which is the product of perhydrolysis of acetate. This result suggests that EaEST may have perhydrolase activity. The activity assay showed that EaEST has significant perhydrolase and esterase activity with respect to short-chain p-nitrophenyl esters (≤C8), naphthyl derivatives, phenyl acetate, and glyceryl tributyrate. However, the S96A single mutant had low esterase and perhydrolase activity. Moreover, the L27A mutant showed low levels of protein expression and solubility as well as preference for different substrates. On conducting an enantioselectivity analysis using R- and S-methyl-3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionate, a preference for R-enantiomers was observed. Surprisingly, immobilized EaEST was found to not only retain 200% of its initial activity after incubation for 1 h at 80°C, but also retained more than 60% of its initial activity after 20 cycles of reutilization. This research will serve as basis for future engineering of this esterase for biotechnological and industrial applications.

  7. Trends in improving the embryonic stem cell test (EST): an overview.

    PubMed

    Buesen, Roland; Visan, Anke; Genschow, Elke; Slawik, Birgitta; Spielmann, Horst; Seiler, Andrea

    2004-01-01

    The embryonic stem cell test (EST) is an in vitro assay that has been developed to assess the teratogenic and embryotoxic potential of drugs and chemicals. It is based on the capacity of murine ES cells (cell line D3) to differentiate into contracting myocardial cells under specific cell culture conditions. The appearance of beating cardiomyocytes in embryoid body (EB) outgrowths is used as a toxicological endpoint to assess the embryotoxic potential of a test substance. Applying linear analysis of discriminance, a biostatistical prediction model (PM) was developed to assign test chemicals to three classes of embryotoxicity. In an international validation study the EST predicted the embryotoxic potential of chemicals and drugs with the same reliability as two other in vitro embryotoxicity tests, which employed embryonic cells and tissues from pregnant animals. In a joint research project with German pharmaceutical companies we have successfully improved the EST by establishing molecular endpoints of differentiation in cultured ES cells. The quantification of cardiac-specific protein expression by intracellular flow cytometry has been studied in the presence of chemicals of different embryotoxic potential. The results obtained using molecular endpoints specific for differentiated cardiomyocytes employing FACS (fluorescence-activated cell sorting) analysis will be presented in comparison to the validated endpoint - the microscopic analysis of beating areas. FACS analysis provides a more objective endpoint for predicting the embryotoxic potential of chemicals than the validated method. Furthermore, flow cytometry promises to be suitable for high-throughput screening systems (HTS). In addition, our partners from the joint project have improved the EST by developing protocols that stimulate differentiation of ES cells into neural and endothelial cells, chondrocytes and osteoblasts, because some substances might have embryotoxic effects on specific cell-types other than

  8. Needles in the EST Haystack: Large-Scale Identification and Analysis of Excretory-Secretory (ES) Proteins in Parasitic Nematodes Using Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs)

    PubMed Central

    Nagaraj, Shivashankar H.; Gasser, Robin B.; Ranganathan, Shoba

    2008-01-01

    Background Parasitic nematodes of humans, other animals and plants continue to impose a significant public health and economic burden worldwide, due to the diseases they cause. Promising antiparasitic drug and vaccine candidates have been discovered from excreted or secreted (ES) proteins released from the parasite and exposed to the immune system of the host. Mining the entire expressed sequence tag (EST) data available from parasitic nematodes represents an approach to discover such ES targets. Methods and Findings In this study, we predicted, using EST2Secretome, a novel, high-throughput, computational workflow system, 4,710 ES proteins from 452,134 ESTs derived from 39 different species of nematodes, parasitic in animals (including humans) or plants. In total, 2,632, 786, and 1,292 ES proteins were predicted for animal-, human-, and plant-parasitic nematodes. Subsequently, we systematically analysed ES proteins using computational methods. Of these 4,710 proteins, 2,490 (52.8%) had orthologues in Caenorhabditis elegans, whereas 621 (13.8%) appeared to be novel, currently having no significant match to any molecule available in public databases. Of the C. elegans homologues, 267 had strong “loss-of-function” phenotypes by RNA interference (RNAi) in this nematode. We could functionally classify 1,948 (41.3%) sequences using the Gene Ontology (GO) terms, establish pathway associations for 573 (12.2%) sequences using Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and identify protein interaction partners for 1,774 (37.6%) molecules. We also mapped 758 (16.1%) proteins to protein domains including the nematode-specific protein family “transthyretin-like” and “chromadorea ALT,” considered as vaccine candidates against filariasis in humans. Conclusions We report the large-scale analysis of ES proteins inferred from EST data for a range of parasitic nematodes. This set of ES proteins provides an inventory of known and novel members of ES proteins as a

  9. Judy Estes Hall (1940-2015).

    PubMed

    Sammons, Morgan T; Boucher, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    Presents an obituary for Judy Estes Hall, who passed away on November 24, 2015. Hall served as the Executive Officer of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists until her retirement in 2013. She is a recognized expert in the development of education and training standards for the profession of psychology, she also made significant contributions in the field of international psychology, where she was a renowned expert in cross-national credentialing and an advocate for commonality in licensing standards. She was the coauthor of one edited volume and author of more than 60 journal articles, book chapters, and professional publications. A passionate advocate for the advancement of women in psychology, a devoted mother and grandmother, a connoisseur of wine and international traveler extraordinaire, she touched the personal and professional lives of many. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Utility of EST-derived SSR in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and Arachis wild species

    PubMed Central

    Liang, Xuanqiang; Chen, Xiaoping; Hong, Yanbin; Liu, Haiyan; Zhou, Guiyuan; Li, Shaoxiong; Guo, Baozhu

    2009-01-01

    Background Lack of sufficient molecular markers hinders current genetic research in peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.). It is necessary to develop more molecular markers for potential use in peanut genetic research. With the development of peanut EST projects, a vast amount of available EST sequence data has been generated. These data offered an opportunity to identify SSR in ESTs by data mining. Results In this study, we investigated 24,238 ESTs for the identification and development of SSR markers. In total, 881 SSRs were identified from 780 SSR-containing unique ESTs. On an average, one SSR was found per 7.3 kb of EST sequence with tri-nucleotide motifs (63.9%) being the most abundant followed by di- (32.7%), tetra- (1.7%), hexa- (1.0%) and penta-nucleotide (0.7%) repeat types. The top six motifs included AG/TC (27.7%), AAG/TTC (17.4%), AAT/TTA (11.9%), ACC/TGG (7.72%), ACT/TGA (7.26%) and AT/TA (6.3%). Based on the 780 SSR-containing ESTs, a total of 290 primer pairs were successfully designed and used for validation of the amplification and assessment of the polymorphism among 22 genotypes of cultivated peanuts and 16 accessions of wild species. The results showed that 251 primer pairs yielded amplification products, of which 26 and 221 primer pairs exhibited polymorphism among the cultivated and wild species examined, respectively. Two to four alleles were found in cultivated peanuts, while 3–8 alleles presented in wild species. The apparent broad polymorphism was further confirmed by cloning and sequencing of amplified alleles. Sequence analysis of selected amplified alleles revealed that allelic diversity could be attributed mainly to differences in repeat type and length in the microsatellite regions. In addition, a few single base mutations were observed in the microsatellite flanking regions. Conclusion This study gives an insight into the frequency, type and distribution of peanut EST-SSRs and demonstrates successful development of EST-SSR markers in

  11. Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis of the pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and B. mucronatus.

    PubMed

    Kikuchi, Taisei; Aikawa, Takuya; Kosaka, Hajime; Pritchard, Leighton; Ogura, Nobuo; Jones, John T

    2007-09-01

    Most Bursaphelenchus species feed on fungi that colonise dead or dying trees. However, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is unique in that in addition to feeding on fungi it has the capacity to be a parasite of live pine trees. We present an analysis of over 13,000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from B. xylophilus and, by way of contrast, over 3000 ESTs from a closely related species that does not parasitise plants as readily; B. mucronatus. Four libraries from B. xylophilus, from a variety of life stages including fungal feeding nematodes, nematodes extracted from plants and dauer-like stage nematodes, and one library from B. mucronatus were constructed and used to generate ESTs. Contig analysis showed that the 13,327 B. xylophilus ESTs could be grouped into 2110 contigs and 4377 singletons giving a total of 6487 identified genes. Similarly the 3193 B. mucronatus ESTs yielded a total of 2219 identified genes from 425 contigs and 1794 singletons. A variety of proteins potentially important in the parasitic process of B. xylophilus and B. mucronatus, including plant and fungal cell wall degrading enzymes and a novel gene potentially encoding a expansin-like protein that may disrupt non-covalent bonds in the plant cell wall were identified in the libraries. Additionally several gene candidates potentially involved in dauer entry or maintenance were also identified in the EST dataset. The EST sequences from this study will provide a solid base for future research on the biology, pathogenicity and evolutionary history of this nematode group.

  12. EVER-EST: a virtual research environment for Earth Sciences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marelli, Fulvio; Albani, Mirko; Glaves, Helen

    2016-04-01

    There is an increasing requirement for researchers to work collaboratively using common resources whilst being geographically dispersed. By creating a virtual research environment (VRE) using a service oriented architecture (SOA) tailored to the needs of Earth Science (ES) communities, the EVEREST project will provide a range of both generic and domain specific data management services to support a dynamic approach to collaborative research. EVER-EST will provide the means to overcome existing barriers to sharing of Earth Science data and information allowing research teams to discover, access, share and process heterogeneous data, algorithms, results and experiences within and across their communities, including those domains beyond Earth Science. Researchers will be able to seamlessly manage both the data involved in their computationally intensive disciplines and the scientific methods applied in their observations and modelling, which lead to the specific results that need to be attributable, validated and shared both within the community and more widely e.g. in the form of scholarly communications. Central to the EVEREST approach is the concept of the Research Object (RO) , which provides a semantically rich mechanism to aggregate related resources about a scientific investigation so that they can be shared together using a single unique identifier. Although several e-laboratories are incorporating the research object concept in their infrastructure, the EVER-EST VRE will be the first infrastructure to leverage the concept of Research Objects and their application in observational rather than experimental disciplines. Development of the EVEREST VRE will leverage the results of several previous projects which have produced state-of-the-art technologies for scientific data management and curation as well those which have developed models, techniques and tools for the preservation of scientific methods and their implementation in computational forms such as

  13. From biomedicine to natural history research: EST resources for ambystomatid salamanders

    PubMed Central

    Putta, Srikrishna; Smith, Jeramiah J; Walker, John A; Rondet, Mathieu; Weisrock, David W; Monaghan, James; Samuels, Amy K; Kump, Kevin; King, David C; Maness, Nicholas J; Habermann, Bianca; Tanaka, Elly; Bryant, Susan V; Gardiner, David M; Parichy, David M; Voss, S Randal

    2004-01-01

    Background Establishing genomic resources for closely related species will provide comparative insights that are crucial for understanding diversity and variability at multiple levels of biological organization. We developed ESTs for Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) and Eastern tiger salamander (A. tigrinum tigrinum), species with deep and diverse research histories. Results Approximately 40,000 quality cDNA sequences were isolated for these species from various tissues, including regenerating limb and tail. These sequences and an existing set of 16,030 cDNA sequences for A. mexicanum were processed to yield 35,413 and 20,599 high quality ESTs for A. mexicanum and A. t. tigrinum, respectively. Because the A. t. tigrinum ESTs were obtained primarily from a normalized library, an approximately equal number of contigs were obtained for each species, with 21,091 unique contigs identified overall. The 10,592 contigs that showed significant similarity to sequences from the human RefSeq database reflected a diverse array of molecular functions and biological processes, with many corresponding to genes expressed during spinal cord injury in rat and fin regeneration in zebrafish. To demonstrate the utility of these EST resources, we searched databases to identify probes for regeneration research, characterized intra- and interspecific nucleotide polymorphism, saturated a human – Ambystoma synteny group with marker loci, and extended PCR primer sets designed for A. mexicanum / A. t. tigrinum orthologues to a related tiger salamander species. Conclusions Our study highlights the value of developing resources in traditional model systems where the likelihood of information transfer to multiple, closely related taxa is high, thus simultaneously enabling both laboratory and natural history research. PMID:15310388

  14. The EST Model for Predicting Progressive Damage and Failure of Open Hole Bending Specimens

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Joseph, Ashith P. K.; Waas, Anthony M.; Pineda, Evan J.

    2016-01-01

    Progressive damage and failure in open hole composite laminate coupons subjected to flexural loading is modeled using Enhanced Schapery Theory (EST). Previous studies have demonstrated that EST can accurately predict the strength of open hole coupons under remote tensile and compressive loading states. This homogenized modeling approach uses single composite shell elements to represent the entire laminate in the thickness direction and significantly reduces computational cost. Therefore, when delaminations are not of concern or are active in the post-peak regime, the version of EST presented here is a good engineering tool for predicting deformation response. Standard coupon level tests provides all the input data needed for the model and they are interpreted in conjunction with finite element (FE) based simulations. Open hole bending test results of three different IM7/8552 carbon fiber composite layups agree well with EST predictions. The model is able to accurately capture the curvature change and deformation localization in the specimen at and during the post catastrophic load drop event.

  15. EST analysis in Ginkgo biloba: an assessment of conserved developmental regulators and gymnosperm specific genes

    PubMed Central

    Brenner, Eric D; Katari, Manpreet S; Stevenson, Dennis W; Rudd, Stephen A; Douglas, Andrew W; Moss, Walter N; Twigg, Richard W; Runko, Suzan J; Stellari, Giulia M; McCombie, WR; Coruzzi, Gloria M

    2005-01-01

    Background Ginkgo biloba L. is the only surviving member of one of the oldest living seed plant groups with medicinal, spiritual and horticultural importance worldwide. As an evolutionary relic, it displays many characters found in the early, extinct seed plants and extant cycads. To establish a molecular base to understand the evolution of seeds and pollen, we created a cDNA library and EST dataset from the reproductive structures of male (microsporangiate), female (megasporangiate), and vegetative organs (leaves) of Ginkgo biloba. Results RNA from newly emerged male and female reproductive organs and immature leaves was used to create three distinct cDNA libraries from which 6,434 ESTs were generated. These 6,434 ESTs from Ginkgo biloba were clustered into 3,830 unigenes. A comparison of our Ginkgo unigene set against the fully annotated genomes of rice and Arabidopsis, and all available ESTs in Genbank revealed that 256 Ginkgo unigenes match only genes among the gymnosperms and non-seed plants – many with multiple matches to genes in non-angiosperm plants. Conversely, another group of unigenes in Gingko had highly significant homology to transcription factors in angiosperms involved in development, including MADS box genes as well as post-transcriptional regulators. Several of the conserved developmental genes found in Ginkgo had top BLAST homology to cycad genes. We also note here the presence of ESTs in G. biloba similar to genes that to date have only been found in gymnosperms and an additional 22 Ginkgo genes common only to genes from cycads. Conclusion Our analysis of an EST dataset from G. biloba revealed genes potentially unique to gymnosperms. Many of these genes showed homology to fully sequenced clones from our cycad EST dataset found in common only with gymnosperms. Other Ginkgo ESTs are similar to developmental regulators in higher plants. This work sets the stage for future studies on Ginkgo to better understand seed and pollen evolution, and to

  16. QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Volume 6

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lewis, Pattie

    2011-01-01

    QuEST is a publication of the NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM). This issue contains brief articles on: Risk Identification and Mitigation, Material Management and Substitution Efforts--Hexavalent Chrome-free Coatings and Low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Coatings, Lead-Free Electronics, Corn-Based Depainting Media; Alternative Energy Efforts Hydrogen Sensors and Solar Air Conditioning. Other TEERM Efforts include: Energy and Water Management and Remediation Technology Collaboration.

  17. GarlicESTdb: an online database and mining tool for garlic EST sequences.

    PubMed

    Kim, Dae-Won; Jung, Tae-Sung; Nam, Seong-Hyeuk; Kwon, Hyuk-Ryul; Kim, Aeri; Chae, Sung-Hwa; Choi, Sang-Haeng; Kim, Dong-Wook; Kim, Ryong Nam; Park, Hong-Seog

    2009-05-18

    Allium sativum., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus (Allium), which is a large and diverse one containing over 1,250 species. Its close relatives include chives, onion, leek and shallot. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for culinary, medicinal use and health benefits. Currently, the interest in garlic is highly increasing due to nutritional and pharmaceutical value including high blood pressure and cholesterol, atherosclerosis and cancer. For all that, there are no comprehensive databases available for Expressed Sequence Tags(EST) of garlic for gene discovery and future efforts of genome annotation. That is why we developed a new garlic database and applications to enable comprehensive analysis of garlic gene expression. GarlicESTdb is an integrated database and mining tool for large-scale garlic (Allium sativum) EST sequencing. A total of 21,595 ESTs collected from an in-house cDNA library were used to construct the database. The analysis pipeline is an automated system written in JAVA and consists of the following components: automatic preprocessing of EST reads, assembly of raw sequences, annotation of the assembled sequences, storage of the analyzed information into MySQL databases, and graphic display of all processed data. A web application was implemented with the latest J2EE (Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition) software technology (JSP/EJB/JavaServlet) for browsing and querying the database, for creation of dynamic web pages on the client side, and for mapping annotated enzymes to KEGG pathways, the AJAX framework was also used partially. The online resources, such as putative annotation, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and tandem repeat data sets, can be searched by text, explored on the website, searched using BLAST, and downloaded. To archive more significant BLAST results, a curation system was introduced with which biologists can easily edit best-hit annotation information for others to view. The Garlic

  18. Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of Est25: a ketoprofen-specific hormone-sensitive lipase

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kim, SeungBum; Joo, Sangbum; Yoon, Hyun C.

    2007-07-01

    Est25, a ketoprofen-specific hormone-sensitive lipase from a metagenomic library, was crystallized and diffraction data were collected to 1.49 Å resolution. Ketoprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, inhibits the synthesis of prostaglandin. A novel hydrolase (Est25) with high ketoprofen specificity has previously been identified using a metagenomic library from environmental samples. Recombinant Est25 protein with a histidine tag at the N-terminus was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified in a homogenous form. Est25 was crystallized from 2.4 M sodium malonate pH 7.0 and X-ray diffraction data were collected to 1.49 Å using synchrotron radiation. The crystals belong to the monoclinic space groupmore » C2, with unit-cell parameters a = 197.8, b = 95.2, c = 99.4 Å, β = 97.1°.« less

  19. EST! environmentally sustainable transport issue paper : soft measures and transport

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2002-12-01

    The purpose of this paper was to help guide and even provoke discussion at the workshop to be held in Berlin on 5-6 December, 2002, entitled Communicating Environmentally Sustainable Transport-The roles of soft measures in achieving EST. It's easier ...

  20. Cloning and characterization of a pyrethroid pesticide decomposing esterase gene, Est3385, from Rhodopseudomonas palustris PSB-S.

    PubMed

    Luo, Xiangwen; Zhang, Deyong; Zhou, Xuguo; Du, Jiao; Zhang, Songbai; Liu, Yong

    2018-05-09

    Full length open reading frame of pyrethroid detoxification gene, Est3385, contains 963 nucleotides. This gene was identified and cloned based on the genome sequence of Rhodopseudomonas palustris PSB-S available at the GneBank. The predicted amino acid sequence of Est3385 shared moderate identities (30-46%) with the known homologous esterases. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Est3385 was a member in the esterase family I. Recombinant Est3385 was heterologous expressed in E. coli, purified and characterized for its substrate specificity, kinetics and stability under various conditions. The optimal temperature and pH for Est3385 were 35 °C and 6.0, respectively. This enzyme could detoxify various pyrethroid pesticides and degrade the optimal substrate fenpropathrin with a Km and Vmax value of 0.734 ± 0.013 mmol·l -1 and 0.918 ± 0.025 U·µg -1 , respectively. No cofactor was found to affect Est3385 activity but substantial reduction of enzymatic activity was observed when metal ions were applied. Taken together, a new pyrethroid degradation esterase was identified and characterized. Modification of Est3385 with protein engineering toolsets should enhance its potential for field application to reduce the pesticide residue from agroecosystems.

  1. Esquizofrenia y trastorno en el consumo de sustancias: prevalencia y characterísticas sociodemográficas en la población Latina

    PubMed Central

    Jiménez-Castro, Lorena; Raventós-Vorst, Henriette; Escamilla, Michael

    2012-01-01

    El interés por comprender la co-morbilidad de la esquizofrenia y el trastorno en el uso de sustancias, ha aumentado debido al incremento de este diagnóstico, a los efectos negativos observados en el sujeto y a los costos en los servicios de salud. Este trastorno dual puede tener efectos dramáticos en el curso clínico del trastorno psicótico tales como: mayores recaídas, re-hospitalizaciones, síntomas más severos, no adherencia al tratamiento antipsicótico, cambios marcados del humor, aumento en el grado de hostilidad e ideación suicida, así como alteraciones en otras áreas del funcionamiento incluyendo violencia, victimización, indigencia y problemas legales. La literatura proveniente en particular de Estados Unidos y Europa sugiere que el rango de prevalencia para este diagnóstico puede oscilar entre el 10% hasta el 70%. En este estudio, revisamos la prevalencia del diagnóstico dual de esquizofrenia y trastorno en el uso sustancias, así como sus características sociodemográficas, con base en la literatura disponible alrededor del mundo dando énfasis en la poblacion latina. A pesar de que este diagnóstico es ampliamente aceptado, se conoce poco sobre su prevalencia en la población latina, sobre los factores ambientales, demográficos, clínicos y otras características de estos individuos. Un mejor conocimiento sobre este diagnóstico permitiría mejorar los métodos para la detección y adecuada valoración del trastorno en el uso de sustancias en personas con trastornos metales severos como la esquizofrenia. PMID:21404151

  2. JANE: efficient mapping of prokaryotic ESTs and variable length sequence reads on related template genomes

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Background ESTs or variable sequence reads can be available in prokaryotic studies well before a complete genome is known. Use cases include (i) transcriptome studies or (ii) single cell sequencing of bacteria. Without suitable software their further analysis and mapping would have to await finalization of the corresponding genome. Results The tool JANE rapidly maps ESTs or variable sequence reads in prokaryotic sequencing and transcriptome efforts to related template genomes. It provides an easy-to-use graphics interface for information retrieval and a toolkit for EST or nucleotide sequence function prediction. Furthermore, we developed for rapid mapping an enhanced sequence alignment algorithm which reassembles and evaluates high scoring pairs provided from the BLAST algorithm. Rapid assembly on and replacement of the template genome by sequence reads or mapped ESTs is achieved. This is illustrated (i) by data from Staphylococci as well as from a Blattabacteria sequencing effort, (ii) mapping single cell sequencing reads is shown for poribacteria to sister phylum representative Rhodopirellula Baltica SH1. The algorithm has been implemented in a web-server accessible at http://jane.bioapps.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de. Conclusion Rapid prokaryotic EST mapping or mapping of sequence reads is achieved applying JANE even without knowing the cognate genome sequence. PMID:19943962

  3. The QuEST for multi-sensor big data ISR situation understanding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rogers, Steven; Culbertson, Jared; Oxley, Mark; Clouse, H. Scott; Abayowa, Bernard; Patrick, James; Blasch, Erik; Trumpfheller, John

    2016-05-01

    The challenges for providing war fighters with the best possible actionable information from diverse sensing modalities using advances in big-data and machine learning are addressed in this paper. We start by presenting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) related big-data challenges associated with the Third Offset Strategy. Current approaches to big-data are shown to be limited with respect to reasoning/understanding. We present a discussion of what meaning making and understanding require. We posit that for human-machine collaborative solutions to address the requirements for the strategy a new approach, Qualia Exploitation of Sensor Technology (QuEST), will be required. The requirements for developing a QuEST theory of knowledge are discussed and finally, an engineering approach for achieving situation understanding is presented.

  4. First Microsatellite Markers Developed from Cupuassu ESTs: Application in Diversity Analysis and Cross-Species Transferability to Cacao.

    PubMed

    Ferraz Dos Santos, Lucas; Moreira Fregapani, Roberta; Falcão, Loeni Ludke; Togawa, Roberto Coiti; Costa, Marcos Mota do Carmo; Lopes, Uilson Vanderlei; Peres Gramacho, Karina; Alves, Rafael Moyses; Micheli, Fabienne; Marcellino, Lucilia Helena

    2016-01-01

    The cupuassu tree (Theobroma grandiflorum) (Willd. ex Spreng.) Schum. is a fruitful species from the Amazon with great economical potential, due to the multiple uses of its fruit´s pulp and seeds in the food and cosmetic industries, including the production of cupulate, an alternative to chocolate. In order to support the cupuassu breeding program and to select plants presenting both pulp/seed quality and fungal disease resistance, SSRs from Next Generation Sequencing ESTs were obtained and used in diversity analysis. From 8,330 ESTs, 1,517 contained one or more SSRs (1,899 SSRs identified). The most abundant motifs identified in the EST-SSRs were hepta- and trinucleotides, and they were found with a minimum and maximum of 2 and 19 repeats, respectively. From the 1,517 ESTs containing SSRs, 70 ESTs were selected based on their functional annotation, focusing on pulp and seed quality, as well as resistance to pathogens. The 70 ESTs selected contained 77 SSRs, and among which, 11 were polymorphic in cupuassu genotypes. These EST-SSRs were able to discriminate the cupuassu genotype in relation to resistance/susceptibility to witches' broom disease, as well as to pulp quality (SST/ATT values). Finally, we showed that these markers were transferable to cacao genotypes, and that genome availability might be used as a predictive tool for polymorphism detection and primer design useful for both Theobroma species. To our knowledge, this is the first report involving EST-SSRs from cupuassu and is also a pioneer in the analysis of marker transferability from cupuassu to cacao. Moreover, these markers might contribute to develop or saturate the cupuassu and cacao genetic maps, respectively.

  5. First Microsatellite Markers Developed from Cupuassu ESTs: Application in Diversity Analysis and Cross-Species Transferability to Cacao

    PubMed Central

    Ferraz dos Santos, Lucas; Moreira Fregapani, Roberta; Falcão, Loeni Ludke; Togawa, Roberto Coiti; Costa, Marcos Mota do Carmo; Lopes, Uilson Vanderlei; Peres Gramacho, Karina; Alves, Rafael Moyses

    2016-01-01

    The cupuassu tree (Theobroma grandiflorum) (Willd. ex Spreng.) Schum. is a fruitful species from the Amazon with great economical potential, due to the multiple uses of its fruit´s pulp and seeds in the food and cosmetic industries, including the production of cupulate, an alternative to chocolate. In order to support the cupuassu breeding program and to select plants presenting both pulp/seed quality and fungal disease resistance, SSRs from Next Generation Sequencing ESTs were obtained and used in diversity analysis. From 8,330 ESTs, 1,517 contained one or more SSRs (1,899 SSRs identified). The most abundant motifs identified in the EST-SSRs were hepta- and trinucleotides, and they were found with a minimum and maximum of 2 and 19 repeats, respectively. From the 1,517 ESTs containing SSRs, 70 ESTs were selected based on their functional annotation, focusing on pulp and seed quality, as well as resistance to pathogens. The 70 ESTs selected contained 77 SSRs, and among which, 11 were polymorphic in cupuassu genotypes. These EST-SSRs were able to discriminate the cupuassu genotype in relation to resistance/susceptibility to witches’ broom disease, as well as to pulp quality (SST/ATT values). Finally, we showed that these markers were transferable to cacao genotypes, and that genome availability might be used as a predictive tool for polymorphism detection and primer design useful for both Theobroma species. To our knowledge, this is the first report involving EST-SSRs from cupuassu and is also a pioneer in the analysis of marker transferability from cupuassu to cacao. Moreover, these markers might contribute to develop or saturate the cupuassu and cacao genetic maps, respectively. PMID:26949967

  6. Generation and Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) from Halophyte Atriplex canescens to Explore Salt-Responsive Related Genes

    PubMed Central

    Li, Jingtao; Sun, Xinhua; Yu, Gang; Jia, Chengguo; Liu, Jinliang; Pan, Hongyu

    2014-01-01

    Little information is available on gene expression profiling of halophyte A. canescens. To elucidate the molecular mechanism for stress tolerance in A. canescens, a full-length complementary DNA library was generated from A. canescens exposed to 400 mM NaCl, and provided 343 high-quality ESTs. In an evaluation of 343 valid EST sequences in the cDNA library, 197 unigenes were assembled, among which 190 unigenes (83.1% ESTs) were identified according to their significant similarities with proteins of known functions. All the 343 EST sequences have been deposited in the dbEST GenBank under accession numbers JZ535802 to JZ536144. According to Arabidopsis MIPS functional category and GO classifications, we identified 193 unigenes of the 311 annotations EST, representing 72 non-redundant unigenes sharing similarities with genes related to the defense response. The sets of ESTs obtained provide a rich genetic resource and 17 up-regulated genes related to salt stress resistance were identified by qRT-PCR. Six of these genes may contribute crucially to earlier and later stage salt stress resistance. Additionally, among the 343 unigenes sequences, 22 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were also identified contributing to the study of A. canescens resources. PMID:24960361

  7. Development and Application of a Salmonid EST Database and cDNA Microarray: Data Mining and Interspecific Hybridization Characteristics

    PubMed Central

    Rise, Matthew L.; von Schalburg, Kristian R.; Brown, Gordon D.; Mawer, Melanie A.; Devlin, Robert H.; Kuipers, Nathanael; Busby, Maura; Beetz-Sargent, Marianne; Alberto, Roberto; Gibbs, A. Ross; Hunt, Peter; Shukin, Robert; Zeznik, Jeffrey A.; Nelson, Colleen; Jones, Simon R.M.; Smailus, Duane E.; Jones, Steven J.M.; Schein, Jacqueline E.; Marra, Marco A.; Butterfield, Yaron S.N.; Stott, Jeff M.; Ng, Siemon H.S.; Davidson, William S.; Koop, Ben F.

    2004-01-01

    We report 80,388 ESTs from 23 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) cDNA libraries (61,819 ESTs), 6 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) cDNA libraries (14,544 ESTs), 2 chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) cDNA libraries (1317 ESTs), 2 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) cDNA libraries (1243 ESTs), and 2 lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) cDNA libraries (1465 ESTs). The majority of these are 3′ sequences, allowing discrimination between paralogs arising from a recent genome duplication in the salmonid lineage. Sequence assembly reveals 28,710 different S. salar, 8981 O. mykiss, 1085 O. tshawytscha, 520 O. nerka, and 1176 C. clupeaformis putative transcripts. We annotate the submitted portion of our EST database by molecular function. Higher- and lower-molecular-weight fractions of libraries are shown to contain distinct gene sets, and higher rates of gene discovery are associated with higher-molecular weight libraries. Pyloric caecum library group annotations indicate this organ may function in redox control and as a barrier against systemic uptake of xenobiotics. A microarray is described, containing 7356 salmonid elements representing 3557 different cDNAs. Analyses of cross-species hybridizations to this cDNA microarray indicate that this resource may be used for studies involving all salmonids. PMID:14962987

  8. The barley EST DNA Replication and Repair Database (bEST-DRRD) as a tool for the identification of the genes involved in DNA replication and repair.

    PubMed

    Gruszka, Damian; Marzec, Marek; Szarejko, Iwona

    2012-06-14

    The high level of conservation of genes that regulate DNA replication and repair indicates that they may serve as a source of information on the origin and evolution of the species and makes them a reliable system for the identification of cross-species homologs. Studies that had been conducted to date shed light on the processes of DNA replication and repair in bacteria, yeast and mammals. However, there is still much to be learned about the process of DNA damage repair in plants. These studies, which were conducted mainly using bioinformatics tools, enabled the list of genes that participate in various pathways of DNA repair in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh to be outlined; however, information regarding these mechanisms in crop plants is still very limited. A similar, functional approach is particularly difficult for a species whose complete genomic sequences are still unavailable. One of the solutions is to apply ESTs (Expressed Sequence Tags) as the basis for gene identification. For the construction of the barley EST DNA Replication and Repair Database (bEST-DRRD), presented here, the Arabidopsis nucleotide and protein sequences involved in DNA replication and repair were used to browse for and retrieve the deposited sequences, derived from four barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) sequence databases, including the "Barley Genome version 0.05" database (encompassing ca. 90% of barley coding sequences) and from two databases covering the complete genomes of two monocot models: Oryza sativa L. and Brachypodium distachyon L. in order to identify homologous genes. Sequences of the categorised Arabidopsis queries are used for browsing the repositories, which are located on the ViroBLAST platform. The bEST-DRRD is currently used in our project during the identification and validation of the barley genes involved in DNA repair. The presented database provides information about the Arabidopsis genes involved in DNA replication and repair, their expression patterns and models

  9. Preparing and Analyzing Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) Library for the Mammary Tissue of Local Turkish Kivircik Sheep

    PubMed Central

    Omeroglu Ulu, Zehra; Ulu, Salih; Un, Cemal; Ozdem Oztabak, Kemal; Altunatmaz, Kemal

    2017-01-01

    Kivircik sheep is an important local Turkish sheep according to its meat quality and milk productivity. The aim of this study was to analyze gene expression profiles of both prenatal and postnatal stages for the Kivircik sheep. Therefore, two different cDNA libraries, which were taken from the same Kivircik sheep mammary gland tissue at prenatal and postnatal stages, were constructed. Total 3072 colonies which were randomly selected from the two libraries were sequenced for developing a sheep ESTs collection. We used Phred/Phrap computer programs for analysis of the raw EST and readable EST sequences were assembled with the CAP3 software. Putative functions of all unique sequences and statistical analysis were determined by Geneious software. Total 422 ESTs have over 80% similarity to known sequences of other organisms in NCBI classified by Panther database for the Gene Ontology (GO) category. By comparing gene expression profiles, we observed some putative genes that may be relative to reproductive performance or play important roles in milk synthesis and secretion. A total of 2414 ESTs have been deposited to the NCBI GenBank database (GW996847–GW999260). EST data in this study have provided a new source of information to functional genome studies of sheep. PMID:28239610

  10. Exploring the temporal structure of heterochronous sequences using TempEst (formerly Path-O-Gen).

    PubMed

    Rambaut, Andrew; Lam, Tommy T; Max Carvalho, Luiz; Pybus, Oliver G

    2016-01-01

    Gene sequences sampled at different points in time can be used to infer molecular phylogenies on a natural timescale of months or years, provided that the sequences in question undergo measurable amounts of evolutionary change between sampling times. Data sets with this property are termed heterochronous and have become increasingly common in several fields of biology, most notably the molecular epidemiology of rapidly evolving viruses. Here we introduce the cross-platform software tool, TempEst (formerly known as Path-O-Gen), for the visualization and analysis of temporally sampled sequence data. Given a molecular phylogeny and the dates of sampling for each sequence, TempEst uses an interactive regression approach to explore the association between genetic divergence through time and sampling dates. TempEst can be used to (1) assess whether there is sufficient temporal signal in the data to proceed with phylogenetic molecular clock analysis, and (2) identify sequences whose genetic divergence and sampling date are incongruent. Examination of the latter can help identify data quality problems, including errors in data annotation, sample contamination, sequence recombination, or alignment error. We recommend that all users of the molecular clock models implemented in BEAST first check their data using TempEst prior to analysis.

  11. Mining and characterization of EST-SSR markers for Zingiber officinale Roscoe with transferability to other species of Zingiberaceae.

    PubMed

    Awasthi, Praveen; Singh, Ashish; Sheikh, Gulfam; Mahajan, Vidushi; Gupta, Ajai Prakash; Gupta, Suphla; Bedi, Yashbir S; Gandhi, Sumit G

    2017-10-01

    Zingiber officinale is a model spice herb, well known for its medicinal value. It is primarily a vegetatively propagated commercial crop. However, considerable diversity in its morphology, fiber content and chemoprofiles has been reported. The present study explores the utility of EST-derived markers in studying genetic diversity in different accessions of Z. officinale and their cross transferability within the Zingiberaceae family. A total of 38,115 ESTs sequences were assembled to generate 7850 contigs and 10,762 singletons. SSRs were searched in the unigenes and 515 SSR-containing ESTs were identified with a frequency of 1 SSR per 25.21 kb of the genome. These ESTs were also annotated using BLAST2GO. Primers were designed for 349 EST-SSRs and 25 primer pairs were randomly picked for EST SSR study. Out of these, 16 primer pairs could be optimized for amplification in different accessions of Z. officinale as well as other species belonging to Zingiberaceae. GES454, GES466, GES480 and GES486 markers were found to exhibit 100% cross-transferability among different members of Zingiberaceae.

  12. Characterization and multiplexing of EST-SSR primers in Cynodon (Poaceae) species1.

    PubMed

    Jewell, Margaret C; Frere, Celine H; Prentis, Peter J; Lambrides, Christopher J; Godwin, Ian D

    2010-10-01

    Cynodon species are multiple-use grasses that display varying levels of adaptation to biotic and abiotic stress. Previously identified EST-SSR primers were characterized and multiplexed to assess the level of genetic diversity present within a collection of almost 1200 Cynodon accessions from across Australia. • Two multiplex reactions were developed comprising a total of 16 EST-SSR markers. All SSR markers amplified across different Cynodon species and different levels of ploidy. The number of alleles ranged from one to eight per locus and the total number of alleles for the germplasm collection was 79. • The 16 markers show sufficient variation for the characterization of Cynodon core collections and analysis of population genetic diversity in Cynodon grasses.

  13. Evolución Dinámica de Cúmulos Estelares Abiertos

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de La Fuente Marcos, R.

    Las estrellas que observamos no se formaron aisladamente, sino que lo hicieron en grupos o cúmulos. Estos sistemas estelares recibenel nombre de cúmulos estelares abiertos o galácticos cuando están constituidos por estrellas de la Población I. Los cúmulos abiertos se localizan preferentemente en el plano galáctico, y en muchos de ellos está teniendo lugar aún una activa formación estelar. El propósito principal de esta tesis doctoral es el estudio de la evolución dinámica de estos sistemas estelares por medio de simulaciones numéricas y de la comparación de sus resultados con datos observacionales. Con este fin se analizan los efectos que, sobre la dinámica de los cúmulos, ejercen varios fenómenos de interés astrofísico tales como el campo gravitatorio galáctico, la pérdida de masa causada por la evolución estelar y la presencia de binarias primordiales. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de más de un centenar de modelos de cúmulos, con poblaciones comprendidas en el intervalo [100, 10.000] estrellas, calculados con NBODY5, un programa estándar en el campo de la Dinámica Estelar Experimental. De los mismos se deduce que el mecanismo principal que rige la dinámica de los cúmulos abiertos es la evolución estelar de su distribución de masas, encontrándose un comportamiento diferencial fuertemente dependiente de la población inicial del cúmulo. Los mecanismos responsables de la desintegración de los cúmulos abiertos son analizados en detalle, proponiéndose un modelo analítico que ajusta razonablemente los resultados de las simulaciones. Además, y con el fin de explicar el elevado número de sistemas múltiples observados en cúmulos abiertos, se estudian los efectos que, sobre los mismos, ejerce la presencia de una cierta fracción de binarias primordiales. El papel de las binarias tambiín depende de la riqueza del cúmulo y sus efectos se interrelacionan con aquellos debidos a la evolución estelar. Por último, se

  14. EST Analysis of Hop Glandular Trichomes Identifies an O-Methyltransferase That Catalyzes the Biosynthesis of Xanthohumol[W][OA

    PubMed Central

    Nagel, Jana; Culley, Lana K.; Lu, Yuping; Liu, Enwu; Matthews, Paul D.; Stevens, Jan F.; Page, Jonathan E.

    2008-01-01

    The glandular trichomes (lupulin glands) of hop (Humulus lupulus) synthesize essential oils and terpenophenolic resins, including the bioactive prenylflavonoid xanthohumol. To dissect the biosynthetic processes occurring in lupulin glands, we sequenced 10,581 ESTs from four trichome-derived cDNA libraries. ESTs representing enzymes of terpenoid biosynthesis, including all of the steps of the methyl 4-erythritol phosphate pathway, were abundant in the EST data set, as were ESTs for the known type III polyketide synthases of bitter acid and xanthohumol biosynthesis. The xanthohumol biosynthetic pathway involves a key O-methylation step. Four S-adenosyl-l-methionine–dependent O-methyltransferases (OMTs) with similarity to known flavonoid-methylating enzymes were present in the EST data set. OMT1, which was the most highly expressed OMT based on EST abundance and RT-PCR analysis, performs the final reaction in xanthohumol biosynthesis by methylating desmethylxanthohumol to form xanthohumol. OMT2 accepted a broad range of substrates, including desmethylxanthohumol, but did not form xanthohumol. Mass spectrometry and proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis showed it methylated xanthohumol to 4-O-methylxanthohumol, which is not known from hop. OMT3 was inactive with all substrates tested. The lupulin gland-specific EST data set expands the genomic resources for H. lupulus and provides further insight into the metabolic specialization of glandular trichomes. PMID:18223037

  15. Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for the Pacific abalone ( Haliotis discus) via EST database mining

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhan, Aibin; Bao, Zhenmin; Wang, Mingling; Chang, Dan; Yuan, Jian; Wang, Xiaolong; Hu, Xiaoli; Liang, Chengzhu; Hu, Jingjie

    2008-05-01

    The EST database of the Pacific abalone ( Haliotis discus) was mined for developing microsatellite markers. A total of 1476 EST sequences were registered in GenBank when data mining was performed. Fifty sequences (approximately 3.4%) were found to contain one or more microsatellites. Based on the length and GC content of the flanking regions, cluster analysis and BLASTN, 13 microsatellite-containing ESTs were selected for PCR primer design. The results showed that 10 out of 13 primer pairs could amplify scorable PCR products and showed polymorphism. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 13 and the values of H o and H e varied from 0.1222 to 0.8611 and 0.2449 to 0.9311, respectively. No significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) between any pairs of these loci was found, and 6 of 10 loci conformed to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). These EST-SSRs are therefore potential tools for studies of intraspecies variation and hybrid identification.

  16. [EST-SSR identification, markers development of Ligusticum chuanxiong based on Ligusticum chuanxiong transcriptome sequences].

    PubMed

    Yuan, Can; Peng, Fang; Yang, Ze-Mao; Zhong, Wen-Juan; Mou, Fang-Sheng; Gong, Yi-Yun; Ji, Pei-Cheng; Pu, De-Qiang; Huang, Hai-Yan; Yang, Xiao; Zhang, Chao

    2017-09-01

    Ligusticum chuanxiong is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine plant. The study on its molecular markers development and germplasm resources is very important. In this study, we obtained 24 422 unigenes by assembling transcriptome sequencing reads of L. chuanxiong root. EST-SSR was detected and 4 073 SSR loci were identified. EST-SSR distribution and characteristic analysis results showed that the mono-nucleotide repeats were the main repeat types, accounting for 41.0%. In addition, the sequences containing SSR were functionally annotated in Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway and were assigned to 49 GO categories, 242 KEGG pathways, among them 2 201 sequences were annotated against Nr database. By validating 235 EST-SSRs,74 primer pairs were ultimately proved to have high quality amplification. Subsequently, genetic diversity analysis, UPGMA cluster analysis, PCoA analysis and population structure analysis of 34 L. chuanxiong germplasm resources were carried out with 74 primer pairs. In both UPGMA tree and PCoA results, L. chuanxiong resources were clustered into two groups, which are believed to be partial related to their geographical distribution. In this study, EST-SSRs in L. chuanxiong was firstly identified, and newly developed molecular markers would contribute significantly to further genetic diversity study, the purity detection, gene mapping, and molecular breeding. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  17. ESTminer: a Web interface for mining EST contig and cluster databases.

    PubMed

    Huang, Yecheng; Pumphrey, Janie; Gingle, Alan R

    2005-03-01

    ESTminer is a Web application and database schema for interactive mining of expressed sequence tag (EST) contig and cluster datasets. The Web interface contains a query frame that allows the selection of contigs/clusters with specific cDNA library makeup or a threshold number of members. The results are displayed as color-coded tree nodes, where the color indicates the fractional size of each cDNA library component. The nodes are expandable, revealing library statistics as well as EST or contig members, with links to sequence data, GenBank records or user configurable links. Also, the interface allows 'queries within queries' where the result set of a query is further filtered by the subsequent query. ESTminer is implemented in Java/JSP and the package, including MySQL and Oracle schema creation scripts, is available from http://cggc.agtec.uga.edu/Data/download.asp agingle@uga.edu.

  18. Identification, validation and cross-species transferability of novel Lavandula EST-SSRs.

    PubMed

    Adal, Ayelign M; Demissie, Zerihun A; Mahmoud, Soheil S

    2015-04-01

    We identified and characterized EST-SSRs with strong discrimination power against Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia . The markers also showed considerable cross-species transferability rate into six related Lavandula species. Lavenders (Lavandula) are important economical crops grown around the globe for essential oil production. In an attempt to develop genetic markers for these plants, we analyzed over 13,000 unigenes developed from L. angustifolia and L. x intermedia EST databases, and identified 3,459 simple sequence repeats (SSR), which were dominated by trinucleotides (41.2 %) and dinucleotides (31.45 %). Approximately, 19 % of the unigenes contained at least one SSR marker, over 60 % of which were localized in the UTRs. Only 252 EST-SSRs were 18 bp or longer from which 31 loci were validated, and 24 amplified discrete fragments with 85 % polymorphism in L. x intermedia and L. angustifolia. The average number of alleles in L. x intermedia and L. angustifolia were 3.42 and 3.71 per marker with average PIC values of 0.47 and 0.52, respectively. These values suggest a moderate to strong level of informativeness for the markers, with some loci producing unique fingerprints. The cross-species transferability rate of the markers ranges 50-100 % across eight species. The utility of these markers was assessed in eight Lavandula species and 15 L. angustifolia and L. x intermedia cultivars, and the dendrogram deduced from their similarity indexes successfully delineated the species into their respective sections and the cultivars into their respective species. These markers have potential for application in fingerprinting, diversity studies and marker-assisted breeding of Lavandula.

  19. Annotated ESTs from various tissues of the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens: a genomic resource for studying agricultural pests.

    PubMed

    Noda, Hiroaki; Kawai, Sawako; Koizumi, Yoko; Matsui, Kageaki; Zhang, Qiang; Furukawa, Shigetoyo; Shimomura, Michihiko; Mita, Kazuei

    2008-03-03

    The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera, Delphacidae), is a serious insect pests of rice plants. Major means of BPH control are application of agricultural chemicals and cultivation of BPH resistant rice varieties. Nevertheless, BPH strains that are resistant to agricultural chemicals have developed, and BPH strains have appeared that are virulent against the resistant rice varieties. Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis and related applications are useful to elucidate the mechanisms of resistance and virulence and to reveal physiological aspects of this non-model insect, with its poorly understood genetic background. More than 37,000 high-quality ESTs, excluding sequences of mitochondrial genome, microbial genomes, and rDNA, have been produced from 18 libraries of various BPH tissues and stages. About 10,200 clusters have been made from whole EST sequences, with average EST size of 627 bp. Among the top ten most abundantly expressed genes, three are unique and show no homology in BLAST searches. The actin gene was highly expressed in BPH, especially in the thorax. Tissue-specifically expressed genes were extracted based on the expression frequency among the libraries. An EST database is available at our web site. The EST library will provide useful information for transcriptional analyses, proteomic analyses, and gene functional analyses of BPH. Moreover, specific genes for hemimetabolous insects will be identified. The microarray fabricated based on the EST information will be useful for finding genes related to agricultural and biological problems related to this pest.

  20. Annotated ESTs from various tissues of the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens: A genomic resource for studying agricultural pests

    PubMed Central

    Noda, Hiroaki; Kawai, Sawako; Koizumi, Yoko; Matsui, Kageaki; Zhang, Qiang; Furukawa, Shigetoyo; Shimomura, Michihiko; Mita, Kazuei

    2008-01-01

    Background The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera, Delphacidae), is a serious insect pests of rice plants. Major means of BPH control are application of agricultural chemicals and cultivation of BPH resistant rice varieties. Nevertheless, BPH strains that are resistant to agricultural chemicals have developed, and BPH strains have appeared that are virulent against the resistant rice varieties. Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis and related applications are useful to elucidate the mechanisms of resistance and virulence and to reveal physiological aspects of this non-model insect, with its poorly understood genetic background. Results More than 37,000 high-quality ESTs, excluding sequences of mitochondrial genome, microbial genomes, and rDNA, have been produced from 18 libraries of various BPH tissues and stages. About 10,200 clusters have been made from whole EST sequences, with average EST size of 627 bp. Among the top ten most abundantly expressed genes, three are unique and show no homology in BLAST searches. The actin gene was highly expressed in BPH, especially in the thorax. Tissue-specifically expressed genes were extracted based on the expression frequency among the libraries. An EST database is available at our web site. Conclusion The EST library will provide useful information for transcriptional analyses, proteomic analyses, and gene functional analyses of BPH. Moreover, specific genes for hemimetabolous insects will be identified. The microarray fabricated based on the EST information will be useful for finding genes related to agricultural and biological problems related to this pest. PMID:18315884

  1. Construction and application of EST library from Setaria italica in response to dehydration stress.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jinpeng; Liu, Tingsong; Fu, Junjie; Zhu, Yun; Jia, Jinping; Zheng, Jun; Zhao, Yinhe; Zhang, Ying; Wang, Guoying

    2007-07-01

    Foxtail millet is a gramineous crop with low water requirement. Despite its high water use efficiency, less attention has been paid to the molecular genetics of foxtail millet. This article reports the construction of subtracted cDNA libraries from foxtail millet seedlings under dehydration stress and the expression profile analysis of 1947 UniESTs from the subtracted cDNA libraries by a cDNA microarray. The results showed that 95 and 57 ESTs were upregulated by dehydration stress, respectively, in roots and shoots of seedlings and that 10 and 27 ESTs were downregulated, respectively, in roots and shoots. The expression profile analysis showed that genes induced in foxtail millet roots were different from those in shoots during dehydration stress and that the early response to dehydration stress in foxtail millet roots was the activation of the glycolysis metabolism. Moreover, protein degradation pathway may also play a pivotal role in drought-tolerant responses of foxtail millet. Finally, Northern blot analysis validated well the cDNA microarray data.

  2. QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies, Volume 5

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lewis, Pattie

    2010-01-01

    This edition of the QuEST newsletter contains brief articles that discuss the NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation (TEERM) program, and the importance of collaboration, efforts in materials management and substitution for coatings for launch structures, Low volatile organic compound (VOC) Coatings Field Testing, Non-Chrome Coating Systems, Life Cycle Corrosion Testing, Lead-Free Electronics Testing and Corn Based Depainting and efforts in Pollution Control in the area of Hypergolic Propellant Destruction Evaluation, efforts in development of alternative energy in particular Hydrogen Sensors, Energy and Water Management, and efforts in remediation in the removal of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) contamination

  3. Genetic diversity in the germplasm of black pepper determined by EST-SSR markers.

    PubMed

    Wu, B D; Fan, R; Hu, L S; Wu, H S; Hao, C Y

    2016-03-18

    This study aimed to assess genetic diversity in the germplasm of black pepper from around the world using SSR markers from EST. In total, 13 markers were selected and successfully amplified the target loci across the black pepper germplasm. All the EST-SSR markers showed high levels of polymorphisms with an average polymorphism information content of 0.93. The genetic similarity coefficients among all accessions ranged from 0.724 to 1.000, with an average of 0.867. These results indicated that black pepper germplasms possess a complex genetic background and high genetic diversity. Based on a cluster analysis, 148 black pepper germplasms were grouped in two major clades: the Neotropics and the Asian tropics. Peperomia pellucida was grouped separately and distantly from all other accessions. These results generally agreed with the genetic and geographic distances. However, the Asian tropics clade did not cluster according to their geographic origins. In addition, compared with the American accessions, the Asian wild accessions and cultivated accessions grouped together, indicating a close genetic relationship. This verified the origin of black pepper. The newly developed EST-SSRs are highly valuable resources for the conservation of black pepper germplasm diversity and for black pepper breeding.

  4. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from immune tissues of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) challenged with pathogens

    PubMed Central

    Pardo, Belén G; Fernández, Carlos; Millán, Adrián; Bouza, Carmen; Vázquez-López, Araceli; Vera, Manuel; Alvarez-Dios, José A; Calaza, Manuel; Gómez-Tato, Antonio; Vázquez, María; Cabaleiro, Santiago; Magariños, Beatriz; Lemos, Manuel L; Leiro, José M; Martínez, Paulino

    2008-01-01

    Background The turbot (Scophthalmus maximus; Scophthalmidae; Pleuronectiformes) is a flatfish species of great relevance for marine aquaculture in Europe. In contrast to other cultured flatfish, very few genomic resources are available in this species. Aeromonas salmonicida and Philasterides dicentrarchi are two pathogens that affect turbot culture causing serious economic losses to the turbot industry. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms for disease resistance and host-pathogen interactions in this species. In this work, thousands of ESTs for functional genomic studies and potential markers linked to ESTs for mapping (microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) are provided. This information enabled us to obtain a preliminary view of regulated genes in response to these pathogens and it constitutes the basis for subsequent and more accurate microarray analysis. Results A total of 12584 cDNAs partially sequenced from three different cDNA libraries of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) infected with Aeromonas salmonicida, Philasterides dicentrarchi and from healthy fish were analyzed. Three immune-relevant tissues (liver, spleen and head kidney) were sampled at several time points in the infection process for library construction. The sequences were processed into 9256 high-quality sequences, which constituted the source for the turbot EST database. Clustering and assembly of these sequences, revealed 3482 different putative transcripts, 1073 contigs and 2409 singletons. BLAST searches with public databases detected significant similarity (e-value ≤ 1e-5) in 1766 (50.7%) sequences and 816 of them (23.4%) could be functionally annotated. Two hundred three of these genes (24.9%), encoding for defence/immune-related proteins, were mostly identified for the first time in turbot. Some ESTs showed significant differences in the number of transcripts when comparing the three libraries, suggesting regulation in response to these pathogens. A total of

  5. Development and application of the RE-AIM QuEST mixed methods framework for program evaluation.

    PubMed

    Forman, Jane; Heisler, Michele; Damschroder, Laura J; Kaselitz, Elizabeth; Kerr, Eve A

    2017-06-01

    To increase the likelihood of successful implementation of interventions and promote dissemination across real-world settings, it is essential to evaluate outcomes related to dimensions other than Effectiveness alone. Glasgow and colleagues' RE-AIM framework specifies four additional types of outcomes that are important to decision-makers: Reach, Adoption, Implementation (including cost), and Maintenance. To further strengthen RE-AIM, we propose integrating qualitative assessments in an expanded framework: RE-AIM Qualitative Evaluation for Systematic Translation (RE-AIM QuEST), a mixed methods framework. RE-AIM QuEST guides formative evaluation to identify real-time implementation barriers and explain how implementation context may influence translation to additional settings. RE-AIM QuEST was used to evaluate a pharmacist-led hypertension management intervention at 3 VA facilities in 2008-2009. We systematically reviewed each of the five RE-AIM dimensions and created open-ended companion questions to quantitative measures and identified qualitative and quantitative data sources, measures, and analyses. To illustrate use of the RE-AIM QuEST framework, we provide examples of real-time, coordinated use of quantitative process measures and qualitative methods to identify site-specific issues, and retrospective use of these data sources and analyses to understand variation across sites and explain outcomes. For example, in the Reach dimension, we conducted real-time measurement of enrollment across sites and used qualitative data to better understand and address barriers at a low-enrollment site. The RE-AIM QuEST framework may be a useful tool for improving interventions in real-time, for understanding retrospectively why an intervention did or did not work, and for enhancing its sustainability and translation to other settings.

  6. Differential transferability of EST-SSR primers developed from diploid species Pseudoroegneria spicata, Thinopyrum bessarabicum, and Th. elongatum

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Simple sequence repeat technology based on expressed sequence tag (EST-SSR) is a useful genomic tool for genome mapping, characterizing plant species relationships, elucidating genome evolution, and tracing genes on alien chromosome segments. EST-SSR primers developed from three perennial diploid T...

  7. Use of Syntactic Elaboration Techniques to Enhance Comprehensibility of EST Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rahimi, Mohammad Ali; Rezaei, Amir

    2011-01-01

    The current study examined differential effects of two pre-modification types, syntactic elaboration and syntactic simplification (at the level of syntax and irrespective of problematic lexis), on EST students' reading comprehension. The purpose was to see whether a priori syntactic elaborative adjustment, given its advantages over simplification,…

  8. Comprehensive EST analysis of the symbiotic sea anemone, Anemonia viridis

    PubMed Central

    Sabourault, Cécile; Ganot, Philippe; Deleury, Emeline; Allemand, Denis; Furla, Paola

    2009-01-01

    Background Coral reef ecosystems are renowned for their diversity and beauty. Their immense ecological success is due to a symbiotic association between cnidarian hosts and unicellular dinoflagellate algae, known as zooxanthellae. These algae are photosynthetic and the cnidarian-zooxanthellae association is based on nutritional exchanges. Maintenance of such an intimate cellular partnership involves many crosstalks between the partners. To better characterize symbiotic relationships between a cnidarian host and its dinoflagellate symbionts, we conducted a large-scale EST study on a symbiotic sea anemone, Anemonia viridis, in which the two tissue layers (epiderm and gastroderm) can be easily separated. Results A single cDNA library was constructed from symbiotic tissue of sea anemones A. viridis in various environmental conditions (both normal and stressed). We generated 39,939 high quality ESTs, which were assembled into 14,504 unique sequences (UniSeqs). Sequences were analysed and sorted according to their putative origin (animal, algal or bacterial). We identified many new repeated elements in the 3'UTR of most animal genes, suggesting that these elements potentially have a biological role, especially with respect to gene expression regulation. We identified genes of animal origin that have no homolog in the non-symbiotic starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis genome, but in other symbiotic cnidarians, and may therefore be involved in the symbiosis relationship in A. viridis. Comparison of protein domain occurrence in A. viridis with that in N. vectensis demonstrated an increase in abundance of some molecular functions, such as protein binding or antioxidant activity, suggesting that these functions are essential for the symbiotic state and may be specific adaptations. Conclusion This large dataset of sequences provides a valuable resource for future studies on symbiotic interactions in Cnidaria. The comparison with the closest available genome, the sea

  9. Development of New Candidate Gene and EST-Based Molecular Markers for Gossypium Species

    PubMed Central

    Buyyarapu, Ramesh; Kantety, Ramesh V.; Yu, John Z.; Saha, Sukumar; Sharma, Govind C.

    2011-01-01

    New source of molecular markers accelerate the efforts in improving cotton fiber traits and aid in developing high-density integrated genetic maps. We developed new markers based on candidate genes and G. arboreum EST sequences that were used for polymorphism detection followed by genetic and physical mapping. Nineteen gene-based markers were surveyed for polymorphism detection in 26 Gossypium species. Cluster analysis generated a phylogenetic tree with four major sub-clusters for 23 species while three species branched out individually. CAP method enhanced the rate of polymorphism of candidate gene-based markers between G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. Two hundred A-genome based SSR markers were designed after datamining of G. arboreum EST sequences (Mississippi Gossypium arboreum   EST-SSR: MGAES). Over 70% of MGAES markers successfully produced amplicons while 65 of them demonstrated polymorphism between the parents of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense RIL population and formed 14 linkage groups. Chromosomal localization of both candidate gene-based and MGAES markers was assisted by euploid and hypoaneuploid CS-B analysis. Gene-based and MGAES markers were highly informative as they were designed from candidate genes and fiber transcriptome with a potential to be integrated into the existing cotton genetic and physical maps. PMID:22315588

  10. Efectos de la irradiación iónica en hielos de moléculas carbonadas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Satorre, M. A.

    En Astrofísica podemos encontrar numerosos contextos en los cuales se observan moléculas en estado sólido que, en condiciones estándar de presión y temperatura, se encontrarían como gases o líquidos. Dichas moléculas se denominan hielos y han sido observadas en nubes densas del medio interestelar, en envolturas circumestelares, en satélites del Sistema Solar, en cometas, etc. Los hielos pueden ser alterados en su composición química debido a diversos factores como por ejemplo variaciones de temperatura o aportes energéticos por parte de la irradiación, ya sea tanto de fotones ultravioleta como de iones. Dependiendo del escenario astrofísico que analicemos, unos factores cobran más importancia que otros. Los experimentos de laboratorio muestran el efecto que produce sobre la composición de los hielos la irradiación iónica, en particular sobre los que contenían alguna molécula con átomos de carbono. Dicha composición se analiza con espectroscopía IR en el rango de 2 a ˜ 25μ m. La aplicabilidad de los resultados de los experimentos es distinta dependiendo de la composición química inicial de los hielos, del tipo de ion utilizado y de la dosis total de irradiación. Existen efectos generales de la irradiación sobre la materia en los experimentos de relevancia astrofísica como son: - la formación de nuevas moléculas, que pueden incluir o no el ion incidente; - la progresiva pérdida de hidrógeno (carbonización) cuando irradiamos muestras que originalmente contienen una determinada relación carbono/hidrógeno; - la variación de la temperatura de sublimación que presentan algunos hielos. Esto puede suceder tanto en hielos que estaban presentes antes de la irradiación como en hielos formados por ésta. Se presentará el papel del ion en la formación de nuevas moléculas a partir de las que originalmente se encontraban en el hielo. Al penetrar en él, el ion provoca distintos procesos como rotura de enlaces y excitaciones electr

  11. Carboxylesterase Precursor (EST-1) Mediated the Fungicide Jinggangmycin-Suppressed Reproduction of Sogatella furcifera (Hemiptera: Delphacidae).

    PubMed

    Ge, Lin-Quan; Huang, Bo; Jiang, Yi-Ping; Gu, Hao-Tian; Xia, Ting; Yang, Guo-Qing; Liu, Fang; Wu, Jin-Cai

    2017-10-01

    The jinggangmycin (JGM) is a widely used fungicide for controlling the rice sheath blight, Rhizoctonia solani, in China. Previous experiments under lab conditions showed that JGM foliar spray suppressed Sogatella furcifera (Horvath) reproduction. However, the molecular mechanisms of JGM-driven changes in S. furcifera reproduction are unclear. Therefore, we selected carboxylesterase precursor (EST-1) as a target gene for silencing by RNAi based on gene expression profiles. The present results demonstrated that JGM and control + dsSfEST-1 treatments significantly reduced the number of eggs laid (down by 58% and 54%, respectively), oviposition period (down by 57% and 38%, respectively), and longevity (down by 32% and 38%, respectively) in adult females compared with untreated controls, while no pronounced differences in the preoviposition period were observed. Meanwhile, the dietary control + dsSfEST-1 treatment also severely impeded protein synthesis, specifically soluble ovarian protein content (down by 20% and 24%, respectively) and soluble sugar content (down by 42% and 35%, respectively), which led to stunted growth and reduced body weight in adult females. We thereby speculate that downregulated SfEST-1 expression may be one molecular mechanism underlying JGM-driven reproduction in S. furcifera. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. PipeOnline 2.0: automated EST processing and functional data sorting.

    PubMed

    Ayoubi, Patricia; Jin, Xiaojing; Leite, Saul; Liu, Xianghui; Martajaja, Jeson; Abduraham, Abdurashid; Wan, Qiaolan; Yan, Wei; Misawa, Eduardo; Prade, Rolf A

    2002-11-01

    Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are generated and deposited in the public domain, as redundant, unannotated, single-pass reactions, with virtually no biological content. PipeOnline automatically analyses and transforms large collections of raw DNA-sequence data from chromatograms or FASTA files by calling the quality of bases, screening and removing vector sequences, assembling and rewriting consensus sequences of redundant input files into a unigene EST data set and finally through translation, amino acid sequence similarity searches, annotation of public databases and functional data. PipeOnline generates an annotated database, retaining the processed unigene sequence, clone/file history, alignments with similar sequences, and proposed functional classification, if available. Functional annotation is automatic and based on a novel method that relies on homology of amino acid sequence multiplicity within GenBank records. Records are examined through a function ordered browser or keyword queries with automated export of results. PipeOnline offers customization for individual projects (MyPipeOnline), automated updating and alert service. PipeOnline is available at http://stress-genomics.org.

  13. Appraising the Early-est earthquake monitoring system for tsunami alerting at the Italian Candidate Tsunami Service Provider

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bernardi, F.; Lomax, A.; Michelini, A.; Lauciani, V.; Piatanesi, A.; Lorito, S.

    2015-09-01

    In this paper we present and discuss the performance of the procedure for earthquake location and characterization implemented in the Italian Candidate Tsunami Service Provider at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) in Rome. Following the ICG/NEAMTWS guidelines, the first tsunami warning messages are based only on seismic information, i.e., epicenter location, hypocenter depth, and magnitude, which are automatically computed by the software Early-est. Early-est is a package for rapid location and seismic/tsunamigenic characterization of earthquakes. The Early-est software package operates using offline-event or continuous-real-time seismic waveform data to perform trace processing and picking, and, at a regular report interval, phase association, event detection, hypocenter location, and event characterization. Early-est also provides mb, Mwp, and Mwpd magnitude estimations. mb magnitudes are preferred for events with Mwp ≲ 5.8, while Mwpd estimations are valid for events with Mwp ≳ 7.2. In this paper we present the earthquake parameters computed by Early-est between the beginning of March 2012 and the end of December 2014 on a global scale for events with magnitude M ≥ 5.5, and we also present the detection timeline. We compare the earthquake parameters automatically computed by Early-est with the same parameters listed in reference catalogs. Such reference catalogs are manually revised/verified by scientists. The goal of this work is to test the accuracy and reliability of the fully automatic locations provided by Early-est. In our analysis, the epicenter location, hypocenter depth and magnitude parameters do not differ significantly from the values in the reference catalogs. Both mb and Mwp magnitudes show differences to the reference catalogs. We thus derived correction functions in order to minimize the differences and correct biases between our values and the ones from the reference catalogs. Correction of the Mwp

  14. In-space assembly and servicing infrastructures for the Evolvable Space Telescope (EST)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lillie, Charles F.; MacEwen, Howard A.

    2016-07-01

    The concept for EST presented in past SPIE forums will benefit significantly from the current efforts of DARPA, NASA and several commercial organizations to develop an in-space infrastructure that will enable on-orbit assembly, servicing, repair and repurposing of space vehicles. Two documents provide particularly relevant discussions: "NASA's Journey to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration" provides a recent (2015) outline of NASA's thoughts on human deep space exploration and the tools that will enable it, while the "On-Orbit Satellite Servicing Study: Project Report" details a number of the concepts and technologies that must be developed. In this paper we examine the concepts in these and related documents to explore how systems such as EST will shape and support the infrastructure needed by future space vehicles. In so doing, we address previous examples of on-orbit assembly and servicing of space vehicles; the lessons learned from these efforts and the existing systems and facilities available to execute servicing missions; the EST concept for an LUVOIR telescope designed for in-orbit assembly and servicing and the resulting requirements for a servicing vehicle; the use of heavy lift launch vehicles, including the SLS and Exploration Upper Stage to co-manifest other large payloads along with a crewed Orion mission; Deep Space Habitats (DSHs) in cislunar space as a site for assembly and servicing spacecraft vehicles, and a base for Maneuverable Servicing Vehicles; and how space vehicles need to be designed for in-space assembly and servicing (i.e., commonality of parts, systems, modularity, accessibility, and stable maneuverability).

  15. DoEstRare: A statistical test to identify local enrichments in rare genomic variants associated with disease.

    PubMed

    Persyn, Elodie; Karakachoff, Matilde; Le Scouarnec, Solena; Le Clézio, Camille; Campion, Dominique; Consortium, French Exome; Schott, Jean-Jacques; Redon, Richard; Bellanger, Lise; Dina, Christian

    2017-01-01

    Next-generation sequencing technologies made it possible to assay the effect of rare variants on complex diseases. As an extension of the "common disease-common variant" paradigm, rare variant studies are necessary to get a more complete insight into the genetic architecture of human traits. Association studies of these rare variations show new challenges in terms of statistical analysis. Due to their low frequency, rare variants must be tested by groups. This approach is then hindered by the fact that an unknown proportion of the variants could be neutral. The risk level of a rare variation may be determined by its impact but also by its position in the protein sequence. More generally, the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease architecture may involve specific protein domains or inter-genic regulatory regions. While a large variety of methods are optimizing functionality weights for each single marker, few evaluate variant position differences between cases and controls. Here, we propose a test called DoEstRare, which aims to simultaneously detect clusters of disease risk variants and global allele frequency differences in genomic regions. This test estimates, for cases and controls, variant position densities in the genetic region by a kernel method, weighted by a function of allele frequencies. We compared DoEstRare with previously published strategies through simulation studies as well as re-analysis of real datasets. Based on simulation under various scenarios, DoEstRare was the sole to consistently show highest performance, in terms of type I error and power both when variants were clustered or not. DoEstRare was also applied to Brugada syndrome and early-onset Alzheimer's disease data and provided complementary results to other existing tests. DoEstRare, by integrating variant position information, gives new opportunities to explain disease susceptibility. DoEstRare is implemented in a user-friendly R package.

  16. Environmental and Sustainable Technology Evaluations (ESTE): Verification of Microbial Resistant Building Materials

    EPA Science Inventory

    This is an ESTE project summary brief. Many of the finished interior surfaces of homes and buildings are composed of materials that are prone to mold growth. These surfaces include gypsum board, wood flooring, insulation, and components of the heating and air conditioning system...

  17. La Observación Sistemática de Vecindarios: El caso de Chile y sus perspectivas para Trabajo Social

    PubMed Central

    Sanhueza, Guillermo E.; Delva, Jorge; Andrade, Fernando H.; Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew; Bares, Cristina; Castillo, Marcela

    2012-01-01

    El estudio acerca de las características de los vecindarios y sus efectos sobre las personas ha llegado a ser un área de creciente atención por parte de investigadores de diversas disciplinas en países desarrollados. Aunque actualmente existen diversas metodologías para estudiar efectos del vecindario, una de las más utilizadas es la Observación Sistemática de Vecindarios –Systematic Social Observation SSO, en inglés—porque permite recolectar información acerca de diversas características del entorno físico, social, ambiental y económico de los vecindarios donde se aplica. El objetivo de este artículo es (i) dar a conocer sumariamente algunas investigaciones influyentes sobre efectos del vecindario en Estados Unidos, ii) describir cómo se diseñó e implementó la Observación Sistemática de Vecindarios en la ciudad de Santiago de Chile, iii) señalar algunos facilitadores y obstaculizadores de la implementación del proyecto y, finalmente iv) enunciar posibles contribuciones y limitaciones que esta metodología ofrecería al trabajo social en Chile. PMID:24791060

  18. Isolation and characterization of novel EST-derived genic markers in Pisum sativum (Fabaceae)1

    PubMed Central

    Jain, Shalu; McPhee, Kevin E.

    2013-01-01

    • Premise of the study: Novel markers were developed for pea (Pisum sativum) from pea expressed sequence tags (ESTs) having significant homology to Medicago truncatula gene sequences to investigate genetic diversity, linkage mapping, and cross-species transferability. • Methods and Results: Seventy-seven EST-derived genic markers were developed through comparative mapping between M. truncatula and P. sativum in which 75 markers produced PCR products and 33 were polymorphic among 16 pea genotypes. • Conclusions: The novel markers described here will be useful for future genetic studies of P. sativum; their amplification in lentil (Lens culinaris) demonstrates their potential for use in closely related species. PMID:25202494

  19. Flexibility and Stability Trade-Off in Active Site of Cold-Adapted Pseudomonas mandelii Esterase EstK.

    PubMed

    Truongvan, Ngoc; Jang, Sei-Heon; Lee, ChangWoo

    2016-06-28

    Cold-adapted enzymes exhibit enhanced conformational flexibility, especially in their active sites, as compared with their warmer-temperature counterparts. However, the mechanism by which cold-adapted enzymes maintain their active site stability is largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of conserved D308-Y309 residues located in the same loop as the catalytic H307 residue in the cold-adapted esterase EstK from Pseudomonas mandelii. Mutation of D308 and/or Y309 to Ala or deletion resulted in increased conformational flexibility. Particularly, the D308A or Y309A mutant showed enhanced substrate affinity and catalytic rate, as compared with wild-type EstK, via enlargement of the active site. However, all mutant EstK enzymes exhibited reduced thermal stability. The effect of mutation was greater for D308 than Y309. These results indicate that D308 is not preferable for substrate selection and catalytic activity, whereas hydrogen bond formation involving D308 is critical for active site stabilization. Taken together, conformation of the EstK active site is constrained via flexibility-stability trade-off for enzyme catalysis and thermal stability. Our study provides further insights into active site stabilization of cold-adapted enzymes.

  20. Sequence analysis reveals genomic factors affecting EST-SSR primer performance and polymorphism

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Search for simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs and design of flanking primers in expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences can be easily done at a large scale using bioinformatics programs. However, failed amplification and/or detection, along with lack of polymorphism, is often seen among randomly sel...

  1. Gene discovery using massively parallel pyrosequencing to develop ESTs for the flesh fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis

    PubMed Central

    Hahn, Daniel A; Ragland, Gregory J; Shoemaker, D DeWayne; Denlinger, David L

    2009-01-01

    Background Flesh flies in the genus Sarcophaga are important models for investigating endocrinology, diapause, cold hardiness, reproduction, and immunity. Despite the prominence of Sarcophaga flesh flies as models for insect physiology and biochemistry, and in forensic studies, little genomic or transcriptomic data are available for members of this genus. We used massively parallel pyrosequencing on the Roche 454-FLX platform to produce a substantial EST dataset for the flesh fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis. To maximize sequence diversity, we pooled RNA extracted from whole bodies of all life stages and normalized the cDNA pool after reverse transcription. Results We obtained 207,110 ESTs with an average read length of 241 bp. These reads assembled into 20,995 contigs and 31,056 singletons. Using BLAST searches of the NR and NT databases we were able to identify 11,757 unique gene elements (E<0.0001) representing approximately 9,000 independent transcripts. Comparison of the distribution of S. crassipalpis unigenes among GO Biological Process functional groups with that of the Drosophila melanogaster transcriptome suggests that our ESTs are broadly representative of the flesh fly transcriptome. Insertion and deletion errors in 454 sequencing present a serious hurdle to comparative transcriptome analysis. Aided by a new approach to correcting for these errors, we performed a comparative analysis of genetic divergence across GO categories among S. crassipalpis, D. melanogaster, and Anopheles gambiae. The results suggest that non-synonymous substitutions occur at similar rates across categories, although genes related to response to stimuli may evolve slightly faster. In addition, we identified over 500 potential microsatellite loci and more than 12,000 SNPs among our ESTs. Conclusion Our data provides the first large-scale EST-project for flesh flies, a much-needed resource for exploring this model species. In addition, we identified a large number of potential

  2. The first set of EST resource for gene discovery and marker development in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.).

    PubMed

    Raju, Nikku L; Gnanesh, Belaghihalli N; Lekha, Pazhamala; Jayashree, Balaji; Pande, Suresh; Hiremath, Pavana J; Byregowda, Munishamappa; Singh, Nagendra K; Varshney, Rajeev K

    2010-03-11

    Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp) is one of the major grain legume crops of the tropics and subtropics, but biotic stresses [Fusarium wilt (FW), sterility mosaic disease (SMD), etc.] are serious challenges for sustainable crop production. Modern genomic tools such as molecular markers and candidate genes associated with resistance to these stresses offer the possibility of facilitating pigeonpea breeding for improving biotic stress resistance. Availability of limited genomic resources, however, is a serious bottleneck to undertake molecular breeding in pigeonpea to develop superior genotypes with enhanced resistance to above mentioned biotic stresses. With an objective of enhancing genomic resources in pigeonpea, this study reports generation and analysis of comprehensive resource of FW- and SMD- responsive expressed sequence tags (ESTs). A total of 16 cDNA libraries were constructed from four pigeonpea genotypes that are resistant and susceptible to FW ('ICPL 20102' and 'ICP 2376') and SMD ('ICP 7035' and 'TTB 7') and a total of 9,888 (9,468 high quality) ESTs were generated and deposited in dbEST of GenBank under accession numbers GR463974 to GR473857 and GR958228 to GR958231. Clustering and assembly analyses of these ESTs resulted into 4,557 unique sequences (unigenes) including 697 contigs and 3,860 singletons. BLASTN analysis of 4,557 unigenes showed a significant identity with ESTs of different legumes (23.2-60.3%), rice (28.3%), Arabidopsis (33.7%) and poplar (35.4%). As expected, pigeonpea ESTs are more closely related to soybean (60.3%) and cowpea ESTs (43.6%) than other plant ESTs. Similarly, BLASTX similarity results showed that only 1,603 (35.1%) out of 4,557 total unigenes correspond to known proteins in the UniProt database (

  3. The first set of EST resource for gene discovery and marker development in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.)

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp) is one of the major grain legume crops of the tropics and subtropics, but biotic stresses [Fusarium wilt (FW), sterility mosaic disease (SMD), etc.] are serious challenges for sustainable crop production. Modern genomic tools such as molecular markers and candidate genes associated with resistance to these stresses offer the possibility of facilitating pigeonpea breeding for improving biotic stress resistance. Availability of limited genomic resources, however, is a serious bottleneck to undertake molecular breeding in pigeonpea to develop superior genotypes with enhanced resistance to above mentioned biotic stresses. With an objective of enhancing genomic resources in pigeonpea, this study reports generation and analysis of comprehensive resource of FW- and SMD- responsive expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Results A total of 16 cDNA libraries were constructed from four pigeonpea genotypes that are resistant and susceptible to FW ('ICPL 20102' and 'ICP 2376') and SMD ('ICP 7035' and 'TTB 7') and a total of 9,888 (9,468 high quality) ESTs were generated and deposited in dbEST of GenBank under accession numbers GR463974 to GR473857 and GR958228 to GR958231. Clustering and assembly analyses of these ESTs resulted into 4,557 unique sequences (unigenes) including 697 contigs and 3,860 singletons. BLASTN analysis of 4,557 unigenes showed a significant identity with ESTs of different legumes (23.2-60.3%), rice (28.3%), Arabidopsis (33.7%) and poplar (35.4%). As expected, pigeonpea ESTs are more closely related to soybean (60.3%) and cowpea ESTs (43.6%) than other plant ESTs. Similarly, BLASTX similarity results showed that only 1,603 (35.1%) out of 4,557 total unigenes correspond to known proteins in the UniProt database (≤ 1E-08). Functional categorization of the annotated unigenes sequences showed that 153 (3.3%) genes were assigned to cellular component category, 132 (2.8%) to biological process, and 132 (2.8%) in

  4. AntiHunter 2.0: increased speed and sensitivity in searching BLAST output for EST antisense transcripts.

    PubMed

    Lavorgna, Giovanni; Triunfo, Riccardo; Santoni, Federico; Orfanelli, Ugo; Noci, Sara; Bulfone, Alessandro; Zanetti, Gianluigi; Casari, Giorgio

    2005-07-01

    An increasing number of eukaryotic and prokaryotic genes are being found to have natural antisense transcripts (NATs). There is also growing evidence to suggest that antisense transcription could play a key role in many human diseases. Consequently, there have been several recent attempts to set up computational procedures aimed at identifying novel NATs. Our group has developed the AntiHunter program for the identification of expressed sequence tag (EST) antisense transcripts from BLAST output. In order to perform an analysis, the program requires a genomic sequence plus an associated list of transcript names and coordinates of the genomic region. After masking the repeated regions, the program carries out a BLASTN search of this sequence in the selected EST database, reporting via email the EST entries that reveal an antisense transcript according to the user-supplied list. Here, we present the newly developed version 2.0 of the AntiHunter tool. Several improvements have been added to this version of the program in order to increase its ability to detect a larger number of antisense ESTs. As a result, AntiHunter can now detect, on average, >45% more antisense ESTs with little or no increase in the percentage of the false positives. We also raised the maximum query size to 3 Mb (previously 1 Mb). Moreover, we found that a reasonable trade-off between the program search sensitivity and the maximum allowed size of the input-query sequence could be obtained by querying the database with the MEGABLAST program, rather than by using the BLAST one. We now offer this new opportunity to users, i.e. if choosing the MEGABLAST option, users can input a query sequence up to 30 Mb long, thus considerably improving the possibility to analyze longer query regions. The AntiHunter tool is freely available at http://bioinfo.crs4.it/AH2.0.

  5. Development and Characterization of 18 Novel EST-SSRs from the Western Flower Thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Xian-Ming; Sun, Jing-Tao; Xue, Xiao-Feng; Zhu, Wen-Chao; Hong, Xiao-Yue

    2012-01-01

    The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is an invasive species and the most economically important pest within the insect order Thysanoptera. For a better understanding of the genetic makeup and migration patterns of F. occidentalis throughout the world, we characterized 18 novel polymorphic EST-derived microsatellites. The mutational mechanism of these EST-SSRs was also investigated to facilitate the selection of appropriate combinations of markers for population genetic studies. Genetic diversity of these novel markers was assessed in 96 individuals from three populations in China (Harbin, Dali, and Guiyang). The results showed that all these 18 loci were highly polymorphic; the number of alleles ranged from 2 to 15, with an average of 5.50 alleles per locus. The observed (HO) and expected (HE) heterozygosities ranged from 0.072 to 0.707 and 0.089 to 0.851, respectively. Furthermore, only two locus/population combinations (WFT144 in Dali and WFT50 in Guiyang) significantly deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Pairwise FST analysis showed a low but significant differentiation (0.026 < FST < 0.032) among all three pairwise population comparisons. Sequence analysis of alleles per locus revealed a complex mutational pattern of these EST-SSRs. Thus, these EST-SSRs are useful markers but greater attention should be paid to the mutational characteristics of these microsatellites when they are used in population genetic studies. PMID:22489130

  6. Development and characterization of 18 novel EST-SSRs from the western flower Thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande).

    PubMed

    Yang, Xian-Ming; Sun, Jing-Tao; Xue, Xiao-Feng; Zhu, Wen-Chao; Hong, Xiao-Yue

    2012-01-01

    The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is an invasive species and the most economically important pest within the insect order Thysanoptera. For a better understanding of the genetic makeup and migration patterns of F. occidentalis throughout the world, we characterized 18 novel polymorphic EST-derived microsatellites. The mutational mechanism of these EST-SSRs was also investigated to facilitate the selection of appropriate combinations of markers for population genetic studies. Genetic diversity of these novel markers was assessed in 96 individuals from three populations in China (Harbin, Dali, and Guiyang). The results showed that all these 18 loci were highly polymorphic; the number of alleles ranged from 2 to 15, with an average of 5.50 alleles per locus. The observed (H(O)) and expected (H(E)) heterozygosities ranged from 0.072 to 0.707 and 0.089 to 0.851, respectively. Furthermore, only two locus/population combinations (WFT144 in Dali and WFT50 in Guiyang) significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Pairwise F(ST) analysis showed a low but significant differentiation (0.026 < F(ST) < 0.032) among all three pairwise population comparisons. Sequence analysis of alleles per locus revealed a complex mutational pattern of these EST-SSRs. Thus, these EST-SSRs are useful markers but greater attention should be paid to the mutational characteristics of these microsatellites when they are used in population genetic studies.

  7. Enzyme Function Initiative-Enzyme Similarity Tool (EFI-EST): A web tool for generating protein sequence similarity networks.

    PubMed

    Gerlt, John A; Bouvier, Jason T; Davidson, Daniel B; Imker, Heidi J; Sadkhin, Boris; Slater, David R; Whalen, Katie L

    2015-08-01

    The Enzyme Function Initiative, an NIH/NIGMS-supported Large-Scale Collaborative Project (EFI; U54GM093342; http://enzymefunction.org/), is focused on devising and disseminating bioinformatics and computational tools as well as experimental strategies for the prediction and assignment of functions (in vitro activities and in vivo physiological/metabolic roles) to uncharacterized enzymes discovered in genome projects. Protein sequence similarity networks (SSNs) are visually powerful tools for analyzing sequence relationships in protein families (H.J. Atkinson, J.H. Morris, T.E. Ferrin, and P.C. Babbitt, PLoS One 2009, 4, e4345). However, the members of the biological/biomedical community have not had access to the capability to generate SSNs for their "favorite" protein families. In this article we announce the EFI-EST (Enzyme Function Initiative-Enzyme Similarity Tool) web tool (http://efi.igb.illinois.edu/efi-est/) that is available without cost for the automated generation of SSNs by the community. The tool can create SSNs for the "closest neighbors" of a user-supplied protein sequence from the UniProt database (Option A) or of members of any user-supplied Pfam and/or InterPro family (Option B). We provide an introduction to SSNs, a description of EFI-EST, and a demonstration of the use of EFI-EST to explore sequence-function space in the OMP decarboxylase superfamily (PF00215). This article is designed as a tutorial that will allow members of the community to use the EFI-EST web tool for exploring sequence/function space in protein families. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Efectos combinados de la ampliación de la atención primaria de salud y de las transferencias condicionadas de dinero en efectivo sobre la mortalidad infantil en Brasil, 1998–2010*

    PubMed Central

    Guanais, Frederico C.

    2015-01-01

    Objetivos. Examiné los efectos combinados del acceso a la atención primaria mediante el Programa de Salud Familiar (PSF) y las transferencias condicionadas de dinero en efectivo del Programa Bolsa Familia (PBF) sobre la mortalidad infantil posneonatal (MIPN) en Brasil. Métodos. Empleé un análisis ecológico longitudinal usando datos en panel de 4 583 municipios brasileños de 1998 al 2010, con 54 253 observaciones en total. Estimé modelos de regresión de efectos fijos por mínimos cuadrados ordinarios, con la tasa de MIPN como la variable dependiente y el PSF, el PBF y sus interacciones como las principales variables independientes de interés. Resultados. La asociación de una mayor cobertura del PSF con una menor tasa de MIPN se volvió más fuerte conforme aumentaba la cobertura del PBF. En los promedios de todas las demás variables, cuando la cobertura de PBF era 25%, la MIPN predicha fue 5,24 (intervalo de confianza [IC] de 95% = 4,95, 5,53) para una cobertura del PSF de 0%, y de 3,54 (IC de 95% = 2,77, 4,31) para una cobertura del PSF de 100%. Cuando la cobertura del PBF era de 60%, la MIPN predicha fue 4,65 (IC de 95% = 4,36, 4,94) para una cobertura del PSF de 0%, y de 1,38 (IC de 95% = 0,88, 1,89) para una cobertura del PSF de 100%. Conclusiones. El efecto del PSF depende de la ampliación del PBF. Para las poblaciones empobrecidas y subatendidas, la combinación de intervenciones tanto del lado de la oferta como del lado de la demanda podría ser necesaria para mejorar los resultados en salud.

  9. Characterization of a novel deep-sea microbial esterase EstC10 and its use in the generation of ( R)-methyl2-chloropropionate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gong, Yanhui; Ma, Sanmei; Wang, Yongfei; Xu, Yongkai; Sun, Aijun; Zhang, Yun; Hu, Yunfeng

    2018-03-01

    A novel esterase EstC10 from Bacillus sp. CX01 isolated from the deep sea of the Western Pacific Ocean and the functionalities of EstC10 was characterized. At present, the reports about the kinetic resolution of racemic methyl 2-chloropropionate were quite rare. So we developed deep-sea microbial esterase EstC10 as a novel biocatalyst in the kinetic resolution of racemic methyl 2-chloropropionate and generate ( R)-methyl 2-chloropropionate with high enantiomeric excess (>99%) after the optimization of process parameters such as pH, temperature, organic co-solvents, surfactants, substrate concentration and reaction time. Notably, the optimal substrate concentration (80 mmol/L) of esterase EstC10 was higher than the kinetic resolution of another esterase, Est12-7 (50 mmol/L). The novel microbial esterase EstC10 identified from the deep sea was a promising green biocatalyst in the generation of ( R)-methyl 2-chloropropionate as well of many other valuable chiral chemicals in industry.

  10. Transcriptome analysis of the desert locust central nervous system: production and annotation of a Schistocerca gregaria EST database.

    PubMed

    Badisco, Liesbeth; Huybrechts, Jurgen; Simonet, Gert; Verlinden, Heleen; Marchal, Elisabeth; Huybrechts, Roger; Schoofs, Liliane; De Loof, Arnold; Vanden Broeck, Jozef

    2011-03-21

    The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) displays a fascinating type of phenotypic plasticity, designated as 'phase polyphenism'. Depending on environmental conditions, one genome can be translated into two highly divergent phenotypes, termed the solitarious and gregarious (swarming) phase. Although many of the underlying molecular events remain elusive, the central nervous system (CNS) is expected to play a crucial role in the phase transition process. Locusts have also proven to be interesting model organisms in a physiological and neurobiological research context. However, molecular studies in locusts are hampered by the fact that genome/transcriptome sequence information available for this branch of insects is still limited. We have generated 34,672 raw expressed sequence tags (EST) from the CNS of desert locusts in both phases. These ESTs were assembled in 12,709 unique transcript sequences and nearly 4,000 sequences were functionally annotated. Moreover, the obtained S. gregaria EST information is highly complementary to the existing orthopteran transcriptomic data. Since many novel transcripts encode neuronal signaling and signal transduction components, this paper includes an overview of these sequences. Furthermore, several transcripts being differentially represented in solitarious and gregarious locusts were retrieved from this EST database. The findings highlight the involvement of the CNS in the phase transition process and indicate that this novel annotated database may also add to the emerging knowledge of concomitant neuronal signaling and neuroplasticity events. In summary, we met the need for novel sequence data from desert locust CNS. To our knowledge, we hereby also present the first insect EST database that is derived from the complete CNS. The obtained S. gregaria EST data constitute an important new source of information that will be instrumental in further unraveling the molecular principles of phase polyphenism, in further establishing

  11. Pilot survey of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the asexual blood stages of Plasmodium vivax in human patients.

    PubMed

    Merino, Emilio F; Fernandez-Becerra, Carmen; Madeira, Alda M B N; Machado, Ariane L; Durham, Alan; Gruber, Arthur; Hall, Neil; del Portillo, Hernando A

    2003-07-21

    Plasmodium vivax is the most widely distributed human malaria, responsible for 70-80 million clinical cases each year and large socio-economical burdens for countries such as Brazil where it is the most prevalent species. Unfortunately, due to the impossibility of growing this parasite in continuous in vitro culture, research on P. vivax remains largely neglected. A pilot survey of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the asexual blood stages of P. vivax was performed. To do so, 1,184 clones from a cDNA library constructed with parasites obtained from 10 different human patients in the Brazilian Amazon were sequenced. Sequences were automatedly processed to remove contaminants and low quality reads. A total of 806 sequences with an average length of 586 bp met such criteria and their clustering revealed 666 distinct events. The consensus sequence of each cluster and the unique sequences of the singlets were used in similarity searches against different databases that included P. vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium yoelii, Plasmodium knowlesi, Apicomplexa and the GenBank non-redundant database. An E-value of <10(-30) was used to define a significant database match. ESTs were manually assigned a gene ontology (GO) terminology A total of 769 ESTs could be assigned a putative identity based upon sequence similarity to known proteins in GenBank. Moreover, 292 ESTs were annotated and a GO terminology was assigned to 164 of them. These are the first ESTs reported for P. vivax and, as such, they represent a valuable resource to assist in the annotation of the P. vivax genome currently being sequenced. Moreover, since the GC-content of the P. vivax genome is strikingly different from that of P. falciparum, these ESTs will help in the validation of gene predictions for P. vivax and to create a gene index of this malaria parasite.

  12. Characterization and comparison of EST-SSR and TRAP markers for genetic analysis of the Japanese persimmon Diospyros kaki.

    PubMed

    Luo, C; Zhang, F; Zhang, Q L; Guo, D Y; Luo, Z R

    2013-01-09

    We developed and characterized expressed sequence tags (ESTs)-simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and targeted region amplified polymorphism (TRAP) markers to examine genetic relationships in the persimmon genus Diospyros gene pool. In total, we characterized 14 EST-SSR primer pairs and 36 TRAP primer combinations, which were amplified across 20 germplasms of 4 species in the genus Diospyros. We used various genetic parameters, including effective multiplex ratio (EMR), diversity index (DI), and marker index (MI), to test the utility of these markers. TRAP markers gave higher EMR (24.85) but lower DI (0.33), compared to EST-SSRs (EMR = 3.65, DI = 0.34). TRAP gave a very high MI (8.08), which was about 8 times than the MI of EST-SSR (1.25). These markers were utilized for phylogenetic inference of 20 genotypes of Diospyros kaki Thunb. and allied species, with a result that all kaki genotypes clustered closely and 3 allied species formed an independent group. These markers could be further exploited for large-scale genetic relationship inference.

  13. MuSICa at GRIS: a prototype image slicer for EST at GREGOR

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Calcines, A.; Collados, M.; López, R. L.

    2013-05-01

    This communication presents a prototype image slicer for the 4-m European Solar Telescope (EST) designed for the spectrograph of the 1.5-m GREGOR solar telescope (GRIS). The design of this integral field unit has been called MuSICa (Multi-Slit Image slicer based on collimator-Camera). It is a telecentric system developed specifically for the integral field, high resolution spectrograph of EST and presents multi-slit capability, reorganizing a bidimensional field of view of 80 arcsec^{2} into 8 slits, each one of them with 200 arcsec length × 0.05 arcsec width. It minimizes the number of optical components needed to fulfil this multi-slit capability, three arrays of mirrors: slicer, collimator and camera mirror arrays (the first one flat and the other two spherical). The symmetry of the layout makes it possible to overlap the pupil images associated to each part of the sliced entrance field of view. A mask with only one circular aperture is placed at the pupil position. This symmetric characteristic offers some advantages: facilitates the manufacturing process, the alignment and reduces the costs. In addition, it is compatible with two modes of operation: spectroscopic and spectro-polarimetric, offering a great versatility. The optical quality of the system is diffraction-limited. The prototype will improve the performances of GRIS at GREGOR and is part of the feasibility study of the integral field unit for the spectrographs of EST. Although MuSICa has been designed as a solar image slicer, its concept can also be applied to night-time astronomical instruments (Collados et al. 2010, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 7733, 77330H; Collados et al. 2012, AN, 333, 901; Calcines et al. 2010, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 7735, 77351X)

  14. From the Field: Interview with Susan R. Easterbrooks and Ellen L. Estes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Montgomery, Judy

    2010-01-01

    This article presents an interview with Susan R. Easterbrooks, a professor of deaf education in the Educational Psychology and Special Education Department at Georgia State University in Atlanta, and Ellen L. Estes, the coordinator of the Katherine Hamm Center at the Atlanta Speech School, on their new book "Helping Deaf and Hard of Hearing…

  15. EstA from Arthrobacter nitroguajacolicus Rü61a, a thermo- and solvent-tolerant carboxylesterase related to class C beta-lactamases.

    PubMed

    Schütte, Marcus; Fetzner, Susanne

    2007-03-01

    The estA gene encoding a novel cytoplasmic carboxylesterase from Arthrobacter nitroguajacolicus Rü61a was expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence analysis and secondary structure predictions suggested that EstA belongs to the family VIII esterases, which are related to class C beta-lactamases. The S-x-x-K motif that in beta-lactamases contains the catalytic nucleophile, and a putative active-site tyrosine residue are conserved in EstA. The native molecular mass of hexahistidine-tagged (His6) EstA, purified by metal chelate affinity chromatography, was estimated to be 95 kDa by gel filtration, whereas the His6EstA peptide has a calculated molecular mass of 42.1 kDa. The enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of short-chain phenylacyl esters and triglycerides, and shows weak activity toward 2-hydroxy- and 2-nitroacetanilide. Its catalytic activity was inhibited by the serine-specific effector phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and by Cd2+ and Hg2+ ions. Maximum activity of His6EstA was observed at a pH of 9.5 and a temperature of 50 degrees C to 60 degrees C. The enzyme was fairly thermostable. After 19 days at 50 degrees C and after 24 hours at 60 degrees C, its residual relative esterase activity toward phenylacetate was still 53% and 30%, respectively. Exposure of His6EstA to buffer-solvent mixtures showed that the enzyme was inactivated by several high log P (hydrophobic) solvents, whereas it showed remarkable stability and activity in up to 30% (by volume) of polar (low log P) organic solvents such as dimethylsulfoxide, methanol, acetonitrile, acetone, and propanol.

  16. Rational design of a carboxylic esterase RhEst1 based on computational analysis of substrate binding

    DOE PAGES

    Chen, Qi; Luan, Zheng -Jiao; Yu, Hui -Lei; ...

    2015-10-31

    A new carboxylic esterase RhEst1 which catalyzes the hydrolysis of (S)-(+)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate (S-DmCpCe), the key chiral building block of cilastatin, was identified and subsequently crystallized in our previous work. Mutant RhEst 1A147I/V148F/G254A was found to show a 5-fold increase in the catalytic activity. In this work, molecular dynamic simulations were performed to elucidate the molecular determinant of the enzyme activity. Our simulations show that the substrate binds much more strongly in the A147I/V148F/G254A mutant than in wild type, with more hydrogen bonds formed between the substrate and the catalytic triad and the oxyanion hole. The OH group of the catalytic residuemore » Ser101 in the mutant is better positioned to initiate the nucleophilic attack on S-DmCpCe. Interestingly, the "170-179" loop which is involved in shaping the catalytic sites and facilitating the product release shows remarkable dynamic differences in the two systems. Based on the simulation results, six residues were identified as potential "hot-spots" for further experimental testing. Consequently, the G126S and R133L mutants show higher catalytic efficiency as compared with the wild type. In conclusion, this work provides molecular-level insights into the substrate binding mechanism of carboxylic esterase RhEst1, facilitating future experimental efforts toward developing more efficient RhEst1 variants for industrial applications.« less

  17. Characteristics of the Lotus japonicus gene repertoire deduced from large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis.

    PubMed

    Asamizu, Erika; Nakamura, Yasukazu; Sato, Shusei; Tabata, Satoshi

    2004-02-01

    To perform a comprehensive analysis of genes expressed in a model legume, Lotus japonicus, a total of 74472 3'-end expressed sequence tags (EST) were generated from cDNA libraries produced from six different organs. Clustering of sequences was performed with an identity criterion of 95% for 50 bases, and a total of 20457 non-redundant sequences, 8503 contigs and 11954 singletons were generated. EST sequence coverage was analyzed by using the annotated L. japonicus genomic sequence and 1093 of the 1889 predicted protein-encoding genes (57.9%) were hit by the EST sequence(s). Gene content was compared to several plant species. Among the 8503 contigs, 471 were identified as sequences conserved only in leguminous species and these included several disease resistance-related genes. This suggested that in legumes, these genes may have evolved specifically to resist pathogen attack. The rate of gene sequence divergence was assessed by comparing similarity level and functional category based on the Gene Ontology (GO) annotation of Arabidopsis genes. This revealed that genes encoding ribosomal proteins, as well as those related to translation, photosynthesis, and cellular structure were more abundantly represented in the highly conserved class, and that genes encoding transcription factors and receptor protein kinases were abundantly represented in the less conserved class. To make the sequence information and the cDNA clones available to the research community, a Web database with useful services was created at http://www.kazusa.or.jp/en/plant/lotus/EST/.

  18. [Not Available].

    PubMed

    Cruz-Sáez, María Soledad; Pascual Jimeno, Aitziber; Wlodarczyk, Anna; Polo-López, Rocío; Echeburúa Odriozola, Enrique

    2016-07-19

    Introducción: los problemas relacionados con el peso constituyen un problema importante de salud pública debido a su alta prevalencia y a las adversas consecuencias que tienen para la salud.Objetivo: el objetivo principal de este estudio fue analizar si la depresión y la ansiedad tienen un papel mediador en la relación entre la insatisfacción corporal y las conductas de control del peso en chicas adolescentes con sobrepeso.Material y métodos: en el estudio participaron 140 mujeres de 16 a 20 años con sobrepeso. Las participantes tuvieron que cumplimentar la escala de insatisfacción corporal del EDI-2, las escalas de ansiedad y depresión del GHQ-28 y una adaptación de las escalas del EAT survey para evaluar las conductas de control del peso. Para los análisis estadísticos se utilizaron métodos de diferencias de medias, correlaciones y de mediación secuencial.Resultados: las adolescentes con sobrepeso y alta insatisfacción corporal presentaban más sintomatología ansiosa y depresiva, así como mayor cantidad de conductas de control del peso. Los resultados del análisis de mediación secuencial evidencian que el efecto de la insatisfacción corporal en las conductas de control del peso está parcialmente mediado por las variables depresión y ansiedad. Mientras que la sintomatología ansiosa presenta efectos directos e indirectos sobre las conductas de control de peso, la sintomatología depresiva solamente presenta un efecto indirecto.Conclusiones:los resultados del estudio destacan el rol mediador de la sintomatología depresiva y, especialmente, de la ansiedad en el desarrollo de conductas no saludables de control del peso.

  19. PubMed

    López Gómez, Juan José; Pérez Castrillón, José Luis; Romero Bobillo, Enrique; De Luis Román, Daniel A

    2016-11-29

    La obesidad interfiere con el metabolismo óseo a través de factores mecánicos, hormonales e inflamatorios. El principal tratamiento de dicha enfermedad es la dieta, modificación de la cantidad y tipo de alimento. Este tratamiento nutricional tiene una influencia sobre el metabolismo óseo en dos sentidos: modifica el efecto del sobrepeso y la obesidad sobre el hueso e interviene directamente en el turnoveróseo a través de las características de los nutrientes utilizados. Esta revisión analiza la evidencia del efecto sobre el hueso del descenso de peso y del patrón dietético utilizado. Por otra parte, se valorarán las modificaciones que se pueden realizar en la dieta indicada en un paciente obeso para prevenir la pérdida ósea, a corto y largo plazo, y disminuir el riesgo de fractura.

  20. Exploiting rice-sorghum synteny for targeted development of EST-SSRs to enrich the sorghum genetic linkage map.

    PubMed

    Ramu, P; Kassahun, B; Senthilvel, S; Ashok Kumar, C; Jayashree, B; Folkertsma, R T; Reddy, L Ananda; Kuruvinashetti, M S; Haussmann, B I G; Hash, C T

    2009-11-01

    The sequencing and detailed comparative functional analysis of genomes of a number of select botanical models open new doors into comparative genomics among the angiosperms, with potential benefits for improvement of many orphan crops that feed large populations. In this study, a set of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers was developed by mining the expressed sequence tag (EST) database of sorghum. Among the SSR-containing sequences, only those sharing considerable homology with rice genomic sequences across the lengths of the 12 rice chromosomes were selected. Thus, 600 SSR-containing sorghum EST sequences (50 homologous sequences on each of the 12 rice chromosomes) were selected, with the intention of providing coverage for corresponding homologous regions of the sorghum genome. Primer pairs were designed and polymorphism detection ability was assessed using parental pairs of two existing sorghum mapping populations. About 28% of these new markers detected polymorphism in this 4-entry panel. A subset of 55 polymorphic EST-derived SSR markers were mapped onto the existing skeleton map of a recombinant inbred population derived from cross N13 x E 36-1, which is segregating for Striga resistance and the stay-green component of terminal drought tolerance. These new EST-derived SSR markers mapped across all 10 sorghum linkage groups, mostly to regions expected based on prior knowledge of rice-sorghum synteny. The ESTs from which these markers were derived were then mapped in silico onto the aligned sorghum genome sequence, and 88% of the best hits corresponded to linkage-based positions. This study demonstrates the utility of comparative genomic information in targeted development of markers to fill gaps in linkage maps of related crop species for which sufficient genomic tools are not available.

  1. The EVER-EST Virtual Research Environment for the European Volcano Supersites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salvi, S.; Trasatti, E.; Rubbia, G.; Romaniello, V.; Marelli, F.

    2017-12-01

    EVER-EST (European Virtual Environment for Research - Earth Science Themes) is an European H2020 project (2015-2018) aimed at the creation of a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) for the Earth Sciences. The VRE is intended to enhance the ability to collaborate and share knowledge and experience among scientists. One of the innovations of the project is the exploitation of the "Research Object" concept (http://www.rohub.org). Research Objects encapsulate not only data and publications, but also algorithms, codes, results, and workflows that can be stored, shared and re-used. Four scientific communities are involved in the EVER-EST project: land monitoring, natural hazards, marine biology, and the GEO Geohazard Supersites community (http://www.earthobservations.org/gsnl.php). The latter is represented in the project by INGV and the University of Iceland, and has provided user requirements to tailor the VRE to the common needs of the worldwide Supersite communities. To develop and test the VRE we have defined user scenarios and created Research Objects embedding research activities and workflows on the Permanent Supersites Campi Flegrei, Mount Etna and Icelandic Volcanoes (http://vm1.everest.psnc.pl/supersites/). While these Supersites are test sites for the platform, during the last year of the project other Supersites may also be involved to demonstrate the added value of the collaborative environment in research activities aiming to support Disaster Risk Reduction. Using the VRE, scientists are able to collaborate with colleagues located in different parts of the world, in a simple and effective way. This includes being able to remotely access and share data, research results and ideas, to carry out training sessions and discussions, to compare different results and models, and to synthesize many different pieces of information in a single consensus product to be disseminated to end-users. In particular, a further need of the Supersite scientists, which can be

  2. Accelerating Adaptation of Natural Resource Management to Address Climate Change

    PubMed Central

    Cross, Molly S; McCarthy, Patrick D; Garfin, Gregg; Gori, David; Enquist, Carolyn AF

    2013-01-01

    Atender el Cambio Climático Resumen Los manejadores de recursos naturales están buscando herramientas para ayudarles a atender los efectos actuales y futuros del cambio climático. Presentamos un modelo para la planificación colaborativa enfocada a identificar formas para adaptar las acciones de manejo para atender los efectos del cambio climático en paisajes que cruzan límites jurisdiccionales públicos y privados. La Iniciativa Sudoccidental de Cambio Climático (ISCC) puso a prueba el método de planificación de Adaptación para Metas de Conservación (AMC) en talleres en cuatro paisajes del suroeste de E. U. A. Este método de planificación incrementó exitosamente la capacidad de los participantes para atender el cambio climático al proporcionarles un mejor entendimiento de los efectos potenciales y guiar la identificación de soluciones. Los talleres promovieron el diálogo trans-jurisdiccional y multidisciplinario sobre cambio climático mediante la participación activa de científicos y manejadores en la evaluación de efectos del cambio climático, la discusión de implicaciones de esos efectos para determinar las metas y actividades de manejo y desarrollar oportunidades para la coordinación regional de la adaptación de planes de manejo. La aplicación simplificada del marco AMC llevó las discusiones de grupo más allá de la evaluación de los efectos a la concepción de opciones para mitigar los efectos del cambio climático sobres determinadas especies, funciones ecológicas y ecosistemas. Los participantes abordaron la incertidumbre de las condiciones futuras al considerar más de un escenario de cambio climático. Delinearon oportunidades e identificaron los siguientes pasos para la implementación de varias acciones, y asociaciones locales han comenzado a implementar acciones y realizar planificación adicional. Se requiere inversión continua en la adaptación de planes y acciones de manejo para atender los efectos del cambio climático en el

  3. High polymorphism in Est-SSR loci for cellulose synthase and β-amylase of sugarcane varieties (Saccharum spp.) used by the industrial sector for ethanol production.

    PubMed

    Augusto, Raphael; Maranho, Rone Charles; Mangolin, Claudete Aparecida; Pires da Silva Machado, Maria de Fátima

    2015-01-01

    High and low polymorphisms in simple sequence repeats of expressed sequence tag (EST-SSR) for specific proteins and enzymes, such as β-amylase, cellulose synthase, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, were used to illustrate the genetic divergence within and between varieties of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and to guide the technological paths to optimize ethanol production from lignocellulose biomass. The varieties RB72454, RB867515, RB92579, and SP813250 on the second stage of cutting, all grown in the state of Paraná (PR), and the varieties RB92579 and SP813250 cultured in the PR state and in Northeastern Brazil, state of Pernambuco (PE), were analyzed using five EST-SSR primers for EstC66, EstC67, EstC68, EstC69, and EstC91 loci. Genetic divergence was evident in the EstC67 and EstC69 loci for β-amylase and cellulose synthase, respectively, among the four sugarcane varieties. An extremely high level of genetic differentiation was also detected in the EstC67 locus from the RB82579 and SP813250 varieties cultured in the PR and PE states. High polymorphism in SSR of the cellulose synthase locus may explain the high variability of substrates used in pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis processes, which has been an obstacle to effective industrial adaptations.

  4. Determination of the genetic diversity of vegetable soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] using EST-SSR markers*

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Gu-wen; Xu, Sheng-chun; Mao, Wei-hua; Hu, Qi-zan; Gong, Ya-ming

    2013-01-01

    The development of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) provided a useful tool for investigating plant genetic diversity. In the present study, 22 polymorphic EST-SSRs from grain soybean were identified and used to assess the genetic diversity in 48 vegetable soybean accessions. Among the 22 EST-SSR loci, tri-nucleotides were the most abundant repeats, accounting for 50.00% of the total motifs. GAA was the most common motif among tri-nucleotide repeats, with a frequency of 18.18%. Polymorphic analysis identified a total of 71 alleles, with an average of 3.23 per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.144 to 0.630, with a mean of 0.386. Observed heterozygosity (H o) values varied from 0.0196 to 1.0000, with an average of 0.6092, while the expected heterozygosity (H e) values ranged from 0.1502 to 0.6840, with a mean value of 0.4616. Principal coordinate analysis and phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that the accessions could be assigned to different groups based to a large extent on their geographic distribution, and most accessions from China were clustered into the same groups. These results suggest that Chinese vegetable soybean accessions have a narrow genetic base. The results of this study indicate that EST-SSRs from grain soybean have high transferability to vegetable soybean, and that these new markers would be helpful in taxonomy, molecular breeding, and comparative mapping studies of vegetable soybean in the future. PMID:23549845

  5. Rational design of a carboxylic esterase RhEst1 based on computational analysis of substrate binding.

    PubMed

    Chen, Qi; Luan, Zheng-Jiao; Yu, Hui-Lei; Cheng, Xiaolin; Xu, Jian-He

    2015-11-01

    A new carboxylic esterase RhEst1 which catalyzes the hydrolysis of (S)-(+)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate (S-DmCpCe), the key chiral building block of cilastatin, was identified and subsequently crystallized in our previous work. Mutant RhEst1A147I/V148F/G254A was found to show a 5-fold increase in the catalytic activity. In this work, molecular dynamic simulations were performed to elucidate the molecular determinant of the enzyme activity. Our simulations show that the substrate binds much more strongly in the A147I/V148F/G254A mutant than in wild type, with more hydrogen bonds formed between the substrate and the catalytic triad and the oxyanion hole. The OH group of the catalytic residue Ser101 in the mutant is better positioned to initiate the nucleophilic attack on S-DmCpCe. Interestingly, the "170-179" loop which is involved in shaping the catalytic sites and facilitating the product release shows remarkable dynamic differences in the two systems. Based on the simulation results, six residues were identified as potential "hot-spots" for further experimental testing. Consequently, the G126S and R133L mutants show higher catalytic efficiency as compared with the wild type. This work provides molecular-level insights into the substrate binding mechanism of carboxylic esterase RhEst1, facilitating future experimental efforts toward developing more efficient RhEst1 variants for industrial applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Development and Characterization of 1,906 EST-SSR Markers from Unigenes in Jute (Corchorus spp.)

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Liwu; Li, Yanru; Tao, Aifen; Fang, Pingping; Qi, Jianmin

    2015-01-01

    Jute, comprising white and dark jute, is the second important natural fiber crop after cotton worldwide. However, the lack of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers has resulted in a large gap in the improvement of jute. Previously, de novo 48,914 unigenes from white jute were assembled. In this study, 1,906 EST-SSRs were identified from these assembled uingenes. Among these markers, di-, tri- and tetra-nucleotide repeat types were the abundant types (12.0%, 56.9% and 21.6% respectively). The AG-rich or GA-rich nucleotide repeats were the predominant. Subsequently, a sample of 116 SSRs, located in genes encoding transcription factors and cellulose synthases, were selected to survey polymorphisms among12 diverse jute accessions. Of these, 83.6% successfully amplified at least one fragment and detected polymorphism among the 12diverse genotypes, indicating that the newly developed SSRs are of good quality. Furthermore, the genetic similarity coefficients of all the 12 accessions were evaluated using 97 polymorphic SSRs. The cluster analysis divided the jute accessions into two main groups with genetic similarity coefficient of 0.61. These EST-SSR markers not only enrich molecular markers of jute genome, but also facilitate genetic and genomic researches in jute. PMID:26512891

  7. Bioinformatic mining of EST-SSR loci in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas.

    PubMed

    Wang, Y; Ren, R; Yu, Z

    2008-06-01

    A set of expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, was developed through bioinformatic mining of the GenBank public database. As of June 30, 2007, a total of 5132 EST sequences from GenBank were downloaded and screened for di-, tri- and tetra-nucleotide repeats, with criteria set at a minimum of 5, 4 and 4 repeats for the three categories of SSRs respectively. Seventeen polymorphic microsatellite markers were characterized. Allele numbers ranged from 3 to 10, and the observed and expected heterozygosity values varied from 0.125 to 0.770 and from 0.113 to 0.732 respectively. Eleven loci were at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE); the other six loci showed significant departure from HWE (P < 0.01), suggesting possible presence of null alleles. Pairwise check of linkage disequilibrium (LD) indicated that 11 of 136 pairs of loci showed significant LD (P < 0.01), likely due to HWE present in single markers. Cross-species amplification was examined for five other Crassostrea species and reasonable results were obtained, promising usefulness of these markers in oyster genetics.

  8. In-silico and in-vivo analyses of EST databases unveil conserved miRNAs from Carthamus tinctorius and Cynara cardunculus

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs (21-24 bp) providing an RNA-based system of gene regulation highly conserved in plants and animals. In plants, miRNAs control mRNA degradation or restrain translation, affecting development and responses to stresses. Plant miRNAs show imperfect but extensive complementarity to mRNA targets, making their computational prediction possible, useful when data mining is applied on different species. In this study we used a comparative approach to identify both miRNAs and their targets, in artichoke and safflower. Results Two complete expressed sequence tags (ESTs) datasets from artichoke (3.6·104 entries) and safflower (4.2·104), were analysed with a bioinformatic pipeline and in vitro experiments, identifying 17 potential miRNAs. For each EST, using RNAhybrid program and 953 non redundant miRNA mature sequences, available in mirBase as reference, we searched matching putative targets. 8730 out of 42011 ESTs from safflower and 7145 of 36323 ESTs from artichoke showed at least one predicted miRNA target. BLAST analysis showed that 75% of all ESTs shared at least a common homologous region (E-value < 10-4) and about 50% of these displayed 400 bp or longer aligned sequences as conserved homologous/orthologous (COS) regions. 960 and 890 ESTs of safflower and artichoke organized in COS shared 79 different miRNA targets, considered functionally conserved, and statistically significant when compared with random sequences (signal to noise ratio > 2 and specificity ≥ 0.85). Four highly significant miRNAs selected from in silico data were experimentally validated in globe artichoke leaves. Conclusions Mature miRNAs and targets were predicted within EST sequences of safflower and artichoke. Most of the miRNA targets appeared highly/moderately conserved, highlighting an important and conserved function. In this study we introduce a stringent parameter for the comparative sequence analysis, represented by the identification of the same

  9. JUICE: a data management system that facilitates the analysis of large volumes of information in an EST project workflow.

    PubMed

    Latorre, Mariano; Silva, Herman; Saba, Juan; Guziolowski, Carito; Vizoso, Paula; Martinez, Veronica; Maldonado, Jonathan; Morales, Andrea; Caroca, Rodrigo; Cambiazo, Veronica; Campos-Vargas, Reinaldo; Gonzalez, Mauricio; Orellana, Ariel; Retamales, Julio; Meisel, Lee A

    2006-11-23

    Expressed sequence tag (EST) analyses provide a rapid and economical means to identify candidate genes that may be involved in a particular biological process. These ESTs are useful in many Functional Genomics studies. However, the large quantity and complexity of the data generated during an EST sequencing project can make the analysis of this information a daunting task. In an attempt to make this task friendlier, we have developed JUICE, an open source data management system (Apache + PHP + MySQL on Linux), which enables the user to easily upload, organize, visualize and search the different types of data generated in an EST project pipeline. In contrast to other systems, the JUICE data management system allows a branched pipeline to be established, modified and expanded, during the course of an EST project. The web interfaces and tools in JUICE enable the users to visualize the information in a graphical, user-friendly manner. The user may browse or search for sequences and/or sequence information within all the branches of the pipeline. The user can search using terms associated with the sequence name, annotation or other characteristics stored in JUICE and associated with sequences or sequence groups. Groups of sequences can be created by the user, stored in a clipboard and/or downloaded for further analyses. Different user profiles restrict the access of each user depending upon their role in the project. The user may have access exclusively to visualize sequence information, access to annotate sequences and sequence information, or administrative access. JUICE is an open source data management system that has been developed to aid users in organizing and analyzing the large amount of data generated in an EST Project workflow. JUICE has been used in one of the first functional genomics projects in Chile, entitled "Functional Genomics in nectarines: Platform to potentiate the competitiveness of Chile in fruit exportation". However, due to its ability to

  10. JUICE: a data management system that facilitates the analysis of large volumes of information in an EST project workflow

    PubMed Central

    Latorre, Mariano; Silva, Herman; Saba, Juan; Guziolowski, Carito; Vizoso, Paula; Martinez, Veronica; Maldonado, Jonathan; Morales, Andrea; Caroca, Rodrigo; Cambiazo, Veronica; Campos-Vargas, Reinaldo; Gonzalez, Mauricio; Orellana, Ariel; Retamales, Julio; Meisel, Lee A

    2006-01-01

    Background Expressed sequence tag (EST) analyses provide a rapid and economical means to identify candidate genes that may be involved in a particular biological process. These ESTs are useful in many Functional Genomics studies. However, the large quantity and complexity of the data generated during an EST sequencing project can make the analysis of this information a daunting task. Results In an attempt to make this task friendlier, we have developed JUICE, an open source data management system (Apache + PHP + MySQL on Linux), which enables the user to easily upload, organize, visualize and search the different types of data generated in an EST project pipeline. In contrast to other systems, the JUICE data management system allows a branched pipeline to be established, modified and expanded, during the course of an EST project. The web interfaces and tools in JUICE enable the users to visualize the information in a graphical, user-friendly manner. The user may browse or search for sequences and/or sequence information within all the branches of the pipeline. The user can search using terms associated with the sequence name, annotation or other characteristics stored in JUICE and associated with sequences or sequence groups. Groups of sequences can be created by the user, stored in a clipboard and/or downloaded for further analyses. Different user profiles restrict the access of each user depending upon their role in the project. The user may have access exclusively to visualize sequence information, access to annotate sequences and sequence information, or administrative access. Conclusion JUICE is an open source data management system that has been developed to aid users in organizing and analyzing the large amount of data generated in an EST Project workflow. JUICE has been used in one of the first functional genomics projects in Chile, entitled "Functional Genomics in nectarines: Platform to potentiate the competitiveness of Chile in fruit exportation

  11. Estándar para la Protección del Trabajador Agrícola Revisado

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Estas revisiones al Estándar de Protección a los Trabajadores Agrícolas, promulgado en 1992, proporcionarán protecciones de salud a los trabajadores agrícolas similares a las que ya disponen trabajadores en otras industrias.

  12. Morfología de la Coma del Cometa Hale - Bopp

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gil-Hutton, R.; Caballero, M.; Coldwell, G.; Cañada, M.; Godoy, G.; Trozzo, C.; Gómez, G.

    Para lograr comprender plenamente los procesos físicos que se desarrollan en los núcleos cometarios y obtener un modelo que explique, no sólo su actividad, sino también sus efectos sobre la coma, es necesario obtener información detallada para el mayor número de cometas posible, siendo las características más interesantes para estudiar la ubicación de las regiones activas, la presencia de jets, las tasas de producción de gas y polvo y la interacción de la coma con el viento solar. En la actualidad, con técnicas de procesamiento de imágenes y tecnología CCD se pueden obtener este tipo de datos para cometas que ingresan al sistema solar interior y estudiar, de esta manera, la morfología de sus comas, tratando de correlacionar la actividad detectada con algún modelo teórico. En este trabajo se presenta un estudio parcial de la actividad desarrollada por el cometa Hale-Bopp, y sus efectos sobre la morfología de su coma, desde agosto de 1995 hasta la fecha en base a imágenes adquiridas con el telescopio de 0.76 m. de la Estación Astronómica Dr. Carlos Ulrrico Cesco.

  13. Peligros de deslizamientos [Landslide Hazards

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    2000-01-01

    Deslizamientos, flujos de escombrera y desastres geológicos similares provenientes de volcanes ocurren alrededor del mundo. Cada año estos desastres causan billones de dólares en pérdidas y un sinnúmero de fatalidades y heridos. El primer paso para reducir los efectos dañinos causados por estos desastres es el conocimiento y educación acerca de ellos. El Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos se dedica a educar una gran cantidad de personas a través de información e investigaciones acerca de peligros geológicos. Este documento está publicado en inglés y español y puede ser reproducido de cualquier forma para fomentar su distribución.

  14. EST sequencing and gene expression profiling of defence-related genes from Persea americana infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Avocado (Persea americana) belongs to the Lauraceae family and is an important commercial fruit crop in over 50 countries. The most serious pathogen affecting avocado production is Phytophthora cinnamomi which causes Phytophthora root rot (PRR). Root pathogens such as P. cinnamomi and their interactions with hosts are poorly understood and despite the importance of both the avocado crop and the effect Phytophthora has on its cultivation, there is a lack of molecular knowledge underpinning our understanding of defence strategies against the pathogen. In order to initiate a better understanding of host-specific defence we have generated EST data using 454 pyrosequencing and profiled nine defence-related genes from Pc-infected avocado roots. Results 2.0 Mb of data was generated consisting of ~10,000 reads on a single lane of the GS FLX platform. Using the Newbler assembler 371 contigs were assembled, of which 367 are novel for Persea americana. Genes were classified according to Gene Ontology terms. In addition to identifying root-specific ESTs we were also able to identify and quantify the expression of nine defence-related genes that were differentially regulated in response to P. cinnamomi. Genes such as metallothionein, thaumatin and the pathogenesis related PsemI, mlo and profilin were found to be differentially regulated. Conclusions This is the first study in elucidating the avocado root transcriptome as well as identifying defence responses of avocado roots to the root pathogen P. cinnamomi. Our data is currently the only EST data that has been generated for avocado rootstocks, and the ESTs identified in this study have already been useful in identifying defence-related genes as well as providing gene information for other studies looking at processes such as ROS regulation as well as hypoxia in avocado roots. Our EST data will aid in the elucidation of the avocado transcriptome and identification of markers for improved rootstock breeding and

  15. EST sequencing and gene expression profiling of defence-related genes from Persea americana infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi.

    PubMed

    Mahomed, Waheed; Berg, Noëlani van den

    2011-11-23

    Avocado (Persea americana) belongs to the Lauraceae family and is an important commercial fruit crop in over 50 countries. The most serious pathogen affecting avocado production is Phytophthora cinnamomi which causes Phytophthora root rot (PRR). Root pathogens such as P. cinnamomi and their interactions with hosts are poorly understood and despite the importance of both the avocado crop and the effect Phytophthora has on its cultivation, there is a lack of molecular knowledge underpinning our understanding of defence strategies against the pathogen. In order to initiate a better understanding of host-specific defence we have generated EST data using 454 pyrosequencing and profiled nine defence-related genes from Pc-infected avocado roots. 2.0 Mb of data was generated consisting of ~10,000 reads on a single lane of the GS FLX platform. Using the Newbler assembler 371 contigs were assembled, of which 367 are novel for Persea americana. Genes were classified according to Gene Ontology terms. In addition to identifying root-specific ESTs we were also able to identify and quantify the expression of nine defence-related genes that were differentially regulated in response to P. cinnamomi. Genes such as metallothionein, thaumatin and the pathogenesis related PsemI, mlo and profilin were found to be differentially regulated. This is the first study in elucidating the avocado root transcriptome as well as identifying defence responses of avocado roots to the root pathogen P. cinnamomi. Our data is currently the only EST data that has been generated for avocado rootstocks, and the ESTs identified in this study have already been useful in identifying defence-related genes as well as providing gene information for other studies looking at processes such as ROS regulation as well as hypoxia in avocado roots. Our EST data will aid in the elucidation of the avocado transcriptome and identification of markers for improved rootstock breeding and screening. The characterization of

  16. Comparative expression profiling in grape (Vitis vinifera) berries derived from frequency analysis of ESTs and MPSS signatures.

    PubMed

    Iandolino, Alberto; Nobuta, Kan; da Silva, Francisco Goes; Cook, Douglas R; Meyers, Blake C

    2008-05-12

    Vitis vinifera (V. vinifera) is the primary grape species cultivated for wine production, with an industry valued annually in the billions of dollars worldwide. In order to sustain and increase grape production, it is necessary to understand the genetic makeup of grape species. Here we performed mRNA profiling using Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS) and combined it with available Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) data. These tag-based technologies, which do not require a priori knowledge of genomic sequence, are well-suited for transcriptional profiling. The sequence depth of MPSS allowed us to capture and quantify almost all the transcripts at a specific stage in the development of the grape berry. The number and relative abundance of transcripts from stage II grape berries was defined using Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS). A total of 2,635,293 17-base and 2,259,286 20-base signatures were obtained, representing at least 30,737 and 26,878 distinct sequences. The average normalized abundance per signature was approximately 49 TPM (Transcripts Per Million). Comparisons of the MPSS signatures with available Vitis species' ESTs and a unigene set demonstrated that 6,430 distinct contigs and 2,190 singletons have a perfect match to at least one MPSS signature. Among the matched sequences, ESTs were identified from tissues other than berries or from berries at different developmental stages. Additional MPSS signatures not matching to known grape ESTs can extend our knowledge of the V. vinifera transcriptome, particularly when these data are used to assist in annotation of whole genome sequences from Vitis vinifera. The MPSS data presented here not only achieved a higher level of saturation than previous EST based analyses, but in doing so, expand the known set of transcripts of grape berries during the unique stage in development that immediately precedes the onset of ripening. The MPSS dataset also revealed evidence of antisense expression not

  17. Determinação de regiões de órbitas diretas estáveis ao redor da Lua

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Melo, C. F.; Winter, O. C.; Vieira Neto, E.

    2003-08-01

    Neste Trabalho estamos investigando regiões do sistema Terra-Lua que contêm órbitas diretas estáveis ao redor da Lua visando a utilização destas órbitas em futuras missões de veículos espaciais como alternativas de trajetórias com baixo custo de manutenção. Adotando-se o problema restrito de três corpos, Terra-Lua-partícula, a localização e a extensão destas regiões de estabilidade foram investigadas numericamente considerando como estável toda órbita que permanece ao redor a Lua por, no mínimo, 1000 dias com energia de dois corpos da partícula em relação à Lua negativa. A estabilidade de tais regiões está associada a duas famílias de órbitas periódicas simples H1 e H2 e a órbitas quase-periódicas associadas a elas. Uma vez identificadas as regiões de estabilidade passamos a analisá-las introduzindo, paulatinamente, outras interações relevantes ao sistema como as perturbações do Sol (via problema restrito de quatro corpos), das marés, da pressão de radiação e do achatamento terrestre. Os resultados encontrados até o momento mostram que a perturbação do Sol é a única que reduz significativamente o tamanho das regiões de estabilidade. Também estamos investigando o comportamento de tais regiões quando características intrínsecas do sistema como as excentricidades das órbitas da Terra e da Lua e a inclinação da órbita Lua são consideradas. Com este estudo estamos reunindo informações que nos permitirão compreender a evolução das regiões de estabilidade no sistema Terra-Lua, bem como estabelecer parâmetros adequados para a utilização das trajetórias estáveis em futuras missões espaciais. Agradecimentos: Este projeto conta com o apoio do CNPq, da Capes e da Fapesp.

  18. Characterization of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) and functional validation of selected genes for abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    PubMed

    Priyanka, B; Sekhar, K; Sunita, T; Reddy, V D; Rao, Khareedu Venkateswara

    2010-03-01

    Pigeonpea, a major grain legume crop with remarkable drought tolerance traits, has been used for the isolation of stress-responsive genes. Herein, we report generation of ESTs, transcript profiles of selected genes and validation of candidate genes obtained from the subtracted cDNA libraries of pigeonpea plants subjected to PEG/water-deficit stress conditions. Cluster analysis of 124 selected ESTs yielded 75 high-quality ESTs. Homology searches disclosed that 55 ESTs share significant similarity with the known/putative proteins or ESTs available in the databases. These ESTs were characterized and genes relevant to the specific physiological processes were identified. Of the 75 ESTs obtained from the cDNA libraries of drought-stressed plants, 20 ESTs proved to be unique to the pigeonpea. These sequences are envisaged to serve as a potential source of stress-inducible genes of the drought stress-response transcriptome, and hence may be used for deciphering the mechanism of drought tolerance of the pigeonpea. Expression profiles of selected genes revealed increased levels of m-RNA transcripts in pigeonpea plants subjected to different abiotic stresses. Transgenic Arabidopsis lines, expressing Cajanus cajan hybrid-proline-rich protein (CcHyPRP), C. cajan cyclophilin (CcCYP) and C. cajan cold and drought regulatory (CcCDR) genes, exhibited marked tolerance, increased plant biomass and enhanced photosynthetic rates under PEG/NaCl/cold/heat stress conditions. This study represents the first report dealing with the isolation of drought-specific ESTs, transcriptome analysis and functional validation of drought-responsive genes of the pigeonpea. These genes, as such, hold promise for engineering crop plants bestowed with tolerance to major abiotic stresses.

  19. Analyses of Thinopyrum bessarabicum, Th. elongation and Th. junceum chromosomes using EST-SSR markers

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Wild Thinopyrum grasses serve as important gene pools for forage and cereal crops. Knowledge of their chromosome organizations is pivotal for efficient utilization of this important gene pool in germplasm enhancement programs. EST-SSR markers for Th. bessarabicum, Th. elongatum and Th. junceum chr...

  20. Est10: A Novel Alkaline Esterase Isolated from Bovine Rumen Belonging to the New Family XV of Lipolytic Enzymes

    PubMed Central

    Rodríguez, María Cecilia; Loaces, Inés; Amarelle, Vanesa; Senatore, Daniella; Iriarte, Andrés; Fabiano, Elena; Noya, Francisco

    2015-01-01

    A metagenomic fosmid library from bovine rumen was used to identify clones with lipolytic activity. One positive clone was isolated. The gene responsible for the observed phenotype was identified by in vitro transposon mutagenesis and sequencing and was named est10. The 367 amino acids sequence harbors a signal peptide, the conserved secondary structure arrangement of alpha/beta hydrolases, and a GHSQG pentapeptide which is characteristic of esterases and lipases. Homology based 3D-modelling confirmed the conserved spatial orientation of the serine in a nucleophilic elbow. By sequence comparison, Est10 is related to hydrolases that are grouped into the non-specific Pfam family DUF3089 and to other characterized esterases that were recently classified into the new family XV of lipolytic enzymes. Est10 was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli as a His-tagged fusion protein, purified and biochemically characterized. Est10 showed maximum activity towards C4 aliphatic chains and undetectable activity towards C10 and longer chains which prompted its classification as an esterase. However, it was able to efficiently catalyze the hydrolysis of aryl esters such as methyl phenylacetate and phenyl acetate. The optimum pH of this enzyme is 9.0, which is uncommon for esterases, and it exhibits an optimal temperature at 40°C. The activity of Est10 was inhibited by metal ions, detergents, chelating agents and additives. We have characterized an alkaline esterase produced by a still unidentified bacterium belonging to a recently proposed new family of esterases. PMID:25973851

  1. Est10: A Novel Alkaline Esterase Isolated from Bovine Rumen Belonging to the New Family XV of Lipolytic Enzymes.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez, María Cecilia; Loaces, Inés; Amarelle, Vanesa; Senatore, Daniella; Iriarte, Andrés; Fabiano, Elena; Noya, Francisco

    2015-01-01

    A metagenomic fosmid library from bovine rumen was used to identify clones with lipolytic activity. One positive clone was isolated. The gene responsible for the observed phenotype was identified by in vitro transposon mutagenesis and sequencing and was named est10. The 367 amino acids sequence harbors a signal peptide, the conserved secondary structure arrangement of alpha/beta hydrolases, and a GHSQG pentapeptide which is characteristic of esterases and lipases. Homology based 3D-modelling confirmed the conserved spatial orientation of the serine in a nucleophilic elbow. By sequence comparison, Est10 is related to hydrolases that are grouped into the non-specific Pfam family DUF3089 and to other characterized esterases that were recently classified into the new family XV of lipolytic enzymes. Est10 was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli as a His-tagged fusion protein, purified and biochemically characterized. Est10 showed maximum activity towards C4 aliphatic chains and undetectable activity towards C10 and longer chains which prompted its classification as an esterase. However, it was able to efficiently catalyze the hydrolysis of aryl esters such as methyl phenylacetate and phenyl acetate. The optimum pH of this enzyme is 9.0, which is uncommon for esterases, and it exhibits an optimal temperature at 40 °C. The activity of Est10 was inhibited by metal ions, detergents, chelating agents and additives. We have characterized an alkaline esterase produced by a still unidentified bacterium belonging to a recently proposed new family of esterases.

  2. Secondary mirror system for the European Solar Telescope (EST)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cavaller, L.; Siegel, B.; Prieto, G.; Hernandez, E.; Casalta, J. M.; Mercader, J.; Barriga, J.

    2010-07-01

    The European Solar Telescope (EST) is a European collaborative project to build a 4m class solar telescope in the Canary Islands, which is now in its design study phase. The telescope will provide diffraction limited performance for several instruments observing simultaneously at the Coudé focus at different wavelengths. A multi-conjugated adaptive optics system composed of a tip-tilt mirror and several deformable mirrors will be integrated in the telescope optical path. The secondary mirror system is composed of the mirror itself (Ø800mm), the alignment drives and the cooling system needed to remove the solar heat load from the mirror. During the design study the feasibility to provide fast tip-tilt capabilities at the secondary mirror to work as the adaptive optics tip-tilt mirror is also being evaluated.

  3. On the Determination of Perturbations in Planetary Motions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brunini, A.

    1990-11-01

    ABSTRACT. The main goal of this paper is to give an alternative way when the physical reaiity is too difficult to interpret, in such form that small effects can be ignored in the force model of dynamical systems. RESUMEN. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es ofrecer una via alterna para cuando la realidad fisica es demasiado dificil de interpretar, en tal forma que los efectos pequefios puedan despreciarse en los modelos de fuerza de sistemas dinamicos. Key words: PLANETS AND SATELLITES-DYNAMICS

  4. Pharmacogénétique: qu'en est-il au Maroc?

    PubMed Central

    Idrissi, Meryem Janati; Ouldim, Karim; Amarti, Afaf; El Hassouni, Mohamed; Khabbal, Youssef

    2013-01-01

    La pharmacogénétique est l’étude de l'influence des variations génétiques interindividuelles sur la réponse aux médicaments, avec le but d'améliorer la prise en charge des patients en visant une médecine personnalisée. Au fait le génome de deux personnes ne diffère que par 0.1% des 3.2 milliards de paires de bases, ce qui implique les effets indésirables des médicaments, qui ont un très important impact sur le plan clinique que sur le plan économique. Or cette dernière décennie ces effets indésirables ont pu être évités grâce aux tests pharmacogénétiques. Au Maroc, la recherche en pharmacogénétique commence à susciter l'intérêt des chercheurs avec quelques études. Une toute première étude en 1986, sur l'acétylation de l'isoniazide chez la population marocaine, suivie par deux autres en 2011 se focalisant sur le métabolisme du tacrolimus et des anti-vitamines K. Ainsi l'espoir maintenant est d'identifier les majoritaires polymorphismes génétiques affectant les patients marocains, afin de leur fournir une prise en charge adaptée. PMID:23785548

  5. C'est La Vie! The Game of Social Life: Using an Intersectionality Approach to Teach About Privilege and Structural Inequality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bramesfeld, Kosha D.; Good, Arla

    2016-01-01

    In this article, we present the results of two studies that evaluated an experiential intersectionality awareness activity, "C'est La Vie: The Game of Social Life." For Study 1 (N = 55), we content analyzed students' short answer responses about inequality written before and after playing "C'est La Vie." Study 2 compared a…

  6. First genetic linkage map of Taraxacum koksaghyz Rodin based on AFLP, SSR, COS and EST-SSR markers.

    PubMed

    Arias, Marina; Hernandez, Monica; Remondegui, Naroa; Huvenaars, Koen; van Dijk, Peter; Ritter, Enrique

    2016-08-04

    Taraxacum koksaghyz Rodin (TKS) has been studied in many occasions as a possible alternative source for natural rubber production of good quality and for inulin production. Some tire companies are already testing TKS tire prototypes. There are also many investigations on the production of bio-fuels from inulin and inulin applications for health improvement and in the food industry. A limited amount of genomic resources exist for TKS and particularly no genetic linkage map is available in this species. We have constructed the first TKS genetic linkage map based on AFLP, COS, SSR and EST-SSR markers. The integrated linkage map with eight linkage groups (LG), representing the eight chromosomes of Russian dandelion, has 185 individual AFLP markers from parent 1, 188 individual AFLP markers from parent 2, 75 common AFLP markers and 6 COS, 1 SSR and 63 EST-SSR loci. Blasting the EST-SSR sequences against known sequences from lettuce allowed a partial alignment of our TKS map with a lettuce map. Blast searches against plant gene databases revealed some homologies with useful genes for downstream applications in the future.

  7. Normal Telomere Length Maintenance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Requires Nuclear Import of the Ever Shorter Telomeres 1 (Est1) Protein via the Importin Alpha Pathway

    PubMed Central

    Hawkins, Charlene

    2014-01-01

    The Est1 (ever shorter telomeres 1) protein is an essential component of yeast telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein complex that restores the repetitive sequences at chromosome ends (telomeres) that would otherwise be lost during DNA replication. Previous work has shown that the telomerase RNA component (TLC1) transits through the cytoplasm during telomerase biogenesis, but mechanisms of protein import have not been addressed. Here we identify three nuclear localization sequences (NLSs) in Est1p. Mutation of the most N-terminal NLS in the context of full-length Est1p reduces Est1p nuclear localization and causes telomere shortening—phenotypes that are rescued by fusion with the NLS from the simian virus 40 (SV40) large-T antigen. In contrast to that of the TLC1 RNA, Est1p nuclear import is facilitated by Srp1p, the yeast homolog of importin α. The reduction in telomere length observed at the semipermissive temperature in a srp1 mutant strain is rescued by increased Est1p expression, consistent with a defect in Est1p nuclear import. These studies suggest that at least two nuclear import pathways are required to achieve normal telomere length homeostasis in yeast. PMID:24906415

  8. Development and use of EST-SSR markers for assessing genetic diversity in the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål).

    PubMed

    Jing, S; Liu, B; Peng, L; Peng, X; Zhu, L; Fu, Q; He, G

    2012-02-01

    To assess genetic diversity in populations of the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) (Homoptera: Delphacidae), we have developed and applied microsatellite, or simple sequence repeat (SSR), markers from expressed sequence tags (ESTs). We found that the brown planthopper clusters of ESTs were rich in SSRs with unique frequencies and distributions of SSR motifs. Three hundred and fifty-one EST-SSR markers were developed and yielded clear bands from samples of four brown planthopper populations. High cross-species transferability of these markers was detected in the closely related planthopper N. muiri. The newly developed EST-SSR markers provided sufficient resolution to distinguish within and among biotypes. Analyses based on SSR data revealed host resistance-based genetic differentiation among different brown planthopper populations; the genetic diversity of populations feeding on susceptible rice varieties was lower than that of populations feeding on resistant rice varieties. This is the first large-scale development of brown planthopper SSR markers, which will be useful for future molecular genetics and genomics studies of this serious agricultural pest.

  9. Development of EST-derived microsatellite markers in the aquatic macrophyte Ranunculus bungei (Ranunculaceae)1

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Zhigang; Wu, Jinwei; Wang, Yalin; Hou, Hongwei

    2017-01-01

    Premise of the study: Microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed to investigate the influence of ecological factors on gene flow and spatial genetic structuring of the submerged plant Ranunculus bungei (Ranunculaceae), which is regarded as an important species for understanding how plants adapt to an aquatic environment. Methods and Results: Twenty-two microsatellite loci were identified from an expressed sequence tag (EST) library. The number of alleles per locus ranged from one to five, and the expected heterozygosity varied from 0.0 to 0.5 in four Chinese populations of R. bungei. Fourteen loci were polymorphic and significantly deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. All of the loci were found to be amplifiable in two other species of Ranunculus section Batrachium, and cross-amplification in six riparian and aquatic species of Ranunculaceae was also partially successful. Conclusions: These novel EST-SSR markers will be useful for ecological and evolutionary studies of R. bungei as well as related species. PMID:28791205

  10. Single-session manualized ego state therapy (EST) for combat stress injury, PTSD, and ASD, part 1: the theory.

    PubMed

    Barabasz, Arreed F; Barabasz, Marianne; Watkins, John G

    2011-01-01

    Ego state therapy (EST) evolved from a psychodynamic understanding of personality as a product of an individual's ego states to a conceptualization of how ego-energized and object-energized elements are bound together to cope with a traumatic event. Neurobiological studies now substantiate Watkins's war neuroses conceptualizations. Because of their severity, trauma memories are encoded in the subcortical-subconscious brain regions that are accessed by the single-session manualized EST procedure but not by the popular cognitive-behavioral management therapies. The imprint of the trauma is not accessible or resolvable by such top-down verbal understanding or reframing; EST is a bottom-up therapy. Abreactive hypnosis facilitates ego state expression at physiologically and psychologically intense levels sufficient to activate subcortical processes to release affect in the presence of the therapist, who adds ego strength to the patient. This is followed by interpretation and reintegration. The result is a reconstructed personality that is adaptive and resilient.

  11. Development of EST Intron-Targeting SNP Markers for Panax ginseng and Their Application to Cultivar Authentication.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hongtao; Li, Guisheng; Kwon, Woo-Saeng; Yang, Deok-Chun

    2016-06-04

    Panax ginseng is one of the most valuable medicinal plants in the Orient. The low level of genetic variation has limited the application of molecular markers for cultivar authentication and marker-assisted selection in cultivated ginseng. To exploit DNA polymorphism within ginseng cultivars, ginseng expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were searched against the potential intron polymorphism (PIP) database to predict the positions of introns. Intron-flanking primers were then designed in conserved exon regions and used to amplify across the more variable introns. Sequencing results showed that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as indels, were detected in four EST-derived introns, and SNP markers specific to "Gopoong" and "K-1" were first reported in this study. Based on cultivar-specific SNP sites, allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted and proved to be effective for the authentication of ginseng cultivars. Additionally, the combination of a simple NaOH-Tris DNA isolation method and real-time allele-specific PCR assay enabled the high throughput selection of cultivars from ginseng fields. The established real-time allele-specific PCR assay should be applied to molecular authentication and marker assisted selection of P. ginseng cultivars, and the EST intron-targeting strategy will provide a potential approach for marker development in species without whole genomic DNA sequence information.

  12. Genetic Diversity and Association of EST-SSR and SCoT Markers with Rust Traits in Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.).

    PubMed

    Yan, Haidong; Zhang, Yu; Zeng, Bing; Yin, Guohua; Zhang, Xinquan; Ji, Yang; Huang, Linkai; Jiang, Xiaomei; Liu, Xinchun; Peng, Yan; Ma, Xiao; Yan, Yanhong

    2016-01-08

    Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), is a well-known perennial forage species; however, rust diseases have caused a noticeable reduction in the quality and production of orchardgrass. In this study, genetic diversity was assessed and the marker-trait associations for rust were examined using 18 EST-SSR and 21 SCoT markers in 75 orchardgrass accessions. A high level of genetic diversity was detected in orchardgrass with an average genetic diversity index of 0.369. For the EST-SSR and SCoT markers, 164 and 289 total bands were obtained, of which 148 (90.24%) and 272 (94.12%) were polymorphic, respectively. Results from an AMOVA analysis showed that more genetic variance existed within populations (87.57%) than among populations (12.43%). Using a parameter marker index, the efficiencies of the EST-SSR and SCoT markers were compared to show that SCoTs have higher marker efficiency (8.07) than EST-SSRs (4.82). The results of a UPGMA cluster analysis and a STRUCTURE analysis were both correlated with the geographic distribution of the orchardgrass accessions. Linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed an average r² of 0.1627 across all band pairs, indicating a high extent of linkage disequilibrium in the material. An association analysis between the rust trait and 410 bands from the EST-SSR and SCoT markers using TASSEL software revealed 20 band panels were associated with the rust trait in both 2011 and 2012. The 20 bands obtained from association analysis could be used in breeding programs for lineage selection to prevent great losses of orchardgrass caused by rust, and provide valuable information for further association mapping using this collection of orchardgrass.

  13. In silico search, characterization and validation of new EST-SSR markers in the genus Prunus.

    PubMed

    Sorkheh, Karim; Prudencio, Angela S; Ghebinejad, Azim; Dehkordi, Mehrana Kohei; Erogul, Deniz; Rubio, Manuel; Martínez-Gómez, Pedro

    2016-07-07

    Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are defined as sequence repeat units between 1 and 6 bp that occur in both coding and non-coding regions abundant in eukaryotic genomes, which may affect the expression of genes. In this study, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of eight Prunus species were analyzed for in silico mining of EST-SSRs, protein annotation, and open reading frames (ORFs), and the identification of codon repetitions. A total of 316 SSRs were identified using MISA software. Dinucleotide SSR motifs (26.31 %) were found to be the most abundant type of repeats, followed by tri- (14.58 %), tetra- (0.53 %), and penta- (0.27 %) nucleotide motifs. An attempt was made to design primer pairs for 316 identified SSRs but these were successful for only 175 SSR sequences. The positions of SSRs with respect to ORFs were detected, and annotation of sequences containing SSRs was performed to assign function to each sequence. SSRs were also characterized (in terms of position in the reference genome and associated gene) using the two available Prunus reference genomes (mei and peach). Finally, 38 SSR markers were validated across peach, almond, plum, and apricot genotypes. This validation showed a higher transferability level of EST-SSR developed in P. mume (mei) in comparison with the rest of species analyzed. Findings will aid analysis of functionally important molecular markers and facilitate the analysis of genetic diversity.

  14. Construction of a cDNA library from female adult of Toxocara canis, and analysis of EST and immune-related genes expressions.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Rongqiong; Xia, Qingyou; Huang, Hancheng; Lai, Min; Wang, Zhenxin

    2011-10-01

    Toxocara canis is a widespread intestinal nematode parasite of dogs, which can also cause disease in humans. We employed an expressed sequence tag (EST) strategy in order to study gene-expression including development, digestion and reproduction of T. canis. ESTs provided a rapid way to identify genes, particularly in organisms for which we have very little molecular information. In this study, a cDNA library was constructed from a female adult of T. canis and 215 high-quality ESTs from 5'-ends of the cDNA clones representing 79 unigenes were obtained. The titer of the primary cDNA library was 1.83×10(6)pfu/mL with a recombination rate of 99.33%. Most of the sequences ranged from 300 to 900bp with an average length of 656bp. Cluster analysis of these ESTs allowed identification of 79 unique sequences containing 28 contigs and 51 singletons. BLASTX searches revealed that 18 unigenes (22.78% of the total) or 70 ESTs (32.56% of the total) were novel genes that had no significant matches to any protein sequences in the public databases. The rest of the 61 unigenes (77.22% of the total) or 145 ESTs (67.44% of the total) were closely matched to the known genes or sequences deposited in the public databases. These genes were classified into seven groups based on their known or putative biological functions. We also confirmed the gene expression patterns of several immune-related genes using RT-PCR examination. This work will provide a valuable resource for the further investigations in the stage-, sex- and tissue-specific gene transcription or expression. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  15. First genetic linkage map of Taraxacum koksaghyz Rodin based on AFLP, SSR, COS and EST-SSR markers

    PubMed Central

    Arias, Marina; Hernandez, Monica; Remondegui, Naroa; Huvenaars, Koen; van Dijk, Peter; Ritter, Enrique

    2016-01-01

    Taraxacum koksaghyz Rodin (TKS) has been studied in many occasions as a possible alternative source for natural rubber production of good quality and for inulin production. Some tire companies are already testing TKS tire prototypes. There are also many investigations on the production of bio-fuels from inulin and inulin applications for health improvement and in the food industry. A limited amount of genomic resources exist for TKS and particularly no genetic linkage map is available in this species. We have constructed the first TKS genetic linkage map based on AFLP, COS, SSR and EST-SSR markers. The integrated linkage map with eight linkage groups (LG), representing the eight chromosomes of Russian dandelion, has 185 individual AFLP markers from parent 1, 188 individual AFLP markers from parent 2, 75 common AFLP markers and 6 COS, 1 SSR and 63 EST-SSR loci. Blasting the EST-SSR sequences against known sequences from lettuce allowed a partial alignment of our TKS map with a lettuce map. Blast searches against plant gene databases revealed some homologies with useful genes for downstream applications in the future. PMID:27488242

  16. An EST dataset for Metasequoia glyptostroboides buds: the first EST resource for molecular genomics studies in Metasequoia.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Ying; Thammannagowda, Shivegowda; Staton, Margaret; Tang, Sha; Xia, Xinli; Yin, Weilun; Liang, Haiying

    2013-03-01

    The "living fossil" Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng, commonly known as dawn redwood or Chinese redwood, is the only living species in the genus and is valued for its essential oil and crude extracts that have great potential for anti-fungal activity. Despite its paleontological significance and economical value as a rare relict species, genomic resources of Metasequoia are very limited. In order to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms behind the formation of reproductive buds and the transition from vegetative phase to reproductive phase in Metasequoia, we performed sequencing of expressed sequence tags from Metasequoia vegetative buds and female buds. By using the 454 pyrosequencing technology, a total of 1,571,764 high-quality reads were generated, among which 733,128 were from vegetative buds and 775,636 were from female buds. These EST reads were clustered and assembled into 114,124 putative unique transcripts (PUTs) with an average length of 536 bp. The 97,565 PUTs that were at least 100 bp in length were functionally annotated by a similarity search against public databases and assigned with Gene Ontology (GO) terms. A total of 59 known floral gene families and 190 isotigs involved in hormone regulation were captured in the dataset. Furthermore, a set of PUTs differentially expressed in vegetative and reproductive buds, as well as SSR motifs and high confidence SNPs, were identified. This is the first large-scale expressed sequence tags ever generated in Metasequoia and the first evidence for floral genes in this critically endangered deciduous conifer species.

  17. Contribución al flujo infrarrojo de las estrellas Be de la recombinación dielectrónica del MgII

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cruzado, A.; di Rocco, H.; Ringuelet, A.

    Para evaluar la contribución del proceso de recombinación dielectrónica del átomo de MgII al exceso de flujo infrarrojo observado en las estrellas Be, calculamos la energía emitida en las líneas originadas por este proceso. Se evaluaron los efectos de las condiciones físicas del medio, como la temperatura electrónica y la densidad electrónica, sobre el flujo emitido. Se consideró también la influencia de una posible opacidad.

  18. Development of EST Intron-Targeting SNP Markers for Panax ginseng and Their Application to Cultivar Authentication

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Hongtao; Li, Guisheng; Kwon, Woo-Saeng; Yang, Deok-Chun

    2016-01-01

    Panax ginseng is one of the most valuable medicinal plants in the Orient. The low level of genetic variation has limited the application of molecular markers for cultivar authentication and marker-assisted selection in cultivated ginseng. To exploit DNA polymorphism within ginseng cultivars, ginseng expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were searched against the potential intron polymorphism (PIP) database to predict the positions of introns. Intron-flanking primers were then designed in conserved exon regions and used to amplify across the more variable introns. Sequencing results showed that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as indels, were detected in four EST-derived introns, and SNP markers specific to “Gopoong” and “K-1” were first reported in this study. Based on cultivar-specific SNP sites, allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted and proved to be effective for the authentication of ginseng cultivars. Additionally, the combination of a simple NaOH-Tris DNA isolation method and real-time allele-specific PCR assay enabled the high throughput selection of cultivars from ginseng fields. The established real-time allele-specific PCR assay should be applied to molecular authentication and marker assisted selection of P. ginseng cultivars, and the EST intron-targeting strategy will provide a potential approach for marker development in species without whole genomic DNA sequence information. PMID:27271615

  19. Ontology and diversity of transcript-associated microsatellites mined from a globe artichoke EST database

    PubMed Central

    Scaglione, Davide; Acquadro, Alberto; Portis, Ezio; Taylor, Christopher A; Lanteri, Sergio; Knapp, Steven J

    2009-01-01

    Background The globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.) is a significant crop in the Mediterranean basin. Despite its commercial importance and its both dietary and pharmaceutical value, knowledge of its genetics and genomics remains scant. Microsatellite markers have become a key tool in genetic and genomic analysis, and we have exploited recently acquired EST (expressed sequence tag) sequence data (Composite Genome Project - CGP) to develop an extensive set of microsatellite markers. Results A unigene assembly was created from over 36,000 globe artichoke EST sequences, containing 6,621 contigs and 12,434 singletons. Over 12,000 of these unigenes were functionally assigned on the basis of homology with Arabidopsis thaliana reference proteins. A total of 4,219 perfect repeats, located within 3,308 unigenes was identified and the gene ontology (GO) analysis highlighted some GO term's enrichments among different classes of microsatellites with respect to their position. Sufficient flanking sequence was available to enable the design of primers to amplify 2,311 of these microsatellites, and a set of 300 was tested against a DNA panel derived from 28 C. cardunculus genotypes. Consistent amplification and polymorphism was obtained from 236 of these assays. Their polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.04 to 0.90 (mean 0.66). Between 176 and 198 of the assays were informative in at least one of the three available mapping populations. Conclusion EST-based microsatellites have provided a large set of de novo genetic markers, which show significant amounts of polymorphism both between and within the three taxa of C. cardunculus. They are thus well suited as assays for phylogenetic analysis, the construction of genetic maps, marker-assisted breeding, transcript mapping and other genomic applications in the species. PMID:19785740

  20. Rapid identification of red-flesh loquat cultivars using EST-SSR markers based on manual cultivar identification diagram strategy.

    PubMed

    Li, X Y; Xu, H X; Chen, J W

    2014-04-29

    Manual cultivar identification diagram is a new strategy for plant cultivar identification based on DNA markers, providing information to efficiently separate cultivars. We tested 25 pairs of apple EST-SSR primers for amplification of PCR products from loquat cultivars. These EST-SSR primers provided clear amplification products from the loquat cultivars, with a relatively high transferability rate of 84% to loquat; 11 pairs of primers amplified polymorphic products. After analysis of 24 red-fleshed loquat accessions, we found that only 7 pairs of primers could clearly separate all of them. A cultivar identification diagram of the 24 cultivars was constructed using polymorphic bands from the DNA fingerprints and EST-SSR primers. Any two of the 24 cultivars could be rapidly separated from each other, according to the polymorphic bands from the cultivars; the corresponding primers were marked in the correct position on the cultivar identification diagram. This red-flesh loquat cultivar identification diagram can separate the 24 red-flesh loquat cultivars, which is of benefit for loquat cultivar identification for germplasm management and breeding programs.

  1. Epidermal-skin-test 1,000 (EST-1,000)--a new reconstructed epidermis for in vitro skin corrosivity testing.

    PubMed

    Hoffmann, J; Heisler, E; Karpinski, S; Losse, J; Thomas, D; Siefken, W; Ahr, H-J; Vohr, H-W; Fuchs, H W

    2005-10-01

    The determination of a possible corrosive or irritative potential of certain products and ingredients is necessary for their classification and labeling requirements. Reconstructed skin as a model system provides fundamental advantages to single cell culture testing and leads to promising results as shown by different validation studies (for review: Fentem, J.H., Botham, P.A., 2002. ECVAM's activities in validating alternative tests for skin corrosion and irritation. ATLA 30(Suppl. 2), 61-67). In this study we introduce our new reconstructed epidermis "Epidermal-Skin-Test" (EST-1,000). This fully grown epidermis consists of proliferating as well as differentiating keratinocytes. EST-1,000 shows a high comparability to normal human skin as shown by histological and immunohistochemical data. Characteristic markers (KI-67, CK 1/10/5/14, transglutaminase, collagen IV, involucrin, beta 1 integrin) can be identified easily. The main focus of this work was to characterize EST-1,000 especially with respect to its barrier function by testing several substances of known corrosive potential. Skin corrosion was detected by the cytotoxic effect of the substances on a reconstructed epidermis after short-term application to the stratum corneum. The effect was determined by standard MTT assay and accompanying histological analysis. Hence EST-1,000 shows a very high predictive potential and closes the gap between animal testing and the established full-thickness model Advanced-Skin-Test 2,000 (AST-2,000) (Noll, M., Merkle, M.-L., Kandsberger, M., Matthes, T., Fuchs, H., Graeve, T., 1999. Reconstructed human skin (AST-2,000) as a tool for pharmaco-toxicology. ATLA 27, 302).

  2. ExprAlign - the identification of ESTs in non-model species by alignment of cDNA microarray expression profiles

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Background Sequence identification of ESTs from non-model species offers distinct challenges particularly when these species have duplicated genomes and when they are phylogenetically distant from sequenced model organisms. For the common carp, an environmental model of aquacultural interest, large numbers of ESTs remained unidentified using BLAST sequence alignment. We have used the expression profiles from large-scale microarray experiments to suggest gene identities. Results Expression profiles from ~700 cDNA microarrays describing responses of 7 major tissues to multiple environmental stressors were used to define a co-expression landscape. This was based on the Pearsons correlation coefficient relating each gene with all other genes, from which a network description provided clusters of highly correlated genes as 'mountains'. We show that these contain genes with known identities and genes with unknown identities, and that the correlation constitutes evidence of identity in the latter. This procedure has suggested identities to 522 of 2701 unknown carp ESTs sequences. We also discriminate several common carp genes and gene isoforms that were not discriminated by BLAST sequence alignment alone. Precision in identification was substantially improved by use of data from multiple tissues and treatments. Conclusion The detailed analysis of co-expression landscapes is a sensitive technique for suggesting an identity for the large number of BLAST unidentified cDNAs generated in EST projects. It is capable of detecting even subtle changes in expression profiles, and thereby of distinguishing genes with a common BLAST identity into different identities. It benefits from the use of multiple treatments or contrasts, and from the large-scale microarray data. PMID:19939286

  3. Gene Discovery in the Apicomplexa as Revealed by EST Sequencing and Assembly of a Comparative Gene Database

    PubMed Central

    Li, Li; Brunk, Brian P.; Kissinger, Jessica C.; Pape, Deana; Tang, Keliang; Cole, Robert H.; Martin, John; Wylie, Todd; Dante, Mike; Fogarty, Steven J.; Howe, Daniel K.; Liberator, Paul; Diaz, Carmen; Anderson, Jennifer; White, Michael; Jerome, Maria E.; Johnson, Emily A.; Radke, Jay A.; Stoeckert, Christian J.; Waterston, Robert H.; Clifton, Sandra W.; Roos, David S.; Sibley, L. David

    2003-01-01

    Large-scale EST sequencing projects for several important parasites within the phylum Apicomplexa were undertaken for the purpose of gene discovery. Included were several parasites of medical importance (Plasmodium falciparum, Toxoplasma gondii) and others of veterinary importance (Eimeria tenella, Sarcocystis neurona, and Neospora caninum). A total of 55,192 ESTs, deposited into dbEST/GenBank, were included in the analyses. The resulting sequences have been clustered into nonredundant gene assemblies and deposited into a relational database that supports a variety of sequence and text searches. This database has been used to compare the gene assemblies using BLAST similarity comparisons to the public protein databases to identify putative genes. Of these new entries, ∼15%–20% represent putative homologs with a conservative cutoff of p < 10−9, thus identifying many conserved genes that are likely to share common functions with other well-studied organisms. Gene assemblies were also used to identify strain polymorphisms, examine stage-specific expression, and identify gene families. An interesting class of genes that are confined to members of this phylum and not shared by plants, animals, or fungi, was identified. These genes likely mediate the novel biological features of members of the Apicomplexa and hence offer great potential for biological investigation and as possible therapeutic targets. [The sequence data from this study have been submitted to dbEST division of GenBank under accession nos.: Toxoplasma gondii: –, –, –, –, – , –, –, –, –. Plasmodium falciparum: –, –, –, –. Sarcocystis neurona: , , , , , , , , , , , , , –, –, –, –, –. Eimeria tenella: –, –, –, –, –, –, –, –, – , –, –, –, –, –, –, –, –, –, –, –. Neospora caninum: –, –, , – , –, –.] PMID:12618375

  4. Development and characterization of novel EST-SSR markers and their application for genetic diversity analysis of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.).

    PubMed

    Mornkham, T; Wangsomnuk, P P; Mo, X C; Francisco, F O; Gao, L Z; Kurzweil, H

    2016-10-24

    Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) is a perennial tuberous plant and a traditional inulin-rich crop in Thailand. It has become the most important source of inulin and has great potential for use in chemical and food industries. In this study, expressed sequence tag (EST)-based simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed from 40,362 Jerusalem artichoke ESTs retrieved from the NCBI database. Among 23,691 non-redundant identified ESTs, 1949 SSR motifs harboring 2 to 6 nucleotides with varied repeat motifs were discovered from 1676 assembled sequences. Seventy-nine primer pairs were generated from EST sequences harboring SSR motifs. Our results show that 43 primers are polymorphic for the six studied populations, while the remaining 36 were either monomorphic or failed to amplify. These 43 SSR loci exhibited a high level of genetic diversity among populations, with allele numbers varying from 2 to 7, with an average of 3.95 alleles per loci. Heterozygosity ranged from 0.096 to 0.774, with an average of 0.536; polymorphic index content ranged from 0.096 to 0.854, with an average of 0.568. Principal component analysis and neighbor-joining analysis revealed that the six populations could be divided into six clusters. Our results indicate that these newly characterized EST-SSR markers may be useful in the exploration of genetic diversity and range expansion of the Jerusalem artichoke, and in cross-species application for the genus Helianthus.

  5. tropiTree: An NGS-Based EST-SSR Resource for 24 Tropical Tree Species

    PubMed Central

    Russell, Joanne R.; Hedley, Peter E.; Cardle, Linda; Dancey, Siobhan; Morris, Jenny; Booth, Allan; Odee, David; Mwaura, Lucy; Omondi, William; Angaine, Peter; Machua, Joseph; Muchugi, Alice; Milne, Iain; Kindt, Roeland; Jamnadass, Ramni; Dawson, Ian K.

    2014-01-01

    The development of genetic tools for non-model organisms has been hampered by cost, but advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) have created new opportunities. In ecological research, this raises the prospect for developing molecular markers to simultaneously study important genetic processes such as gene flow in multiple non-model plant species within complex natural and anthropogenic landscapes. Here, we report the use of bar-coded multiplexed paired-end Illumina NGS for the de novo development of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers at low cost for a range of 24 tree species. Each chosen tree species is important in complex tropical agroforestry systems where little is currently known about many genetic processes. An average of more than 5,000 EST-SSRs was identified for each of the 24 sequenced species, whereas prior to analysis 20 of the species had fewer than 100 nucleotide sequence citations. To make results available to potential users in a suitable format, we have developed an open-access, interactive online database, tropiTree (http://bioinf.hutton.ac.uk/tropiTree), which has a range of visualisation and search facilities, and which is a model for the efficient presentation and application of NGS data. PMID:25025376

  6. Using the mouse embryonic stem cell test (EST) to evaluate the embryotoxicity of haloacetic acids

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Embryonic Stem Cell Test (EST) is used to predict the embryotoxic potential of a test compound by combining the data from cytotoxicity assays in undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells and differentiated mouse cells with the data from a differentiation assay in mES ...

  7. An elm EST database for identifying leaf beetle egg-induced defense genes

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Plants can defend themselves against herbivorous insects prior to the onset of larval feeding by responding to the eggs laid on their leaves. In the European field elm (Ulmus minor), egg laying by the elm leaf beetle ( Xanthogaleruca luteola) activates the emission of volatiles that attract specialised egg parasitoids, which in turn kill the eggs. Little is known about the transcriptional changes that insect eggs trigger in plants and how such indirect defense mechanisms are orchestrated in the context of other biological processes. Results Here we present the first large scale study of egg-induced changes in the transcriptional profile of a tree. Five cDNA libraries were generated from leaves of (i) untreated control elms, and elms treated with (ii) egg laying and feeding by elm leaf beetles, (iii) feeding, (iv) artificial transfer of egg clutches, and (v) methyl jasmonate. A total of 361,196 ESTs expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were identified which clustered into 52,823 unique transcripts (Unitrans) and were stored in a database with a public web interface. Among the analyzed Unitrans, 73% could be annotated by homology to known genes in the UniProt (Plant) database, particularly to those from Vitis, Ricinus, Populus and Arabidopsis. Comparative in silico analysis among the different treatments revealed differences in Gene Ontology term abundances. Defense- and stress-related gene transcripts were present in high abundance in leaves after herbivore egg laying, but transcripts involved in photosynthesis showed decreased abundance. Many pathogen-related genes and genes involved in phytohormone signaling were expressed, indicative of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and activation of jasmonic acid responsive genes. Cross-comparisons between different libraries based on expression profiles allowed the identification of genes with a potential relevance in egg-induced defenses, as well as other biological processes, including signal transduction, transport and

  8. An elm EST database for identifying leaf beetle egg-induced defense genes.

    PubMed

    Büchel, Kerstin; McDowell, Eric; Nelson, Will; Descour, Anne; Gershenzon, Jonathan; Hilker, Monika; Soderlund, Carol; Gang, David R; Fenning, Trevor; Meiners, Torsten

    2012-06-15

    Plants can defend themselves against herbivorous insects prior to the onset of larval feeding by responding to the eggs laid on their leaves. In the European field elm (Ulmus minor), egg laying by the elm leaf beetle ( Xanthogaleruca luteola) activates the emission of volatiles that attract specialised egg parasitoids, which in turn kill the eggs. Little is known about the transcriptional changes that insect eggs trigger in plants and how such indirect defense mechanisms are orchestrated in the context of other biological processes. Here we present the first large scale study of egg-induced changes in the transcriptional profile of a tree. Five cDNA libraries were generated from leaves of (i) untreated control elms, and elms treated with (ii) egg laying and feeding by elm leaf beetles, (iii) feeding, (iv) artificial transfer of egg clutches, and (v) methyl jasmonate. A total of 361,196 ESTs expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were identified which clustered into 52,823 unique transcripts (Unitrans) and were stored in a database with a public web interface. Among the analyzed Unitrans, 73% could be annotated by homology to known genes in the UniProt (Plant) database, particularly to those from Vitis, Ricinus, Populus and Arabidopsis. Comparative in silico analysis among the different treatments revealed differences in Gene Ontology term abundances. Defense- and stress-related gene transcripts were present in high abundance in leaves after herbivore egg laying, but transcripts involved in photosynthesis showed decreased abundance. Many pathogen-related genes and genes involved in phytohormone signaling were expressed, indicative of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and activation of jasmonic acid responsive genes. Cross-comparisons between different libraries based on expression profiles allowed the identification of genes with a potential relevance in egg-induced defenses, as well as other biological processes, including signal transduction, transport and primary metabolism

  9. Gene discovery using next-generation pyrosequencing to develop ESTs for Phalaenopsis orchids

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Orchids are one of the most diversified angiosperms, but few genomic resources are available for these non-model plants. In addition to the ecological significance, Phalaenopsis has been considered as an economically important floriculture industry worldwide. We aimed to use massively parallel 454 pyrosequencing for a global characterization of the Phalaenopsis transcriptome. Results To maximize sequence diversity, we pooled RNA from 10 samples of different tissues, various developmental stages, and biotic- or abiotic-stressed plants. We obtained 206,960 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) with an average read length of 228 bp. These reads were assembled into 8,233 contigs and 34,630 singletons. The unigenes were searched against the NCBI non-redundant (NR) protein database. Based on sequence similarity with known proteins, these analyses identified 22,234 different genes (E-value cutoff, e-7). Assembled sequences were annotated with Gene Ontology, Gene Family and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Among these annotations, over 780 unigenes encoding putative transcription factors were identified. Conclusion Pyrosequencing was effective in identifying a large set of unigenes from Phalaenopsis. The informative EST dataset we developed constitutes a much-needed resource for discovery of genes involved in various biological processes in Phalaenopsis and other orchid species. These transcribed sequences will narrow the gap between study of model organisms with many genomic resources and species that are important for ecological and evolutionary studies. PMID:21749684

  10. SCARF: maximizing next-generation EST assemblies for evolutionary and population genomic analyses.

    PubMed

    Barker, Michael S; Dlugosch, Katrina M; Reddy, A Chaitanya C; Amyotte, Sarah N; Rieseberg, Loren H

    2009-02-15

    Scaffolded and Corrected Assembly of Roche 454 (SCARF) is a next-generation sequence assembly tool for evolutionary genomics that is designed especially for assembling 454 EST sequences against high-quality reference sequences from related species. The program was created to knit together 454 contigs that do not assemble during traditional de novo assembly, using a reference sequence library to orient the 454 sequences. SCARF is freely available at http://msbarker.com/software.htm, and is released under the open source GPLv3 license (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html.

  11. Est16, a New Esterase Isolated from a Metagenomic Library of a Microbial Consortium Specializing in Diesel Oil Degradation.

    PubMed

    Pereira, Mariana Rangel; Mercaldi, Gustavo Fernando; Maester, Thaís Carvalho; Balan, Andrea; Lemos, Eliana Gertrudes de Macedo

    2015-01-01

    Lipolytic enzymes have attracted attention from a global market because they show enormous biotechnological potential for applications such as detergent production, leather processing, cosmetics production, and use in perfumes and biodiesel. Due to the intense demand for biocatalysts, a metagenomic approach provides methods of identifying new enzymes. In this study, an esterase designated as Est16 was selected from 4224 clones of a fosmid metagenomic library, revealing an 87% amino acid identity with an esterase/lipase (accession number ADM63076.1) from an uncultured bacterium. Phylogenetic studies showed that the enzyme belongs to family V of bacterial lipolytic enzymes and has sequence and structural similarities with an aryl-esterase from Pseudomonas fluorescens and a patented Anti-Kazlauskas lipase (patent number US20050153404). The protein was expressed and purified as a highly soluble, thermally stable enzyme that showed a preference for basic pH. Est16 exhibited activity toward a wide range of substrates and the highest catalytic efficiency against p-nitrophenyl butyrate and p-nitrophenyl valerate. Est16 also showed tolerance to the presence of organic solvents, detergents and metals. Based on molecular modeling, we showed that the large alpha-beta domain is conserved in the patented enzymes but not the substrate pocket. Here, it was demonstrated that a metagenomic approach is suitable for discovering the lipolytic enzyme diversity and that Est16 has the biotechnological potential for use in industrial processes.

  12. Analysis and functional annotation of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from multiple tissues of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

    PubMed Central

    Ho, Chai-Ling; Kwan, Yen-Yen; Choi, Mei-Chooi; Tee, Sue-Sean; Ng, Wai-Har; Lim, Kok-Ang; Lee, Yang-Ping; Ooi, Siew-Eng; Lee, Weng-Wah; Tee, Jin-Ming; Tan, Siang-Hee; Kulaveerasingam, Harikrishna; Alwee, Sharifah Shahrul Rabiah Syed; Abdullah, Meilina Ong

    2007-01-01

    Background Oil palm is the second largest source of edible oil which contributes to approximately 20% of the world's production of oils and fats. In order to understand the molecular biology involved in in vitro propagation, flowering, efficient utilization of nitrogen sources and root diseases, we have initiated an expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis on oil palm. Results In this study, six cDNA libraries from oil palm zygotic embryos, suspension cells, shoot apical meristems, young flowers, mature flowers and roots, were constructed. We have generated a total of 14537 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from these libraries, from which 6464 tentative unique contigs (TUCs) and 2129 singletons were obtained. Approximately 6008 of these tentative unique genes (TUGs) have significant matches to the non-redundant protein database, from which 2361 were assigned to one or more Gene Ontology categories. Predominant transcripts and differentially expressed genes were identified in multiple oil palm tissues. Homologues of genes involved in many aspects of flower development were also identified among the EST collection, such as CONSTANS-like, AGAMOUS-like (AGL)2, AGL20, LFY-like, SQUAMOSA, SQUAMOSA binding protein (SBP) etc. Majority of them are the first representatives in oil palm, providing opportunities to explore the cause of epigenetic homeotic flowering abnormality in oil palm, given the importance of flowering in fruit production. The transcript levels of two flowering-related genes, EgSBP and EgSEP were analysed in the flower tissues of various developmental stages. Gene homologues for enzymes involved in oil biosynthesis, utilization of nitrogen sources, and scavenging of oxygen radicals, were also uncovered among the oil palm ESTs. Conclusion The EST sequences generated will allow comparative genomic studies between oil palm and other monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, development of gene-targeted markers for the reference genetic map, design and

  13. Construction and EST sequencing of full-length, drought stress cDNA libraries for common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Common bean is an important legume crop with only a moderate number of short expressed sequence tags (ESTs) made with traditional methods. The goal of this research was to use full-length cDNA technology to develop ESTs that would overlap with the beginning of open reading frames and therefore be useful for gene annotation of genomic sequences. The library was also constructed to represent genes expressed under drought, low soil phosphorus and high soil aluminum toxicity. We also undertook comparisons of the full-length cDNA library to two previous non-full clone EST sets for common bean. Results Two full-length cDNA libraries were constructed: one for the drought tolerant Mesoamerican genotype BAT477 and the other one for the acid-soil tolerant Andean genotype G19833 which has been selected for genome sequencing. Plants were grown in three soil types using deep rooting cylinders subjected to drought and non-drought stress and tissues were collected from both roots and above ground parts. A total of 20,000 clones were selected robotically, half from each library. Then, nearly 10,000 clones from the G19833 library were sequenced with an average read length of 850 nucleotides. A total of 4,219 unigenes were identified consisting of 2,981 contigs and 1,238 singletons. These were functionally annotated with gene ontology terms and placed into KEGG pathways. Compared to other EST sequencing efforts in common bean, about half of the sequences were novel or represented the 5' ends of known genes. Conclusions The present full-length cDNA libraries add to the technological toolbox available for common bean and our sequencing of these clones substantially increases the number of unique EST sequences available for the common bean genome. All of this should be useful for both functional gene annotation, analysis of splice site variants and intron/exon boundary determination by comparison to soybean genes or with common bean whole-genome sequences. In addition the

  14. EST-derived SSR markers used as anchor loci for the construction of a consensus linkage map in ryegrass (Lolium spp.)

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Genetic markers and linkage mapping are basic prerequisites for marker-assisted selection and map-based cloning. In the case of the key grassland species Lolium spp., numerous mapping populations have been developed and characterised for various traits. Although some genetic linkage maps of these populations have been aligned with each other using publicly available DNA markers, the number of common markers among genetic maps is still low, limiting the ability to compare candidate gene and QTL locations across germplasm. Results A set of 204 expressed sequence tag (EST)-derived simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers has been assigned to map positions using eight different ryegrass mapping populations. Marker properties of a subset of 64 EST-SSRs were assessed in six to eight individuals of each mapping population and revealed 83% of the markers to be polymorphic in at least one population and an average number of alleles of 4.88. EST-SSR markers polymorphic in multiple populations served as anchor markers and allowed the construction of the first comprehensive consensus map for ryegrass. The integrated map was complemented with 97 SSRs from previously published linkage maps and finally contained 284 EST-derived and genomic SSR markers. The total map length was 742 centiMorgan (cM), ranging for individual chromosomes from 70 cM of linkage group (LG) 6 to 171 cM of LG 2. Conclusions The consensus linkage map for ryegrass based on eight mapping populations and constructed using a large set of publicly available Lolium EST-SSRs mapped for the first time together with previously mapped SSR markers will allow for consolidating existing mapping and QTL information in ryegrass. Map and markers presented here will prove to be an asset in the development for both molecular breeding of ryegrass as well as comparative genetics and genomics within grass species. PMID:20712870

  15. Qu’est-ce que l’hidradénite suppurée?

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Erika Yue; Alhusayen, Raed; Lansang, Perla; Shear, Neil; Yeung, Jensen

    2017-01-01

    Résumé Objectif Permettre aux médecins de famille de comprendre l’épidémiologie, le tableau clinique, le diagnostic et la prise en charge de l’hidradénite suppurée. Sources d’information Une recherche de la littérature a été effectuée sur PubMed à l’aide des mots-clés MeSH hidradenitis suppurativa. Message principal L’hidradénite suppurée est une affection cutanée chronique, récidivante et incapacitante. C’est un trouble inflammatoire de l’épithélium folliculaire, bien qu’une infection bactérienne secondaire se produise souvent. Le diagnostic, posé en clinique, repose sur les lésions typiques (nodules, abcès, tractus sinusal), le siège (plis cutanés), la nature des rechutes et le caractère chronique. De nombreuses comorbidités sont associées à l’hidradénite suppurée, y compris l’obésité, le syndrome métabolique, la maladie intestinale inflammatoire et la spondylarthropathie. Même si l’absence de traitement curatif et la nature récidivante de l’hidradénite suppurée en compliquent le traitement, il existe des options efficaces pour prendre en charge les symptômes. Conclusion Les médecins de famille doivent soupçonner l’hidradénite suppurée chez les patients qui présentent des abcès cutanés récidivants dans les plis cutanés. Les médecins de famille jouent un rôle important dans le diagnostic précoce, l’instauration du traitement et la recommandation en dermatologie avant que l’hidradénite suppurée ne progresse vers une atteinte terminale incapacitante. PMID:28209697

  16. Development of highly polymorphic EST-SSR markers and segregation in F₁ hybrid population of Vitis vinifera L.

    PubMed

    Kayesh, E; Zhang, Y Y; Liu, G S; Bilkish, N; Sun, X; Leng, X P; Fang, J G

    2013-09-23

    The objectives of this investigation were to develop and validate the expressed sequence tag (EST)-simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from large EST sequences, and to study the segregation and distribution of SSRs within two grapevine parental lines. In total, 94 F₁ lines crossed between "Early Rose" and "Red Globe" were studied. Approximately 2100 EST-SSR sequences of Vitis vinifera L. were searched for SSRs and analyzed for the design of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers amplifying the SSR-rich regions. Trinucleotide repeats were found to be the most abundant, followed by other nucleotide repeats. A total of 182 SSR primer pairs were first developed for the study on the parental polymorphism. Among the 182 SSR primers, 142 primer pairs (78%) could amplify the anticipated PCR products, among which only 52 primer pairs (36.62%) showed polymorphism between the two parents. These polymorphic bands were further surveyed among the 94 F₁ lines, and the results showed that a total of 162 bands were amplified, and 98 of them were polymorphic in both parents (60.86% polymorphism), with an average of 1.88 polymorphic DNA bands for each primer pair. After testing with the chi-square test, 33 of the clearly amplified polymorphic bands followed a 3:1 ratio, and 37 followed a 1:1 ratio. The rest showed distorted segregation ratios.

  17. Analysis of expressed sequence tags from Actinidia: applications of a cross species EST database for gene discovery in the areas of flavor, health, color and ripening

    PubMed Central

    Crowhurst, Ross N; Gleave, Andrew P; MacRae, Elspeth A; Ampomah-Dwamena, Charles; Atkinson, Ross G; Beuning, Lesley L; Bulley, Sean M; Chagne, David; Marsh, Ken B; Matich, Adam J; Montefiori, Mirco; Newcomb, Richard D; Schaffer, Robert J; Usadel, Björn; Allan, Andrew C; Boldingh, Helen L; Bowen, Judith H; Davy, Marcus W; Eckloff, Rheinhart; Ferguson, A Ross; Fraser, Lena G; Gera, Emma; Hellens, Roger P; Janssen, Bart J; Klages, Karin; Lo, Kim R; MacDiarmid, Robin M; Nain, Bhawana; McNeilage, Mark A; Rassam, Maysoon; Richardson, Annette C; Rikkerink, Erik HA; Ross, Gavin S; Schröder, Roswitha; Snowden, Kimberley C; Souleyre, Edwige JF; Templeton, Matt D; Walton, Eric F; Wang, Daisy; Wang, Mindy Y; Wang, Yanming Y; Wood, Marion; Wu, Rongmei; Yauk, Yar-Khing; Laing, William A

    2008-01-01

    Background Kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) are a relatively new, but economically important crop grown in many different parts of the world. Commercial success is driven by the development of new cultivars with novel consumer traits including flavor, appearance, healthful components and convenience. To increase our understanding of the genetic diversity and gene-based control of these key traits in Actinidia, we have produced a collection of 132,577 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Results The ESTs were derived mainly from four Actinidia species (A. chinensis, A. deliciosa, A. arguta and A. eriantha) and fell into 41,858 non redundant clusters (18,070 tentative consensus sequences and 23,788 EST singletons). Analysis of flavor and fragrance-related gene families (acyltransferases and carboxylesterases) and pathways (terpenoid biosynthesis) is presented in comparison with a chemical analysis of the compounds present in Actinidia including esters, acids, alcohols and terpenes. ESTs are identified for most genes in color pathways controlling chlorophyll degradation and carotenoid biosynthesis. In the health area, data are presented on the ESTs involved in ascorbic acid and quinic acid biosynthesis showing not only that genes for many of the steps in these pathways are represented in the database, but that genes encoding some critical steps are absent. In the convenience area, genes related to different stages of fruit softening are identified. Conclusion This large EST resource will allow researchers to undertake the tremendous challenge of understanding the molecular basis of genetic diversity in the Actinidia genus as well as provide an EST resource for comparative fruit genomics. The various bioinformatics analyses we have undertaken demonstrates the extent of coverage of ESTs for genes encoding different biochemical pathways in Actinidia. PMID:18655731

  18. Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis of two subspecies of Metarhizium anisopliae reveals a plethora of secreted proteins with potential activity in insect hosts.

    PubMed

    Freimoser, Florian M; Screen, Steven; Bagga, Savita; Hu, Gang; St Leger, Raymond J

    2003-01-01

    Expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries for Metarhizium anisopliae, the causative agent of green muscardine disease, were developed from the broad host-range pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae sf. anisopliae and the specific grasshopper pathogen, M. anisopliae sf. acridum. Approximately 1,700 5' end sequences from each subspecies were generated from cDNA libraries representing fungi grown under conditions that maximize secretion of cuticle-degrading enzymes. Both subspecies had ESTs for virtually all pathogenicity-related genes cloned to date from M. anisopliae, but many novel genes encoding potential virulence factors were also tagged. Enzymes with potential targets in the insect host included proteases, chitinases, phospholipases, lipases, esterases, phosphatases and enzymes producing toxic secondary metabolites. A diverse array of proteases composed 36 % of all M. anisopliae sf. anisopliae ESTs. Eighty percent of the ESTs that could be clustered into functional groups had significant matches (E<10(-5)) in other ascomycete fungi. These included genes reported to have specific roles in pathogens with plant or vertebrate hosts. Many of the remaining ESTs had their best BLAST match among animal, plant and bacterial sequences. These include genes with plant and microbial counterparts that produce potent antimicrobials. The abundance of transcripts discovered for different functional groups varied between the two subspecies of M. anisopliae in a manner consistent with ecological adaptations of the two pathogens. By hastening gene discovery this project has enhanced development of improved mycoinsecticides. In addition, the M. anisopliae ESTs represent a significant contribution to the extensive database of sequences from ascomycetes that are saprophytes or plant and vertebrate pathogens. Comparative analyses of these sequences is providing important information about the biology and evolutionary history of this clade.

  19. A first step in understanding an invasive weed through its genes: an EST analysis of invasive Centaurea maculosa

    PubMed Central

    Broz, Amanda K; Broeckling, Corey D; He, Ji; Dai, Xinbin; Zhao, Patrick X; Vivanco, Jorge M

    2007-01-01

    Background The economic and biological implications of plant invasion are overwhelming; however, the processes by which plants become successful invaders are not well understood. Limited genetic resources are available for most invasive and weedy species, making it difficult to study molecular and genetic aspects that may be associated with invasion. Results As an initial step towards understanding the molecular mechanisms by which plants become invasive, we have generated a normalized Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) library comprising seven invasive populations of Centaurea maculosa, an invasive aster in North America. Seventy-seven percent of the 4423 unique transcripts showed significant similarity to existing proteins in the NCBI database and could be grouped based on gene ontology assignments. Conclusion The C. maculosa EST library represents an initial step towards looking at gene-specific expression in this species, and will pave the way for creation of other resources such as microarray chips that can help provide a view of global gene expression in invasive C. maculosa and its native counterparts. To our knowledge, this is the first published set of ESTs derived from an invasive weed that will be targeted to study invasive behavior. Understanding the genetic basis of evolution for increased invasiveness in exotic plants is critical to understanding the mechanisms through which exotic invasions occur. PMID:17524143

  20. A first step in understanding an invasive weed through its genes: an EST analysis of invasive Centaurea maculosa.

    PubMed

    Broz, Amanda K; Broeckling, Corey D; He, Ji; Dai, Xinbin; Zhao, Patrick X; Vivanco, Jorge M

    2007-05-24

    The economic and biological implications of plant invasion are overwhelming; however, the processes by which plants become successful invaders are not well understood. Limited genetic resources are available for most invasive and weedy species, making it difficult to study molecular and genetic aspects that may be associated with invasion. As an initial step towards understanding the molecular mechanisms by which plants become invasive, we have generated a normalized Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) library comprising seven invasive populations of Centaurea maculosa, an invasive aster in North America. Seventy-seven percent of the 4423 unique transcripts showed significant similarity to existing proteins in the NCBI database and could be grouped based on gene ontology assignments. The C. maculosa EST library represents an initial step towards looking at gene-specific expression in this species, and will pave the way for creation of other resources such as microarray chips that can help provide a view of global gene expression in invasive C. maculosa and its native counterparts. To our knowledge, this is the first published set of ESTs derived from an invasive weed that will be targeted to study invasive behavior. Understanding the genetic basis of evolution for increased invasiveness in exotic plants is critical to understanding the mechanisms through which exotic invasions occur.

  1. Experimental and statistical post-validation of positive example EST sequences carrying peroxisome targeting signals type 1 (PTS1).

    PubMed

    Lingner, Thomas; Kataya, Amr R A; Reumann, Sigrun

    2012-02-01

    We recently developed the first algorithms specifically for plants to predict proteins carrying peroxisome targeting signals type 1 (PTS1) from genome sequences. As validated experimentally, the prediction methods are able to correctly predict unknown peroxisomal Arabidopsis proteins and to infer novel PTS1 tripeptides. The high prediction performance is primarily determined by the large number and sequence diversity of the underlying positive example sequences, which mainly derived from EST databases. However, a few constructs remained cytosolic in experimental validation studies, indicating sequencing errors in some ESTs. To identify erroneous sequences, we validated subcellular targeting of additional positive example sequences in the present study. Moreover, we analyzed the distribution of prediction scores separately for each orthologous group of PTS1 proteins, which generally resembled normal distributions with group-specific mean values. The cytosolic sequences commonly represented outliers of low prediction scores and were located at the very tail of a fitted normal distribution. Three statistical methods for identifying outliers were compared in terms of sensitivity and specificity." Their combined application allows elimination of erroneous ESTs from positive example data sets. This new post-validation method will further improve the prediction accuracy of both PTS1 and PTS2 protein prediction models for plants, fungi, and mammals.

  2. Experimental and statistical post-validation of positive example EST sequences carrying peroxisome targeting signals type 1 (PTS1)

    PubMed Central

    Lingner, Thomas; Kataya, Amr R. A.; Reumann, Sigrun

    2012-01-01

    We recently developed the first algorithms specifically for plants to predict proteins carrying peroxisome targeting signals type 1 (PTS1) from genome sequences.1 As validated experimentally, the prediction methods are able to correctly predict unknown peroxisomal Arabidopsis proteins and to infer novel PTS1 tripeptides. The high prediction performance is primarily determined by the large number and sequence diversity of the underlying positive example sequences, which mainly derived from EST databases. However, a few constructs remained cytosolic in experimental validation studies, indicating sequencing errors in some ESTs. To identify erroneous sequences, we validated subcellular targeting of additional positive example sequences in the present study. Moreover, we analyzed the distribution of prediction scores separately for each orthologous group of PTS1 proteins, which generally resembled normal distributions with group-specific mean values. The cytosolic sequences commonly represented outliers of low prediction scores and were located at the very tail of a fitted normal distribution. Three statistical methods for identifying outliers were compared in terms of sensitivity and specificity.” Their combined application allows elimination of erroneous ESTs from positive example data sets. This new post-validation method will further improve the prediction accuracy of both PTS1 and PTS2 protein prediction models for plants, fungi, and mammals. PMID:22415050

  3. A comprehensive resource of drought- and salinity- responsive ESTs for gene discovery and marker development in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Background Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), an important grain legume crop of the world is seriously challenged by terminal drought and salinity stresses. However, very limited number of molecular markers and candidate genes are available for undertaking molecular breeding in chickpea to tackle these stresses. This study reports generation and analysis of comprehensive resource of drought- and salinity-responsive expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and gene-based markers. Results A total of 20,162 (18,435 high quality) drought- and salinity- responsive ESTs were generated from ten different root tissue cDNA libraries of chickpea. Sequence editing, clustering and assembly analysis resulted in 6,404 unigenes (1,590 contigs and 4,814 singletons). Functional annotation of unigenes based on BLASTX analysis showed that 46.3% (2,965) had significant similarity (≤1E-05) to sequences in the non-redundant UniProt database. BLASTN analysis of unique sequences with ESTs of four legume species (Medicago, Lotus, soybean and groundnut) and three model plant species (rice, Arabidopsis and poplar) provided insights on conserved genes across legumes as well as novel transcripts for chickpea. Of 2,965 (46.3%) significant unigenes, only 2,071 (32.3%) unigenes could be functionally categorised according to Gene Ontology (GO) descriptions. A total of 2,029 sequences containing 3,728 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified and 177 new EST-SSR markers were developed. Experimental validation of a set of 77 SSR markers on 24 genotypes revealed 230 alleles with an average of 4.6 alleles per marker and average polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 0.43. Besides SSR markers, 21,405 high confidence single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 742 contigs (with ≥ 5 ESTs) were also identified. Recognition sites for restriction enzymes were identified for 7,884 SNPs in 240 contigs. Hierarchical clustering of 105 selected contigs provided clues about stress- responsive candidate genes

  4. The Alveolate Perkinsus marinus: Biological Insights from EST Gene Discovery

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Perkinsus marinus, a protozoan parasite of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, has devastated natural and farmed oyster populations along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. It is classified as a member of the Perkinsozoa, a recently established phylum considered close to the ancestor of ciliates, dinoflagellates, and apicomplexans, and a key taxon for understanding unique adaptations (e.g. parasitism) within the Alveolata. Despite intense parasite pressure, no disease-resistant oysters have been identified and no effective therapies have been developed to date. Results To gain insight into the biological basis of the parasite's virulence and pathogenesis mechanisms, and to identify genes encoding potential targets for intervention, we generated >31,000 5' expressed sequence tags (ESTs) derived from four trophozoite libraries generated from two P. marinus strains. Trimming and clustering of the sequence tags yielded 7,863 unique sequences, some of which carry a spliced leader. Similarity searches revealed that 55% of these had hits in protein sequence databases, of which 1,729 had their best hit with proteins from the chromalveolates (E-value ≤ 1e-5). Some sequences are similar to those proven to be targets for effective intervention in other protozoan parasites, and include not only proteases, antioxidant enzymes, and heat shock proteins, but also those associated with relict plastids, such as acetyl-CoA carboxylase and methyl erythrithol phosphate pathway components, and those involved in glycan assembly, protein folding/secretion, and parasite-host interactions. Conclusions Our transcriptome analysis of P. marinus, the first for any member of the Perkinsozoa, contributes new insight into its biology and taxonomic position. It provides a very informative, albeit preliminary, glimpse into the expression of genes encoding functionally relevant proteins as potential targets for chemotherapy, and evidence for the presence of a relict

  5. Evolución de planetas gigantes y posibilidades de su detección directa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brunini, A.; Benvenuto, O. G.

    Desde la reciente detección de planetas gigantes orbitando estrellas cercanas de tipo solar por medio de efecto Doppler, uno de los principales problemas, en cuanto al estudio de los sistemas planetarios extrasolares, se refiere a la posibilidad de obtener evidencia directa de su existencia. Esto parece ser factible gracias a que en un futuro cercano entrarán en operación algunos telescopios especialmente adecuados a estos propósitos. Por tal motivo, hemos comenzado desde hace un tiempo un esfuerzo en cuanto al estudio de la evolución planetaria. A tales efectos hemos adaptado el código de evolución estelar de nuestro Observatorio al caso planetario. Las principales diferencias entre el caso estelar y el planetario se encuentran en la ecuación de estado. A tales fines hemos incluído la reciente ecuación de estado de Saumon, Chabrier y Van Horn, las opacidades radiativas de Guillot et al., procesos de quema de Deuterio, etc. También se ha considerado la posible existencia de fases de hielo y roca en el interior planetario. Por el momento hemos despreciado los efectos de la rotación planetaria. Con este código hemos computado la evolución de planetas con masas desde 10 hasta 0.3 masas de Júpiter. Utilizando nuestros resultados numéricos discutimos la detectabilidad de estos objetos en condiciones realistas.

  6. Genetic Diversity in Lens Species Revealed by EST and Genomic Simple Sequence Repeat Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Dikshit, Harsh Kumar; Singh, Akanksha; Singh, Dharmendra; Aski, Muraleedhar Sidaram; Prakash, Prapti; Jain, Neelu; Meena, Suresh; Kumar, Shiv; Sarker, Ashutosh

    2015-01-01

    Low productivity of pilosae type lentils grown in South Asia is attributed to narrow genetic base of the released cultivars which results in susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses. For enhancement of productivity and production, broadening of genetic base is essentially required. The genetic base of released cultivars can be broadened by using diverse types including bold seeded and early maturing lentils from Mediterranean region and related wild species. Genetic diversity in eighty six accessions of three species of genus Lens was assessed based on twelve genomic and thirty one EST-SSR markers. The evaluated set of genotypes included diverse lentil varieties and advanced breeding lines from Indian programme, two early maturing ICARDA lines and five related wild subspecies/species endemic to the Mediterranean region. Genomic SSRs exhibited higher polymorphism in comparison to EST SSRs. GLLC 598 produced 5 alleles with highest gene diversity value of 0.80. Among the studied subspecies/species 43 SSRs detected maximum number of alleles in L. orientalis. Based on Nei’s genetic distance cultivated lentil L. culinaris subsp. culinaris was found to be close to its wild progenitor L. culinaris subsp. orientalis. The Prichard’s structure of 86 genotypes distinguished different subspecies/species. Higher variability was recorded among individuals within population than among populations. PMID:26381889

  7. Identification of tissue-specific, abiotic stress-responsive gene expression patterns in wine grape (Vitis vinifera L.) based on curation and mining of large-scale EST data sets

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Abiotic stresses, such as water deficit and soil salinity, result in changes in physiology, nutrient use, and vegetative growth in vines, and ultimately, yield and flavor in berries of wine grape, Vitis vinifera L. Large-scale expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated, curated, and analyzed to identify major genetic determinants responsible for stress-adaptive responses. Although roots serve as the first site of perception and/or injury for many types of abiotic stress, EST sequencing in root tissues of wine grape exposed to abiotic stresses has been extremely limited to date. To overcome this limitation, large-scale EST sequencing was conducted from root tissues exposed to multiple abiotic stresses. Results A total of 62,236 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from leaf, berry, and root tissues from vines subjected to abiotic stresses and compared with 32,286 ESTs sequenced from 20 public cDNA libraries. Curation to correct annotation errors, clustering and assembly of the berry and leaf ESTs with currently available V. vinifera full-length transcripts and ESTs yielded a total of 13,278 unique sequences, with 2302 singletons and 10,976 mapped to V. vinifera gene models. Of these, 739 transcripts were found to have significant differential expression in stressed leaves and berries including 250 genes not described previously as being abiotic stress responsive. In a second analysis of 16,452 ESTs from a normalized root cDNA library derived from roots exposed to multiple, short-term, abiotic stresses, 135 genes with root-enriched expression patterns were identified on the basis of their relative EST abundance in roots relative to other tissues. Conclusions The large-scale analysis of relative EST frequency counts among a diverse collection of 23 different cDNA libraries from leaf, berry, and root tissues of wine grape exposed to a variety of abiotic stress conditions revealed distinct, tissue-specific expression patterns, previously

  8. Characterization of the Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) Global Transcriptome Using Illumina Paired-End Sequencing and Development of EST-SSR Markers

    PubMed Central

    Li, Hui; Li, Defang; Chen, Anguo; Tang, Huijuan; Li, Jianjun; Huang, Siqi

    2016-01-01

    Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is an economically important natural fiber crop grown worldwide. However, only 20 expressed tag sequences (ESTs) for kenaf are available in public databases. The aim of this study was to develop large-scale simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to lay a solid foundation for the construction of genetic linkage maps and marker-assisted breeding in kenaf. We used Illumina paired-end sequencing technology to generate new EST-simple sequences and MISA software to mine SSR markers. We identified 71,318 unigenes with an average length of 1143 nt and annotated these unigenes using four different protein databases. Overall, 9324 complementary pairs were designated as EST-SSR markers, and their quality was validated using 100 randomly selected SSR markers. In total, 72 primer pairs reproducibly amplified target amplicons, and 61 of these primer pairs detected significant polymorphism among 28 kenaf accessions. Thus, in this study, we have developed large-scale SSR markers for kenaf, and this new resource will facilitate construction of genetic linkage maps, investigation of fiber growth and development in kenaf, and also be of value to novel gene discovery and functional genomic studies. PMID:26960153

  9. An ordered EST catalogue and gene expression profiles of cassava (Manihot esculenta) at key growth stages.

    PubMed

    Li, You-Zhi; Pan, Ying-Hua; Sun, Chang-Bin; Dong, Hai-Tao; Luo, Xing-Lu; Wang, Zhi-Qiang; Tang, Ji-Liang; Chen, Baoshan

    2010-12-01

    A cDNA library was constructed from the root tissues of cassava variety Huanan 124 at the root bulking stage. A total of 9,600 cDNA clones from the library were sequenced with single-pass from the 5'-terminus to establish a catalogue of expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Assembly of the resulting EST sequences resulted in 2,878 putative unigenes. Blastn analysis showed that 62.6% of the unigenes matched with known cassava ESTs and the rest had no 'hits' against the cassava database in the integrative PlantGDB database. Blastx analysis showed that 1,715 (59.59%) of the unigenes matched with one or more GenBank protein entries and 1,163 (40.41%) had no 'hits'. A cDNA microarray with 2,878 unigenes was developed and used to analyze gene expression profiling of Huanan 124 at key growth stages including seedling, formation of root system, root bulking, and starch maturity. Array data analysis revealed that (1) the higher ratio of up-regulated ribosome-related genes was accompanied by a high ratio of up-regulated ubiquitin, proteasome-related and protease genes in cassava roots; (2) starch formation and degradation simultaneously occur at the early stages of root development but starch degradation is declined partially due to decrease in UDP-glucose dehydrogenase activity with root maturity; (3) starch may also be synthesized in situ in roots; (4) starch synthesis, translocation, and accumulation are also associated probably with signaling pathways that parallel Wnt, LAM, TCS and ErbB signaling pathways in animals; (5) constitutive expression of stress-responsive genes may be due to the adaptation of cassava to harsh environments during long-term evolution.

  10. Towards the understanding of the cocoa transcriptome: Production and analysis of an exhaustive dataset of ESTs of Theobroma cacao L. generated from various tissues and under various conditions

    PubMed Central

    Argout, Xavier; Fouet, Olivier; Wincker, Patrick; Gramacho, Karina; Legavre, Thierry; Sabau, Xavier; Risterucci, Ange Marie; Da Silva, Corinne; Cascardo, Julio; Allegre, Mathilde; Kuhn, David; Verica, Joseph; Courtois, Brigitte; Loor, Gaston; Babin, Regis; Sounigo, Olivier; Ducamp, Michel; Guiltinan, Mark J; Ruiz, Manuel; Alemanno, Laurence; Machado, Regina; Phillips, Wilberth; Schnell, Ray; Gilmour, Martin; Rosenquist, Eric; Butler, David; Maximova, Siela; Lanaud, Claire

    2008-01-01

    Background Theobroma cacao L., is a tree originated from the tropical rainforest of South America. It is one of the major cash crops for many tropical countries. T. cacao is mainly produced on smallholdings, providing resources for 14 million farmers. Disease resistance and T. cacao quality improvement are two important challenges for all actors of cocoa and chocolate production. T. cacao is seriously affected by pests and fungal diseases, responsible for more than 40% yield losses and quality improvement, nutritional and organoleptic, is also important for consumers. An international collaboration was formed to develop an EST genomic resource database for cacao. Results Fifty-six cDNA libraries were constructed from different organs, different genotypes and different environmental conditions. A total of 149,650 valid EST sequences were generated corresponding to 48,594 unigenes, 12,692 contigs and 35,902 singletons. A total of 29,849 unigenes shared significant homology with public sequences from other species. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation was applied to distribute the ESTs among the main GO categories. A specific information system (ESTtik) was constructed to process, store and manage this EST collection allowing the user to query a database. To check the representativeness of our EST collection, we looked for the genes known to be involved in two different metabolic pathways extensively studied in other plant species and important for T. cacao qualities: the flavonoid and the terpene pathways. Most of the enzymes described in other crops for these two metabolic pathways were found in our EST collection. A large collection of new genetic markers was provided by this ESTs collection. Conclusion This EST collection displays a good representation of the T. cacao transcriptome, suitable for analysis of biochemical pathways based on oligonucleotide microarrays derived from these ESTs. It will provide numerous genetic markers that will allow the construction of a high

  11. Towards the understanding of the cocoa transcriptome: Production and analysis of an exhaustive dataset of ESTs of Theobroma cacao L. generated from various tissues and under various conditions.

    PubMed

    Argout, Xavier; Fouet, Olivier; Wincker, Patrick; Gramacho, Karina; Legavre, Thierry; Sabau, Xavier; Risterucci, Ange Marie; Da Silva, Corinne; Cascardo, Julio; Allegre, Mathilde; Kuhn, David; Verica, Joseph; Courtois, Brigitte; Loor, Gaston; Babin, Regis; Sounigo, Olivier; Ducamp, Michel; Guiltinan, Mark J; Ruiz, Manuel; Alemanno, Laurence; Machado, Regina; Phillips, Wilberth; Schnell, Ray; Gilmour, Martin; Rosenquist, Eric; Butler, David; Maximova, Siela; Lanaud, Claire

    2008-10-30

    Theobroma cacao L., is a tree originated from the tropical rainforest of South America. It is one of the major cash crops for many tropical countries. T. cacao is mainly produced on smallholdings, providing resources for 14 million farmers. Disease resistance and T. cacao quality improvement are two important challenges for all actors of cocoa and chocolate production. T. cacao is seriously affected by pests and fungal diseases, responsible for more than 40% yield losses and quality improvement, nutritional and organoleptic, is also important for consumers. An international collaboration was formed to develop an EST genomic resource database for cacao. Fifty-six cDNA libraries were constructed from different organs, different genotypes and different environmental conditions. A total of 149,650 valid EST sequences were generated corresponding to 48,594 unigenes, 12,692 contigs and 35,902 singletons. A total of 29,849 unigenes shared significant homology with public sequences from other species.Gene Ontology (GO) annotation was applied to distribute the ESTs among the main GO categories.A specific information system (ESTtik) was constructed to process, store and manage this EST collection allowing the user to query a database.To check the representativeness of our EST collection, we looked for the genes known to be involved in two different metabolic pathways extensively studied in other plant species and important for T. cacao qualities: the flavonoid and the terpene pathways. Most of the enzymes described in other crops for these two metabolic pathways were found in our EST collection.A large collection of new genetic markers was provided by this ESTs collection. This EST collection displays a good representation of the T. cacao transcriptome, suitable for analysis of biochemical pathways based on oligonucleotide microarrays derived from these ESTs. It will provide numerous genetic markers that will allow the construction of a high density gene map of T. cacao

  12. Gene identification and analysis of transcripts differentially regulated in fracture healing by EST sequencing in the domestic sheep.

    PubMed

    Hecht, Jochen; Kuhl, Heiner; Haas, Stefan A; Bauer, Sebastian; Poustka, Albert J; Lienau, Jasmin; Schell, Hanna; Stiege, Asita C; Seitz, Volkhard; Reinhardt, Richard; Duda, Georg N; Mundlos, Stefan; Robinson, Peter N

    2006-07-05

    The sheep is an important model animal for testing novel fracture treatments and other medical applications. Despite these medical uses and the well known economic and cultural importance of the sheep, relatively little research has been performed into sheep genetics, and DNA sequences are available for only a small number of sheep genes. In this work we have sequenced over 47 thousand expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from libraries developed from healing bone in a sheep model of fracture healing. These ESTs were clustered with the previously available 10 thousand sheep ESTs to a total of 19087 contigs with an average length of 603 nucleotides. We used the newly identified sequences to develop RT-PCR assays for 78 sheep genes and measured differential expression during the course of fracture healing between days 7 and 42 postfracture. All genes showed significant shifts at one or more time points. 23 of the genes were differentially expressed between postfracture days 7 and 10, which could reflect an important role for these genes for the initiation of osteogenesis. The sequences we have identified in this work are a valuable resource for future studies on musculoskeletal healing and regeneration using sheep and represent an important head-start for genomic sequencing projects for Ovis aries, with partial or complete sequences being made available for over 5,800 previously unsequenced sheep genes.

  13. An Estimate of the Tidal Effects in the Dynamics of the Binary Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Junqueira, S.; de Freitas Pacheco, J. A.

    1990-11-01

    RESUMEN. Se ha estimado los efectos de marea en los pares dinamicos de galaxias elipticas. Para poder estudiar tales efectos hernos expandido el potencial gravitacional en potencias del cociente plr hasta en el orden 3 correspondientes a las fuerzas de marea. Hemos examina- do la influencia de este termino en el movimiento orbital. Se encon- tr6 el valor de M/LB = 10+7 (en unidades solares) para un ejemplo de 46 pares E-E usando Ia aproximaci6n de marea. De este resultado, no podemos concluir que existen alrededor de las galaxias halos grandes y obscuros. Hemos encontrado tambien que la suposici6n de masas puntuales es una buena aproximaci6n para el sistema fisico. Sin embargo, tal aproximaci6n sobreestima ligeramente el cociente masa-lurninosidad. ABSTRACT. In the present work we have estimated the tidal effects in the dynamics of pairs of elliptical galaxies. In order to study such effects we have expanded the gravitational potential in power of the ratio p/r up to order 3 corresponding to tidal forces. We examined the influence of this term in the orbital motion. The value of M/LB =lOi7 (in solar units) was found for a sample of 46 E-E pairs using the tidal approximation. From this result, we cannot conclude that large dark haloes exist around galaxies. We have also found that the assump- tion of point masses is a good approximation for the physical system. However, such an approximation overestimates slightly the mass-luminosity ratio. Keq wo't : GALAXIES-DYNAMICS

  14. The Ever-Est Virtual Research Environment Infrastructure for Marine - the Sea Monitoring Virtual Research Community (vrc) Use Case

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Foglini, F.

    2016-12-01

    The EVER-EST project aims to develop a generic Virtual Research Environment (VRE) tailored to the needs and validated by the Earth Science domain. To achieve this the EVER-EST VRE provides earth scientists with the means to seamlessly manage both the data involved in their computationally intensive disciplines and the scientific methods applied in their observations and modellings, which lead to the specific results that need to be attributable, validated and shared within the community e.g. in the form of scholarly communications. Central to this approach is the concept of Research Objects (ROs) as semantically rich aggregations of resources that bring together data, methods and people in scientific investigations. ROs enable the creation of digital artifacts that can encapsulate scientific knowledge and provide a mechanism for sharing and discovering assets of reusable research and scientific assets as first-class citizens. The EVER-EST VRE is the first RO-centric native infrastructure leveraging the notion of ROs and their application in observational rather than experimental disciplines and particularly in Earth Science. The Institute of MARine Science (ISMAR-CNR) is a scientific partner of the EVER-EST project providing useful and applicable contributions to the identification and definition of variables indicated by the European Commission in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) to achieve the Good Environment Status (GES). The VRC is willing to deliver practical methods, procedures and protocols to support coherent and widely accepted interpretation of the MSFD. The use case deal with 1. the Posidonia meadows along the Apulian coast, 2. the deep-sea corals along the Apulian continenatal slope and 3. the jellyfish abundance in the Italian water. The SeaMonitoring VRC created specific RO for asesing deep sea corals suitabilty, Posidonia meadows occurrences and for detecting jelly fish density aloing the italian coast. The VRC developed specific RO

  15. Genetic diversity and relationships among different tomato varieties revealed by EST-SSR markers.

    PubMed

    Korir, N K; Diao, W; Tao, R; Li, X; Kayesh, E; Li, A; Zhen, W; Wang, S

    2014-01-08

    The genetic diversity and relationship of 42 tomato varieties sourced from different geographic regions was examined with EST-SSR markers. The genetic diversity was between 0.18 and 0.77, with a mean of 0.49; the polymorphic information content ranged from 0.17 to 0.74, with a mean of 0.45. This indicates a fairly high degree of diversity among these tomato varieties. Based on the cluster analysis using unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA), all the tomato varieties fell into 5 groups, with no obvious geographical distribution characteristics despite their diverse sources. The principal component analysis (PCA) supported the clustering result; however, relationships among varieties were more complex in the PCA scatterplot than in the UPGMA dendrogram. This information about the genetic relationships between these tomato lines helps distinguish these 42 varieties and will be useful for tomato variety breeding and selection. We confirm that the EST-SSR marker system is useful for studying genetic diversity among tomato varieties. The high degree of polymorphism and the large number of bands obtained per assay shows that SSR is the most informative marker system for tomato genotyping for purposes of rights/protection and for the tomato industry in general. It is recommended that these varieties be subjected to identification using an SSR-based manual cultivar identification diagram strategy or other easy-to-use and referable methods so as to provide a complete set of information concerning genetic relationships and a readily usable means of identifying these varieties.

  16. Mitochondrial DNA Marker EST00083 Is Not Associated with High vs. Average IQ in a German Sample.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moises, Hans W.; Yang, Liu; Kohnke, Michael; Vetter, Peter; Neppert, Jurgen; Petrill, Stephen A.; Plomin, Robert

    1998-01-01

    Tested the association of a mitochondrial DNA marker (EST00083) with high IQ in a sample of 47 German adults with high IQ scores and 77 adults with IQs estimated at lower than 110. Results do not support the hypothesis that high IQ is associated with this marker. (SLD)

  17. PineElm_SSRdb: a microsatellite marker database identified from genomic, chloroplast, mitochondrial and EST sequences of pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merrill).

    PubMed

    Chaudhary, Sakshi; Mishra, Bharat Kumar; Vivek, Thiruvettai; Magadum, Santoshkumar; Yasin, Jeshima Khan

    2016-01-01

    Simple Sequence Repeats or microsatellites are resourceful molecular genetic markers. There are only few reports of SSR identification and development in pineapple. Complete genome sequence of pineapple available in the public domain can be used to develop numerous novel SSRs. Therefore, an attempt was made to identify SSRs from genomic, chloroplast, mitochondrial and EST sequences of pineapple which will help in deciphering genetic makeup of its germplasm resources. A total of 359511 SSRs were identified in pineapple (356385 from genome sequence, 45 from chloroplast sequence, 249 in mitochondrial sequence and 2832 from EST sequences). The list of EST-SSR markers and their details are available in the database. PineElm_SSRdb is an open source database available for non-commercial academic purpose at http://app.bioelm.com/ with a mapping tool which can develop circular maps of selected marker set. This database will be of immense use to breeders, researchers and graduates working on Ananas spp. and to others working on cross-species transferability of markers, investigating diversity, mapping and DNA fingerprinting.

  18. Development of 101 novel EST-derived single nucleotide polymorphism markers for Zhikong scallop ( Chlamys farreri)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jiqin; Bao, Zhenmin; Li, Ling; Wang, Xiaojian; Wang, Shi; Hu, Xiaoli

    2013-09-01

    Zhikong scallop ( Chlamys farreri) is an important maricultured species in China. Many researches on this species, such as population genetics and QTL fine-mapping, need a large number of molecular markers. In this study, based on the expressed sequence tags (EST), a total of 300 putative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected and validated using high resolution melting (HRM) technology with unlabeled probe. Of them, 101 (33.7%) were found to be polymorphic in 48 individuals from 4 populations. Further evaluation with 48 individuals from Qingdao population showed that all the polymorphic loci had two alleles with the minor allele frequency ranged from 0.046 to 0.500. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.000 to 0.925 and from 0.089 to 0.505, respectively. Fifteen loci deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and significant linkage disequilibrate was detected in one pair of markers. BLASTx gave significant hits for 72 of the 101 polymorphic SNP-containing ESTs. Thirty four polymorphic SNP loci were predicted to be non-synonymous substitutions as they caused either the change of codons (33 SNPs) or pretermination of translation (1 SNP). The markers developed can be used for the population studies and genetic improvement on Zhikong scallop.

  19. ESTE: Verification of Portable Optical and Thermal Imaging Devices for Leak Detection at Petroleum Refineries and Chemical Plants

    EPA Science Inventory

    This is an ESTE project summary brief. EPA’s Environmental Technology Verification Program (ETV) is verifying the performance of portable optical and thermal imaging devices for leak detection at petroleum refineries and chemical plans. Industrial facilities, such as chemical p...

  20. An Ambystoma mexicanum EST sequencing project: analysis of 17,352 expressed sequence tags from embryonic and regenerating blastema cDNA libraries

    PubMed Central

    Habermann, Bianca; Bebin, Anne-Gaelle; Herklotz, Stephan; Volkmer, Michael; Eckelt, Kay; Pehlke, Kerstin; Epperlein, Hans Henning; Schackert, Hans Konrad; Wiebe, Glenis; Tanaka, Elly M

    2004-01-01

    Background The ambystomatid salamander, Ambystoma mexicanum (axolotl), is an important model organism in evolutionary and regeneration research but relatively little sequence information has so far been available. This is a major limitation for molecular studies on caudate development, regeneration and evolution. To address this lack of sequence information we have generated an expressed sequence tag (EST) database for A. mexicanum. Results Two cDNA libraries, one made from stage 18-22 embryos and the other from day-6 regenerating tail blastemas, generated 17,352 sequences. From the sequenced ESTs, 6,377 contigs were assembled that probably represent 25% of the expressed genes in this organism. Sequence comparison revealed significant homology to entries in the NCBI non-redundant database. Further examination of this gene set revealed the presence of genes involved in important cell and developmental processes, including cell proliferation, cell differentiation and cell-cell communication. On the basis of these data, we have performed phylogenetic analysis of key cell-cycle regulators. Interestingly, while cell-cycle proteins such as the cyclin B family display expected evolutionary relationships, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1 gene family shows an unusual evolutionary behavior among the amphibians. Conclusions Our analysis reveals the importance of a comprehensive sequence set from a representative of the Caudata and illustrates that the EST sequence database is a rich source of molecular, developmental and regeneration studies. To aid in data mining, the ESTs have been organized into an easily searchable database that is freely available online. PMID:15345051

  1. Bioinformatic analysis of ESTs collected by Sanger and pyrosequencing methods for a keystone forest tree species: oak

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background The Fagaceae family comprises about 1,000 woody species worldwide. About half belong to the Quercus family. These oaks are often a source of raw material for biomass wood and fiber. Pedunculate and sessile oaks, are among the most important deciduous forest tree species in Europe. Despite their ecological and economical importance, very few genomic resources have yet been generated for these species. Here, we describe the development of an EST catalogue that will support ecosystem genomics studies, where geneticists, ecophysiologists, molecular biologists and ecologists join their efforts for understanding, monitoring and predicting functional genetic diversity. Results We generated 145,827 sequence reads from 20 cDNA libraries using the Sanger method. Unexploitable chromatograms and quality checking lead us to eliminate 19,941 sequences. Finally a total of 125,925 ESTs were retained from 111,361 cDNA clones. Pyrosequencing was also conducted for 14 libraries, generating 1,948,579 reads, from which 370,566 sequences (19.0%) were eliminated, resulting in 1,578,192 sequences. Following clustering and assembly using TGICL pipeline, 1,704,117 EST sequences collapsed into 69,154 tentative contigs and 153,517 singletons, providing 222,671 non-redundant sequences (including alternative transcripts). We also assembled the sequences using MIRA and PartiGene software and compared the three unigene sets. Gene ontology annotation was then assigned to 29,303 unigene elements. Blast search against the SWISS-PROT database revealed putative homologs for 32,810 (14.7%) unigene elements, but more extensive search with Pfam, Refseq_protein, Refseq_RNA and eight gene indices revealed homology for 67.4% of them. The EST catalogue was examined for putative homologs of candidate genes involved in bud phenology, cuticle formation, phenylpropanoids biosynthesis and cell wall formation. Our results suggest a good coverage of genes involved in these traits. Comparative orthologous

  2. Modelizacion, control e implementacion de un procesador energetico paralelo para aplicacion en sistemas multisalida

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferreres Sabater, Agustin

    Cualquier sistema electronico que incluya un procesado o tratamiento de la senal, y ademas, algun tipo de actuador mecanico generalmente necesita, como minimo, dos tensiones diferentes de alimentacion. Excluyendo los sistemas de alimentacion distribuida, la solucion tecnica mas utilizada para proporcionar dos o mas tensiones consiste en las fuentes de alimentacion multisalida. En una fuente de alimentacion multisalida los diferentes circuitos que conforman cada salida comparten un mismo transformador de potencia optimizando coste, masa, y volumen. Las ventajas obtenidas con este procedimiento tienen en su contra el efecto que sobre cada salida individual provocan las demas en su conjunto debido, principalmente, a los efectos de los elementos parasitos de los componentes. Un cambio de carga en una de las salidas produce un transitorio que es visto por todas las demas como un efecto de impedancia cruzada, y al final del transitorio, la tension de cada salida es diferente respecto a la que tenian antes del transitorio. Este ultimo resultado se conoce como regulacion cruzada. La disminucion de los efectos de la regulacion cruzada ha sido objeto de estudio durante los ultimos anos. El objetivo ha sido el desarrollo de distintas estrategias que permiten, desde disminuir los efectos de la regulacion cruzada hasta los niveles deseables, a eliminarla completamente. El resultado final suele suponer una penalizacion sobre el diseno del sistema directamente proporcional al grado de regulacion a conseguir en las distintas salidas. Entre las soluciones propuestas para eliminar la regulacion cruzada las tecnicas de post-regulacion se han consolidado como la opcion mas aceptada ya que, pueden aplicarse a cualquier convertidor y no suponen ninguna complejidad adicional a la hora de plantear el diseno. En esta Tesis Doctoral se abordara el estudio de la tecnica conocida como postregulacion mediante transformador controlado, que si bien se ha empleado en convertidores resonantes, su

  3. An expressed sequence tag (EST) library for Drosophila serrata, a model system for sexual selection and climatic adaptation studies.

    PubMed

    Frentiu, Francesca D; Adamski, Marcin; McGraw, Elizabeth A; Blows, Mark W; Chenoweth, Stephen F

    2009-01-21

    The native Australian fly Drosophila serrata belongs to the highly speciose montium subgroup of the melanogaster species group. It has recently emerged as an excellent model system with which to address a number of important questions, including the evolution of traits under sexual selection and traits involved in climatic adaptation along latitudinal gradients. Understanding the molecular genetic basis of such traits has been limited by a lack of genomic resources for this species. Here, we present the first expressed sequence tag (EST) collection for D. serrata that will enable the identification of genes underlying sexually-selected phenotypes and physiological responses to environmental change and may help resolve controversial phylogenetic relationships within the montium subgroup. A normalized cDNA library was constructed from whole fly bodies at several developmental stages, including larvae and adults. Assembly of 11,616 clones sequenced from the 3' end allowed us to identify 6,607 unique contigs, of which at least 90% encoded peptides. Partial transcripts were discovered from a variety of genes of evolutionary interest by BLASTing contigs against the 12 Drosophila genomes currently sequenced. By incorporating into the cDNA library multiple individuals from populations spanning a large portion of the geographical range of D. serrata, we were able to identify 11,057 putative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), with 278 different contigs having at least one "double hit" SNP that is highly likely to be a real polymorphism. At least 394 EST-associated microsatellite markers, representing 355 different contigs, were also found, providing an additional set of genetic markers. The assembled EST library is available online at http://www.chenowethlab.org/serrata/index.cgi. We have provided the first gene collection and largest set of polymorphic genetic markers, to date, for the fly D. serrata. The EST collection will provide much needed genomic resources for

  4. Comparative high-throughput transcriptome sequencing and development of SiESTa, the Silene EST annotation database

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The genus Silene is widely used as a model system for addressing ecological and evolutionary questions in plants, but advances in using the genus as a model system are impeded by the lack of available resources for studying its genome. Massively parallel sequencing cDNA has recently developed into an efficient method for characterizing the transcriptomes of non-model organisms, generating massive amounts of data that enable the study of multiple species in a comparative framework. The sequences generated provide an excellent resource for identifying expressed genes, characterizing functional variation and developing molecular markers, thereby laying the foundations for future studies on gene sequence and gene expression divergence. Here, we report the results of a comparative transcriptome sequencing study of eight individuals representing four Silene and one Dianthus species as outgroup. All sequences and annotations have been deposited in a newly developed and publicly available database called SiESTa, the Silene EST annotation database. Results A total of 1,041,122 EST reads were generated in two runs on a Roche GS-FLX 454 pyrosequencing platform. EST reads were analyzed separately for all eight individuals sequenced and were assembled into contigs using TGICL. These were annotated with results from BLASTX searches and Gene Ontology (GO) terms, and thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were characterized. Unassembled reads were kept as singletons and together with the contigs contributed to the unigenes characterized in each individual. The high quality of unigenes is evidenced by the proportion (49%) that have significant hits in similarity searches with the A. thaliana proteome. The SiESTa database is accessible at http://www.siesta.ethz.ch. Conclusion The sequence collections established in the present study provide an important genomic resource for four Silene and one Dianthus species and will help to further develop Silene as a

  5. CHOQUES AGREGADOS E INVERSIÓN EN CAPITAL HUMANO: EL LOGRO EDUCATIVO SUPERIOR DURANTE LA DÉCADA PERDIDA EN MÉXICO

    PubMed Central

    Peña, Pablo A.

    2014-01-01

    Este artículo documenta una respuesta agregada negativa del logro educativo superior (más de 12 años de escolaridad) en México a la recesión de 1982–83 y el estancamiento que le siguió. La respuesta no fue homogénea entre géneros, regiones y entornos familiares. Los hombres experimentaron una caída en el logro mientras que las mujeres experimentaron un crecimiento más lento. En promedio, los estados con un mayor logro antes del choque experimentaron mayores caídas. La respuesta entre distintos entornos familiares no presenta un patrón claro. Sin embargo, el efecto negativo en el logro se observa incluso entre hermanos. La evidencia sugiere una historia por el lado de la demanda: la caída en el ingreso de los hogares parece ser el determinante de la caída/desaceleración del logro educativo superior. La conclusión es que la recesión y la falta de crecimiento que le siguió tuvieron un efecto negativo importante y duradero en la formación de capacidades en México. PMID:25328251

  6. ContEst16S: an algorithm that identifies contaminated prokaryotic genomes using 16S RNA gene sequences.

    PubMed

    Lee, Imchang; Chalita, Mauricio; Ha, Sung-Min; Na, Seong-In; Yoon, Seok-Hwan; Chun, Jongsik

    2017-06-01

    Thanks to the recent advancement of DNA sequencing technology, the cost and time of prokaryotic genome sequencing have been dramatically decreased. It has repeatedly been reported that genome sequencing using high-throughput next-generation sequencing is prone to contaminations due to its high depth of sequencing coverage. Although a few bioinformatics tools are available to detect potential contaminations, these have inherited limitations as they only use protein-coding genes. Here we introduce a new algorithm, called ContEst16S, to detect potential contaminations using 16S rRNA genes from genome assemblies. We screened 69 745 prokaryotic genomes from the NCBI Assembly Database using ContEst16S and found that 594 were contaminated by bacteria, human and plants. Of the predicted contaminated genomes, 8 % were not predicted by the existing protein-coding gene-based tool, implying that both methods can be complementary in the detection of contaminations. A web-based service of the algorithm is available at www.ezbiocloud.net/tools/contest16s.

  7. La problématique du coût des nouvelles thérapeutiques en oncologie: qu'en-est-il du Maroc?

    PubMed Central

    Brahmi, Sami Aziz; Zahra, Ziani Fatima; Seddik, Youssef; Afqir, Said

    2016-01-01

    Le cancer est un problème majeur de santé public en Afrique. Les progrès réalisé dans le traitement des cancers ces dix dernières années est indéniable. L’émergence des thérapies ciblés en oncologie a permit de modifier l'histoire naturelle de certains cancers réputés de mauvais pronostic. En dépit de leurs efficacité, ces thérapeutiques pose un problème majeur de coût qui les rend inaccessible à la majorité des patients dans les pays en voie développement. Au Maroc, le cancer est reconnu comme a une affection de longue durée et les patients bénéficient de ce fait d'une couverture médicale totale. L'implication de la société civile a permis aussi d'améliorer la prise en charge ainsi qu'un accès plus élargi aux médicaments innovants pour les patients les plus démunis. PMID:27642392

  8. The Completely Sequenced Plasmid pEST4011 Contains a Novel IncP1 Backbone and a Catabolic Transposon Harboring tfd Genes for 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid Degradation

    PubMed Central

    Vedler, Eve; Vahter, Merle; Heinaru, Ain

    2004-01-01

    The herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)-degrading bacterium Achromobacter xylosoxidans subsp. denitrificans strain EST4002 contains plasmid pEST4011. This plasmid ensures its host a stable 2,4-D+ phenotype. We determined the complete 76,958-bp nucleotide sequence of pEST4011. This plasmid is a deletion and duplication derivative of pD2M4, the 95-kb highly unstable laboratory ancestor of pEST4011, and was self-generated during different laboratory manipulations performed to increase the stability of the 2,4-D+ phenotype of the original strain, strain D2M4(pD2M4). The 47,935-bp catabolic region of pEST4011 forms a transposon-like structure with identical copies of the hybrid insertion element IS1071::IS1471 at the two ends. The catabolic regions of pEST4011 and pJP4, the best-studied 2,4-D-degradative plasmid, both contain homologous, tfd-like genes for complete 2,4-D degradation, but they have little sequence similarity other than that. The backbone genes of pEST4011 are most similar to the corresponding genes of broad-host-range self-transmissible IncP1 plasmids. The backbones of the other three IncP1 catabolic plasmids that have been sequenced (the 2,4-D-degradative plasmid pJP4, the haloacetate-catabolic plasmid pUO1, and the atrazine-catabolic plasmid pADP-1) are nearly identical to the backbone of R751, the archetype plasmid of the IncP1 β subgroup. We show that despite the overall similarity in plasmid organization, the pEST4011 backbone is sufficiently different (51 to 86% amino acid sequence identity between individual backbone genes) from the backbones of members of the three IncP1 subgroups (the α, β, and γ subgroups) that it belongs to a new IncP1subgroup, the δ subgroup. This conclusion was also supported by a phylogenetic analysis of the trfA2, korA, and traG gene products of different IncP1 plasmids. PMID:15489427

  9. Environmental and Sustainable Technology Evaluations (ESTE): Verification of Fuel Characteristics and Emissions from Biomass-fired Boilers 09/2008

    EPA Science Inventory

    This is an ESTE project summary brief. With increasing concern about climate change and fossil fuel energy supplies, there continues to be an interest in biomass as a renewable and sustainable energy source. EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards has expressed an int...

  10. MuSICa: the Multi-Slit Image Slicer for the est Spectrograph

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Calcines, A.; López, R. L.; Collados, M.

    2013-09-01

    Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) is a technique that allows one to obtain the spectra of all the points of a bidimensional field of view simultaneously. It is being applied to the new generation of the largest night-time telescopes but it is also an innovative technique for solar physics. This paper presents the design of a new image slicer, MuSICa (Multi-Slit Image slicer based on collimator-Camera), for the integral field spectrograph of the 4-m aperture European Solar Telescope (EST). MuSICa is a multi-slit image slicer that decomposes an 80 arcsec2 field of view into slices of 50 μm and reorganizes it into eight slits of 0.05 arcsec width × 200 arcsec length. It is a telecentric system with an optical quality at diffraction limit compatible with the two modes of operation of the spectrograph: spectroscopic and spectro-polarimetric. This paper shows the requirements, technical characteristics and layout of MuSICa, as well as other studied design options.

  11. Enlarging the substrate portfolio of the thermophilic esterase EST2 from Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius.

    PubMed

    Pennacchio, Angela; Mandrich, Luigi; Manco, Giuseppe; Trincone, Antonio

    2015-09-01

    The enzymatic regioselective hydrolysis of (a) acetylated mono- to tetrasaccharides of different nature, (b) of acetylated aryl glycosides and (c) of different acetylated nucleosides was studied enlarging the portfolio of substrates that can be employed by the thermophilic esterase EST2 from Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius. The reactions were optimised to the extent that the amount of enzyme needed was lowered of two orders of magnitude with respect to the previously reported reactions, namely from 4000 to 40 U of enzyme per reaction. New additional solvents were screened and dramatic changes in regioselectivity were observed depending on the amount and type of solvent used. For example, in the presence of 10 % DMF, only two α-D-glucose products 6-OH and 4,6-OH (in a 76:24 ratio) were detected, whereas with 25 % DMF, at least four products of similar amount were observed. This versatility adds specific value to the biocatalyst making possible the design of biocatalytic reactions with different hydrophobic ester substrates. As an additional remarkable example, EST2 catalysed with a good yield and high regioselectivity the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl β-D-xylopyranoside triacetate producing only the monoacetylated derivative with acetyl group in 3-O-position, in 2 min. The results with nucleosides as substrates are particularly interesting. The peracetates of 3',5'-di-O-acetylthymidine are converted almost quantitatively (95 %) to the monoacetylated derivative possessing free secondary OH; this regioselectivity is complementary to hydrolysis/alcoholysis reactions catalysed by CAL-B lipase or to other microbial hydrolytic biocatalysts, generally giving products with free primary OH groups. A docking analysis was undertaken with all analysed substrates suggesting a structural interpretation of the results. In most of cases, the best pose of the selected substrate was in line with the observed regioselectivity.

  12. Regulación del flujo sanguíneo uterino. II. Funciones de estrógeno y receptores estrogénicos α/β en acciones genómicas y no-genómicas del endotelio uterino *

    PubMed Central

    Mayra, Pastore R.; Rosalina, Villalón L.; López, Gladys; Iruretagoyena, Jesús; Magness, Ronald

    2015-01-01

    Resumen El embarazo está marcado por cambios y adaptaciones cardiovasculares que son importantes para el crecimiento y mantenimiento de la placenta y el feto. Durante este periodo, las adaptaciones vasculares uterinas manifiestan cambios clasificados como de corto o largo plazo los cuales están relacionados con adaptaciones vasodilatadoras, angiogénicas o de remodelación. El estrógeno y los receptores estrogénicos clásicos (REs), RE-α y RE-β, han demostrado ser parcialmente responsables por facilitar el incremento dramático en el fluido sanguíneo uterino necesario durante el embarazo. En ésta revisión bibliográfica se discuten la base estructural para la diversidad y selectividad funcional de los REs por el estrógeno, el papel de los REs sobre los efectos genómicos y no-genómicos en células endoteliales de arterias uterinas (CEAU). Estos temas integran el conocimiento científico sobre la regulación molecular de CEAU para mantener el incremento fisiológico en la perfusión útero-placentaria observada durante un embarazo normal. PMID:26113751

  13. EST-derived SNP discovery and selective pressure analysis in Pacific white shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Chengzhang; Wang, Xia; Xiang, Jianhai; Li, Fuhua

    2012-09-01

    Pacific white shrimp has become a major aquaculture and fishery species worldwide. Although a large scale EST resource has been publicly available since 2008, the data have not yet been widely used for SNP discovery or transcriptome-wide assessment of selective pressure. In this study, a set of 155 411 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the NCBI database were computationally analyzed and 17 225 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were predicted, including 9 546 transitions, 5 124 transversions and 2 481 indels. Among the 7 298 SNP substitutions located in functionally annotated contigs, 58.4% (4 262) are non-synonymous SNPs capable of introducing amino acid mutations. Two hundred and fifty nonsynonymous SNPs in genes associated with economic traits have been identified as candidates for markers in selective breeding. Diversity estimates among the synonymous nucleotides were on average 3.49 times greater than those in non-synonymous, suggesting negative selection. Distribution of non-synonymous to synonymous substitutions (Ka/Ks) ratio ranges from 0 to 4.01, (average 0.42, median 0.26), suggesting that the majority of the affected genes are under purifying selection. Enrichment analysis identified multiple gene ontology categories under positive or negative selection. Categories involved in innate immune response and male gamete generation are rich in positively selected genes, which is similar to reports in Drosophila and primates. This work is the first transcriptome-wide assessment of selective pressure in a Penaeid shrimp species. The functionally annotated SNPs provide a valuable resource of potential molecular markers for selective breeding.

  14. PubMed

    Camporro, Fernando Astur; Gutierrez Magaldi, Ignacio; Bulacio, Exequiel

    2017-09-08

    Introducción: El tabaquismo es la primera causa evitable de muerte en el mundo. El cigarrillo electrónico (CE), es un dispositivo que simula a los cigarrillos convencionales y permite inhalar nicotina y otras sustancias de forma vaporizada, sin combustión de tabaco. Su conocimiento por parte de la población general, así como su comercialización y consumo viene en constante aumento. Es utilizado en todo el mundo con el objetivo de disminuir el consumo de tabaco, lograr su abandono o poder utilizarlo en lugares públicos donde el consumo de cigarrillos convencionales está prohibido. Efectos nocivos sobre la salud: Su utilización se ha asociado a neumonía lipoidea e irritación de la vía aérea superior y toxicidad por nicotina. Presenta sustancias cancerígenas como nitrosaminas, formaldeido y metales como el niquel, cromo y plomo. Aumenta la resistencia de la vía aérea, efecto que es similar al que se produce después de la inhalación del humo del tabaco. Eficacia para dejar de fumar: No hay hasta el momento trabajos que demuestren con poder estadístico y buena metodología que este producto sea eficaz para dejar de fumar.  Conclusiones: De acuerdo a la evidencia disponible, no podemos descartar que el uso del cigarrillo electrónico no tenga riesgos para la salud. La seguridad y eficacia de los cigarrillos electrónicos como ayuda para el abandono del hábito tabáquico no han sido demostradas.

  15. The basement of the Punta del Este Terrane (Uruguay): an African Mesoproterozoic fragment at the eastern border of the South American Río de La Plata craton

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basei, Miguel A. S.; Peel, Elena; Sánchez Bettucci, Leda; Preciozzi, Fernando; Nutman, Allen P.

    2011-04-01

    The Punta del Este Terrane (eastern Uruguay) lies in a complex Neoproterozoic (Brasiliano/Pan-African) orogenic zone considered to contain a suture between South American terranes to the west of Major Gercino-Sierra Ballena Suture Zone and eastern African affinities terranes. Zircon cores from Punta del Este Terrane basement orthogneisses have U-Pb ages of ca. 1,000 Ma, which indicate an lineage with the Namaqua Belt in Southwestern Africa. U-Pb zircon ages also provide the following information on the Punta del Este terrane: the orthogneisses containing the ca. 1,000 Ma inheritance formed at ca. 750 Ma; in contrast to the related terranes now in Africa, reworking of the Punta del Este Terrane during Brasiliano/Pan-African orogenesis was very intense, reaching granulite facies at ca. 640 Ma. The termination of the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogeny is marked by formation of acid volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks at ca. 570 Ma (Sierra de Aguirre Formation), formation of late sedimentary basins (San Carlos Formation) and then intrusion at ca. 535 Ma of post-tectonic granitoids (Santa Teresa and José Ignacio batholiths). The Punta del Este Terrane and unrelated western terranes represented by the Dom Feliciano Belt and the Río de La Plata Craton were in their present positions by ca. 535 Ma.

  16. A modified efficient purse-string stapling technique (mEST) that uses a new metal rod for intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy in laparoscopic total gastrectomy

    PubMed Central

    Moon, Jeong-Ho; Yamamoto, Kazuyoshi; Yanagimoto, Yoshitomo; Sugimura, Keijirou; Miyata, Hiroshi; Yano, Masahiko; Sakon, Masato

    2017-01-01

    Intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy after laparoscopic total gastrectomy is technically difficult because this procedure should be performed in a narrow surgical field in the upper abdomen even when completely laparoscopic approaches are used. The placement of the anvil of a circular stapling device into the esophagus and connection the instrument to the anvil are extremely difficult steps in this surgery. Therefore, we developed a simple technique for intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy using hemi-double stapling technique; we named this technique the efficient purse-string stapling technique (EST). More recently, we have developed a modified EST (mEST) that utilizes a new stainless steel anvil rod instead of a plastic rod. Relative to the plastic rod, the steel rod is reusable and shorter; thus, it was easier to perform anvil placement into the esophagus with the steel rod. Anvil preparation for mEST: a stainless steel rod is attached to the shaft of the anvil, and the needle and thread are sutured to the tip of the rod. After complete insertion of the anvil into the esophageal cavity, the needle and thread are used to penetrate the anterior esophageal wall, and the esophagus is then clamped using a linear stapler just distal to the site penetrated by the thread. The linear stapler is fired, and anvil placement in the esophagus is simultaneously accomplished. After the rod is removed from the anvil, the instrument is intracorporeally connected to the anvil and then fired to complete the gastrojejunostomy. This technique is simple and facilitates intracorporeal reconstruction procedures in laparoscopic total gastrectomy. PMID:28815221

  17. [Not Available].

    PubMed

    Sendrós Madroño, José M

    2016-06-03

    La atención nutricional en el paciente oncohematológico debe formar parte del tratamiento global del paciente. Las alteraciones debidas a la localización de la neoplasia y los efectos secundarios del tratamiento oncoespecífico muchas veces dificultan o impiden la alimentación oral. Esto puede dar lugar a una desnutrición y es de gran importancia su detección, valoración e intervención temprana. El primer paso en la intervención nutricional es el consejo dietético. Este artículo muestra qué aspectos deben tenerse en cuenta para poder elaborar un consejo dietético y la importancia de que este sea individualizado. Se describen como ejemplo cuatro situaciones especiales, donde es necesario trasladar las recomendaciones nutricionales a un plan dietético. También se incide en el uso de los probióticos en pacientes inmunocomprometidos.

  18. Relevamiento de HI en el Hemisferio Austral

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arnal, E. M.; Bajaja, E.; Morras, R.; Pöppel, W. G. L.

    Un nuevo relevamiento de HI de todo el Hemisferio Austral, comprendido entre -90o <= δ <= -25o, está siendo observado con la antena I del IAR. El mismo es realizado con alta sensibilidad (r.m.s.<= 0.07 K) y alta resolución espectral (1 Km/s). Un total de ~50000 posiciones en el cielo serán observadas, espaciadas en una grilla (lxb) de (0.5o x 0.5o). El intervalo de velocidades cubierto en este relevamiento abarca el rango -450 km/s a +450 km/s en el sistema LSR. Esta base de datos será corregida por efectos de ``stray radiation''. Al presente se ha observado ~70% del total del relevamiento. El mismo es complementario de uno similar realizado en el Hemisferio Norte por Hartman y Burton (1996), con cubrimiento espacial, sensibilidad, resoluciones espaciales y en velocidad, similares a los del IAR. El objetivo final de ambos relevamientos es disponer de una base de datos uniforme en todo el cielo.

  19. Is it useful to ask "Está deprimido?" ("Are you depressed?") to terminally-ill Portuguese patients? Results from outpatient research.

    PubMed

    Julião, Miguel; Nunes, Baltazar; Sobral, Maria Ana; Dias, Daniela; Inocêncio, Inês; Barbosa, António

    2016-04-01

    Depression is a serious psychological problem in the palliative care setting. Brief screening tools for depression are lacking and need to be brief and acceptable. This study aimed to identify the properties of the single Portuguese question "Está deprimido?" ("Are you depressed?") to screen for depression. Retrospective study from 100 patient's medical records identifying the answers on the single Portuguese question for depression "Está deprimido?" ("Are you depressed?") and the HADS depression sub-scale, using a score ≥11 on the latter as the gold standard for clinically significant depressive symptoms. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative values were calculated. Response rate for the single Portuguese question for depression was 100%. Prevalence of depression symptoms (HADS-d ≥ 11) was 43%. To the question "Está deprimido?" 60 patients responded "yes." Sixteen patients who replied "no" to the single question had clinically significant depressive symptoms based on the HADS depression sub-scale. The single tool had 65.2% sensitivity, 49.2% specificity and 50.0% and 64.4% of positive predictive and negative values, respectively. In this first preliminary retrospective Portuguese study, the single question for depression has shown poor screening properties. Future research in larger and mixed patientś samples of Portuguese terminally ill is necessary to find more accurate and robust properties of this brief tool.

  20. Assessing Concentrations and Health Impacts of Air Quality Management Strategies: Framework for Rapid Emissions Scenario and Health impact ESTimation (FRESH-EST)

    PubMed Central

    Milando, Chad W.; Martenies, Sheena E.; Batterman, Stuart A.

    2017-01-01

    In air quality management, reducing emissions from pollutant sources often forms the primary response to attaining air quality standards and guidelines. Despite the broad success of air quality management in the US, challenges remain. As examples: allocating emissions reductions among multiple sources is complex and can require many rounds of negotiation; health impacts associated with emissions, the ultimate driver for the standards, are not explicitly assessed; and long dispersion model run-times, which result from the increasing size and complexity of model inputs, limit the number of scenarios that can be evaluated, thus increasing the likelihood of missing an optimal strategy. A new modeling framework, called the "Framework for Rapid Emissions Scenario and Health impact ESTimation" (FRESH-EST), is presented to respond to these challenges. FRESH-EST estimates concentrations and health impacts of alternative emissions scenarios at the urban scale, providing efficient computations from emissions to health impacts at the Census block or other desired spatial scale. In addition, FRESH-EST can optimize emission reductions to meet specified environmental and health constraints, and a convenient user interface and graphical displays are provided to facilitate scenario evaluation. The new framework is demonstrated in an SO2 non-attainment area in southeast Michigan with two optimization strategies: the first minimizes emission reductions needed to achieve a target concentration; the second minimizes concentrations while holding constant the cumulative emissions across local sources (e.g., an emissions floor). The optimized strategies match outcomes in the proposed SO2 State Implementation Plan without the proposed stack parameter modifications or shutdowns. In addition, the lower health impacts estimated for these strategies suggest the potential for FRESH-EST to identify pollution control alternatives for air quality management planning. PMID:27318620

  1. Assessing concentrations and health impacts of air quality management strategies: Framework for Rapid Emissions Scenario and Health impact ESTimation (FRESH-EST).

    PubMed

    Milando, Chad W; Martenies, Sheena E; Batterman, Stuart A

    2016-09-01

    In air quality management, reducing emissions from pollutant sources often forms the primary response to attaining air quality standards and guidelines. Despite the broad success of air quality management in the US, challenges remain. As examples: allocating emissions reductions among multiple sources is complex and can require many rounds of negotiation; health impacts associated with emissions, the ultimate driver for the standards, are not explicitly assessed; and long dispersion model run-times, which result from the increasing size and complexity of model inputs, limit the number of scenarios that can be evaluated, thus increasing the likelihood of missing an optimal strategy. A new modeling framework, called the "Framework for Rapid Emissions Scenario and Health impact ESTimation" (FRESH-EST), is presented to respond to these challenges. FRESH-EST estimates concentrations and health impacts of alternative emissions scenarios at the urban scale, providing efficient computations from emissions to health impacts at the Census block or other desired spatial scale. In addition, FRESH-EST can optimize emission reductions to meet specified environmental and health constraints, and a convenient user interface and graphical displays are provided to facilitate scenario evaluation. The new framework is demonstrated in an SO2 non-attainment area in southeast Michigan with two optimization strategies: the first minimizes emission reductions needed to achieve a target concentration; the second minimizes concentrations while holding constant the cumulative emissions across local sources (e.g., an emissions floor). The optimized strategies match outcomes in the proposed SO2 State Implementation Plan without the proposed stack parameter modifications or shutdowns. In addition, the lower health impacts estimated for these strategies suggest that FRESH-EST could be used to identify potentially more desirable pollution control alternatives in air quality management planning

  2. The characterization of a new set of EST-derived simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers as a resource for the genetic analysis of Phaseolus vulgaris

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Over recent years, a growing effort has been made to develop microsatellite markers for the genomic analysis of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) to broaden the knowledge of the molecular genetic basis of this species. The availability of large sets of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in public databases has given rise to an expedient approach for the identification of SSRs (Simple Sequence Repeats), specifically EST-derived SSRs. In the present work, a battery of new microsatellite markers was obtained from a search of the Phaseolus vulgaris EST database. The diversity, degree of transferability and polymorphism of these markers were tested. Results From 9,583 valid ESTs, 4,764 had microsatellite motifs, from which 377 were used to design primers, and 302 (80.11%) showed good amplification quality. To analyze transferability, a group of 167 SSRs were tested, and the results showed that they were 82% transferable across at least one species. The highest amplification rates were observed between the species from the Phaseolus (63.7%), Vigna (25.9%), Glycine (19.8%), Medicago (10.2%), Dipterix (6%) and Arachis (1.8%) genera. The average PIC (Polymorphism Information Content) varied from 0.53 for genomic SSRs to 0.47 for EST-SSRs, and the average number of alleles per locus was 4 and 3, respectively. Among the 315 newly tested SSRs in the BJ (BAT93 X Jalo EEP558) population, 24% (76) were polymorphic. The integration of these segregant loci into a framework map composed of 123 previously obtained SSR markers yielded a total of 199 segregant loci, of which 182 (91.5%) were mapped to 14 linkage groups, resulting in a map length of 1,157 cM. Conclusions A total of 302 newly developed EST-SSR markers, showing good amplification quality, are available for the genetic analysis of Phaseolus vulgaris. These markers showed satisfactory rates of transferability, especially between species that have great economic and genomic values. Their diversity was comparable to

  3. Refined annotation and assembly of the Tetrahymena thermophila genome sequence through EST analysis, comparative genomic hybridization, and targeted gap closure

    PubMed Central

    Coyne, Robert S; Thiagarajan, Mathangi; Jones, Kristie M; Wortman, Jennifer R; Tallon, Luke J; Haas, Brian J; Cassidy-Hanley, Donna M; Wiley, Emily A; Smith, Joshua J; Collins, Kathleen; Lee, Suzanne R; Couvillion, Mary T; Liu, Yifan; Garg, Jyoti; Pearlman, Ronald E; Hamilton, Eileen P; Orias, Eduardo; Eisen, Jonathan A; Methé, Barbara A

    2008-01-01

    Background Tetrahymena thermophila, a widely studied model for cellular and molecular biology, is a binucleated single-celled organism with a germline micronucleus (MIC) and somatic macronucleus (MAC). The recent draft MAC genome assembly revealed low sequence repetitiveness, a result of the epigenetic removal of invasive DNA elements found only in the MIC genome. Such low repetitiveness makes complete closure of the MAC genome a feasible goal, which to achieve would require standard closure methods as well as removal of minor MIC contamination of the MAC genome assembly. Highly accurate preliminary annotation of Tetrahymena's coding potential was hindered by the lack of both comparative genomic sequence information from close relatives and significant amounts of cDNA evidence, thus limiting the value of the genomic information and also leaving unanswered certain questions, such as the frequency of alternative splicing. Results We addressed the problem of MIC contamination using comparative genomic hybridization with purified MIC and MAC DNA probes against a whole genome oligonucleotide microarray, allowing the identification of 763 genome scaffolds likely to contain MIC-limited DNA sequences. We also employed standard genome closure methods to essentially finish over 60% of the MAC genome. For the improvement of annotation, we have sequenced and analyzed over 60,000 verified EST reads from a variety of cellular growth and development conditions. Using this EST evidence, a combination of automated and manual reannotation efforts led to updates that affect 16% of the current protein-coding gene models. By comparing EST abundance, many genes showing apparent differential expression between these conditions were identified. Rare instances of alternative splicing and uses of the non-standard amino acid selenocysteine were also identified. Conclusion We report here significant progress in genome closure and reannotation of Tetrahymena thermophila. Our experience to date

  4. Construction of a genetic map using EST-SSR markers and QTL analysis of major agronomic characters in hexaploid sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam).

    PubMed

    Kim, Jin-Hee; Chung, Il Kyung; Kim, Kyung-Min

    2017-01-01

    The Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam, is difficult to study in genetics and genomics because it is a hexaploid. The sweet potato study not have been performed domestically or internationally. In this study was performed to construct genetic map and quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. A total of 245 EST-SSR markers were developed, and the map was constructed by using 210 of those markers. The total map length was 1508.1 cM, and the mean distance between markers was 7.2 cM. Fifteen characteristics were investigated for QTLs analysis. According to those, the Four QTLs were identified, and The LOD score was 3.0. Further studies need to develop molecular markers in terms of EST-SSR markers for doing to be capable of efficient breeding. The genetic map created here using EST-SSR markers will facilitate planned breeding of sweet potato cultivars with various desirable traits.

  5. Using variable rate models to identify genes under selection in sequence pairs: their validity and limitations for EST sequences.

    PubMed

    Church, Sheri A; Livingstone, Kevin; Lai, Zhao; Kozik, Alexander; Knapp, Steven J; Michelmore, Richard W; Rieseberg, Loren H

    2007-02-01

    Using likelihood-based variable selection models, we determined if positive selection was acting on 523 EST sequence pairs from two lineages of sunflower and lettuce. Variable rate models are generally not used for comparisons of sequence pairs due to the limited information and the inaccuracy of estimates of specific substitution rates. However, previous studies have shown that the likelihood ratio test (LRT) is reliable for detecting positive selection, even with low numbers of sequences. These analyses identified 56 genes that show a signature of selection, of which 75% were not identified by simpler models that average selection across codons. Subsequent mapping studies in sunflower show four of five of the positively selected genes identified by these methods mapped to domestication QTLs. We discuss the validity and limitations of using variable rate models for comparisons of sequence pairs, as well as the limitations of using ESTs for identification of positively selected genes.

  6. Analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from avocado seed (Persea americana var. drymifolia) reveals abundant expression of the gene encoding the antimicrobial peptide snakin.

    PubMed

    Guzmán-Rodríguez, Jaquelina J; Ibarra-Laclette, Enrique; Herrera-Estrella, Luis; Ochoa-Zarzosa, Alejandra; Suárez-Rodríguez, Luis María; Rodríguez-Zapata, Luis C; Salgado-Garciglia, Rafael; Jimenez-Moraila, Beatriz; López-Meza, Joel E; López-Gómez, Rodolfo

    2013-09-01

    Avocado is one of the most important fruits in the world. Avocado "native mexicano" (Persea americana var. drymifolia) seeds are widely used in the propagation of this plant and are the primary source of rootstocks globally for a variety of avocado cultivars, such as the Hass avocado. Here, we report the isolation of 5005 ESTs from the 5' ends of P. americana var. drymifolia seed cDNA clones representing 1584 possible unigenes. These avocado seed ESTs were compared with the avocado flower EST library, and we detected several genes that are expressed either in both tissues or only in the seed. The snakin gene, which encodes an element of the innate immune response in plants, was one of those most frequently found among the seed ESTs, and this suggests that it is abundantly expressed in the avocado seed. We expressed the snakin gene in a heterologous system, namely the bovine endothelial cell line BVE-E6E7. Conditioned media from transfected BVE-E6E7 cells showed antimicrobial activity against strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This is the first study of the function of the snakin gene in plant seed tissue, and our observations suggest that this gene might play a protective role in the avocado seed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  7. Microsatellite analysis and marker development in garlic: distribution in EST sequence, genetic diversity analysis, and marker transferability across Alliaceae.

    PubMed

    Barboza, Karina; Beretta, Vanesa; Kozub, Perla C; Salinas, Cecilia; Morgenfeld, Mauro M; Galmarini, Claudio R; Cavagnaro, Pablo F

    2018-04-28

    Allium vegetables, such as garlic and onion, have understudied genomes and limited molecular resources, hindering advances in genetic research and breeding of these species. In this study, we characterized and compared the simple sequence repeats (SSR) landscape in the transcriptomes of garlic and related Allium (A. cepa, A. fistulosum, and A. tuberosum) and non-Allium monocot species. In addition, 110 SSR markers were developed from garlic ESTs, and they were characterized-along with 112 previously developed SSRs-at various levels, including transferability across Alliaceae species, and their usefulness for genetic diversity analysis. Among the Allium species analyzed, garlic ESTs had the highest overall SSR density, the lowest frequency of trinucleotides, and the highest of di- and tetranucleotides. When compared to more distantly related monocots, outside the Asparagales order, it was evident that ESTs of Allium species shared major commonalities with regards to SSR density, frequency distribution, sequence motifs, and GC content. A significant fraction of the SSR markers were successfully transferred across Allium species, including crops for which no SSR markers have been developed yet, such as leek, shallot, chives, and elephant garlic. Diversity analysis of garlic cultivars with selected SSRs revealed 36 alleles, with 2-5 alleles/locus, and PIC = 0.38. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions according to their flowering behavior, botanical variety, and ecophysiological characteristics. Results from this study contribute to the characterization of Allium transcriptomes. The new SSR markers developed, along with the data from the polymorphism and transferability analyses, will aid in assisting genetic research and breeding in garlic and other Allium.

  8. LSGermOPA, a custom OPA of 384 EST-derived SNPs for high-throughput lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) germplasm fingerprinting

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    We assessed the genetic diversity and population structure among 148 cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) accessions using the high-throughput GoldenGate assay and 384 EST (Expressed Sequence Tag)-derived SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) markers. A custom OPA (Oligo Pool All), LSGermOPA was fo...

  9. Characterization, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of an (S)-specific esterase (pfEstA) from Pseudomonas fluorescens KCTC 1767: enantioselectivity for potential industrial applications.

    PubMed

    Kim, Seulgi; Ngo, Tri Duc; Kim, Kyeong Kyu; Kim, T Doohun

    2012-11-01

    The structures and reaction mechanisms of enantioselective hydrolases, which can be used in industrial applications such as biotransformations, are largely unknown. Here, the X-ray crystallographic study of a novel (S)-specific esterase (pfEstA) from Pseudomonas fluorescens KCTC 1767, which can be used in the production of (S)-ketoprofen, is described. Multiple sequence alignments with other hydrolases revealed that pfEstA contains a conserved Ser67 within the S-X-X-K motif as well as a highly conserved Tyr156. Recombinant protein containing an N-terminal His tag was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified to homogeneity and characterized using SDS-PAGE, MALDI-TOF MS and enantioselective analysis. pfEstA was crystallized using a solution consisting of 1 M sodium citrate, 0.1 M CHES pH 9.5, and X-ray diffraction data were collected to a resolution of 1.9 Å with an Rmerge of 7.9%. The crystals of pfEstA belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a=65.31, b=82.13, c=100.41 Å, α=β=γ=90°.

  10. GENOMIC ADAPTATION OF THE EMBRYONIC STEM CELL TEST (EST) FOR A TOXICOLOGICAL STUDY OF DRINKING WATER DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Among the many promised and potential applications of embryonic stem cells, in vitro toxicology is one area in which ES cells have already proven their utility. In 2003, the Embryonic Stem Cell Test (EST) protocol was validated in Europe as an in vitro alternative to live animal...

  11. Informe: Están en riesgo más de $774 millones en Fondos rotativos estatales de Puerto Rico

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Informe #17-P-0186, 26 de abril de 2017 (puesto a disposición en español: 3 de augosto de 2017). Están en riesgo más de $774 millones en Fondos rotativos estatales debido a la continua crisis financiera que azota a Puerto Rico.

  12. Gene discovery in EST sequences from the wheat leaf rust fungus Puccinia triticina sexual spores, asexual spores and haustoria, compared to other rust and corn smut fungi

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Rust fungi are biotrophic basidiomycete plant pathogens that cause major diseases on plants and trees world-wide, affecting agriculture and forestry. Their biotrophic nature precludes many established molecular genetic manipulations and lines of research. The generation of genomic resources for these microbes is leading to novel insights into biology such as interactions with the hosts and guiding directions for breakthrough research in plant pathology. Results To support gene discovery and gene model verification in the genome of the wheat leaf rust fungus, Puccinia triticina (Pt), we have generated Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) by sampling several life cycle stages. We focused on several spore stages and isolated haustorial structures from infected wheat, generating 17,684 ESTs. We produced sequences from both the sexual (pycniospores, aeciospores and teliospores) and asexual (germinated urediniospores) stages of the life cycle. From pycniospores and aeciospores, produced by infecting the alternate host, meadow rue (Thalictrum speciosissimum), 4,869 and 1,292 reads were generated, respectively. We generated 3,703 ESTs from teliospores produced on the senescent primary wheat host. Finally, we generated 6,817 reads from haustoria isolated from infected wheat as well as 1,003 sequences from germinated urediniospores. Along with 25,558 previously generated ESTs, we compiled a database of 13,328 non-redundant sequences (4,506 singlets and 8,822 contigs). Fungal genes were predicted using the EST version of the self-training GeneMarkS algorithm. To refine the EST database, we compared EST sequences by BLASTN to a set of 454 pyrosequencing-generated contigs and Sanger BAC-end sequences derived both from the Pt genome, and to ESTs and genome reads from wheat. A collection of 6,308 fungal genes was identified and compared to sequences of the cereal rusts, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) and stripe rust, P. striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), and poplar

  13. Using Separation-of-Function Mutagenesis To Define the Full Spectrum of Activities Performed by the Est1 Telomerase Subunit in Vivo.

    PubMed

    Lubin, Johnathan W; Tucey, Timothy M; Lundblad, Victoria

    2018-01-01

    A leading objective in biology is to identify the complete set of activities that each gene performs in vivo In this study, we have asked whether a genetic approach can provide an efficient means of achieving this goal, through the identification and analysis of a comprehensive set of separation-of-function ( sof - ) mutations in a gene. Toward this goal, we have subjected the Saccharomyces cerevisiae EST1 gene, which encodes a regulatory subunit of telomerase, to intensive mutagenesis (with an average coverage of one mutation for every 4.5 residues), using strategies that eliminated those mutations that disrupted protein folding/stability. The resulting set of sof - mutations defined four biochemically distinct activities for the Est1 telomerase protein: two temporally separable steps in telomerase holoenzyme assembly, a telomerase recruitment activity, and a fourth newly discovered regulatory function. Although biochemically distinct, impairment of each of these four different activities nevertheless conferred a common phenotype (critically short telomeres) comparable to that of an est1 -∆ null strain. This highlights the limitations of gene deletions, even for nonessential genes; we suggest that employing a representative set of sof - mutations for each gene in future high- and low-throughput investigations will provide deeper insights into how proteins interact inside the cell. Copyright © 2018 by the Genetics Society of America.

  14. German EstSmoke: estimating adult smoking-related costs and consequences of smoking cessation for Germany.

    PubMed

    Sonntag, Diana; Gilbody, Simon; Winkler, Volker; Ali, Shehzad

    2018-01-01

    We compared predicted life-time health-care costs for current, never and ex-smokers in Germany under the current set of tobacco control polices. We compared these economic consequences of the current situation with an alternative in which Germany were to implement more comprehensive tobacco control policies consistent with the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) guidelines. German EstSmoke, an adapted version of the UK EstSmoke simulation model, applies the Markov modelling approach. Transition probabilities for (re-)currence of smoking-related diseases were calculated from large German disease-specific registries and the German Health Update (GEDA 2010). Estimations of both health-care costs and effect sizes of smoking cessation policies were taken from recent German studies and discounted at 3.5%/year. Germany. German population of prevalent current, never and ex-smokers in 2009. Life-time cost and outcomes in current, never and ex-smokers. If tobacco control policies are not strengthened, the German smoking population will incur €41.56 billion life-time excess costs compared with never smokers. Implementing tobacco control policies consistent with WHO FCTC guidelines would reduce the difference of life-time costs between current smokers and ex-smokers by at least €1.7 billion. Modelling suggests that the life-time healthcare costs of people in Germany who smoke are substantially greater than those of people who have never smoked. However, more comprehensive tobacco control policies could reduce health-care expenditures for current smokers by at least 4%. © 2017 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  15. A comprehensive assessment of the transcriptome of cork oak (Quercus suber) through EST sequencing.

    PubMed

    Pereira-Leal, José B; Abreu, Isabel A; Alabaça, Cláudia S; Almeida, Maria Helena; Almeida, Paulo; Almeida, Tânia; Amorim, Maria Isabel; Araújo, Susana; Azevedo, Herlânder; Badia, Aleix; Batista, Dora; Bohn, Andreas; Capote, Tiago; Carrasquinho, Isabel; Chaves, Inês; Coelho, Ana Cristina; Costa, Maria Manuela Ribeiro; Costa, Rita; Cravador, Alfredo; Egas, Conceição; Faro, Carlos; Fortes, Ana M; Fortunato, Ana S; Gaspar, Maria João; Gonçalves, Sónia; Graça, José; Horta, Marília; Inácio, Vera; Leitão, José M; Lino-Neto, Teresa; Marum, Liliana; Matos, José; Mendonça, Diogo; Miguel, Andreia; Miguel, Célia M; Morais-Cecílio, Leonor; Neves, Isabel; Nóbrega, Filomena; Oliveira, Maria Margarida; Oliveira, Rute; Pais, Maria Salomé; Paiva, Jorge A; Paulo, Octávio S; Pinheiro, Miguel; Raimundo, João A P; Ramalho, José C; Ribeiro, Ana I; Ribeiro, Teresa; Rocheta, Margarida; Rodrigues, Ana Isabel; Rodrigues, José C; Saibo, Nelson J M; Santo, Tatiana E; Santos, Ana Margarida; Sá-Pereira, Paula; Sebastiana, Mónica; Simões, Fernanda; Sobral, Rómulo S; Tavares, Rui; Teixeira, Rita; Varela, Carolina; Veloso, Maria Manuela; Ricardo, Cândido P P

    2014-05-15

    Cork oak (Quercus suber) is one of the rare trees with the ability to produce cork, a material widely used to make wine bottle stoppers, flooring and insulation materials, among many other uses. The molecular mechanisms of cork formation are still poorly understood, in great part due to the difficulty in studying a species with a long life-cycle and for which there is scarce molecular/genomic information. Cork oak forests are of great ecological importance and represent a major economic and social resource in Southern Europe and Northern Africa. However, global warming is threatening the cork oak forests by imposing thermal, hydric and many types of novel biotic stresses. Despite the economic and social value of the Q. suber species, few genomic resources have been developed, useful for biotechnological applications and improved forest management. We generated in excess of 7 million sequence reads, by pyrosequencing 21 normalized cDNA libraries derived from multiple Q. suber tissues and organs, developmental stages and physiological conditions. We deployed a stringent sequence processing and assembly pipeline that resulted in the identification of ~159,000 unigenes. These were annotated according to their similarity to known plant genes, to known Interpro domains, GO classes and E.C. numbers. The phylogenetic extent of this ESTs set was investigated, and we found that cork oak revealed a significant new gene space that is not covered by other model species or EST sequencing projects. The raw data, as well as the full annotated assembly, are now available to the community in a dedicated web portal at http://www.corkoakdb.org. This genomic resource represents the first trancriptome study in a cork producing species. It can be explored to develop new tools and approaches to understand stress responses and developmental processes in forest trees, as well as the molecular cascades underlying cork differentiation and disease response.

  16. De novo transcriptomic analysis and development of EST-SSRs for Sorbus pohuashanensis (Hance) Hedl.

    PubMed Central

    Guan, Xuelian; Fu, Qiang; Zhang, Ze; Hu, Zenghui; Zheng, Jian; Lu, Yizeng; Li, Wei

    2017-01-01

    Sorbus pohuashanensis is a native tree species of northern China that is used for a variety of ecological purposes. The species is often grown as an ornamental landscape tree because of its beautiful form, silver flowers in early summer, attractive pinnate leaves in summer, and red leaves and fruits in autumn. However, development and further utilization of the species are hindered by the lack of comprehensive genetic information, which impedes research into its genetics and molecular biology. Recent advances in de novo transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) technology have provided an effective means to obtain genomic information from non-model species. Here, we applied RNA-seq for sequencing S. pohuashanensis leaves and obtained a total of 137,506 clean reads. After assembly, 96,213 unigenes with an average length of 770 bp were obtained. We found that 64.5% of the unigenes could be annotated using bioinformatics tools to analyze gene function and alignment with the NCBI database. Overall, 59,089 unigenes were annotated using the Nr database(non-redundant protein database), 35,225 unigenes were annotated using the GO (Gene Ontology categories) database, and 33,168 unigenes were annotated using COG (Cluster of Orthologous Groups). Analysis of the unigenes using the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) database indicated that 13,953 unigenes were involved in 322 metabolic pathways. Finally, simple sequence repeat (SSR) site detection identified 6,604 unigenes that included EST-SSRs and a total of 7,473 EST-SSRs in the unigene sequences. Fifteen polymorphic SSRs were screened and found to be of use for future genetic research. These unigene sequences will provide important genetic resources for genetic improvement and investigation of biochemical processes in S. pohuashanensis. PMID:28614366

  17. Plastics and microplastics on recreational beaches in Punta del Este (Uruguay): Unseen critical residents?

    PubMed

    Lozoya, J P; Teixeira de Mello, F; Carrizo, D; Weinstein, F; Olivera, Y; Cedrés, F; Pereira, M; Fossati, M

    2016-11-01

    Beaches are social-ecological systems that provide several services improving human well-being. However, as one of the major coastal interfaces they are subject to plastic pollution, one of the most significant global environmental threats at present. For the first time for Uruguayan beaches, this study assessed and quantified the accumulation of plastic and microplastic debris on sandy beaches of the major touristic destination Punta del Este during the austral spring of 2013. Aiming to provide valuable information for decision-making, we performed a detailed analysis of plastic debris, their eventual transport pathways to the coast (from land and sea), and the associated persistent pollutants. The results indicated that the smallest size fractions (<20 mm) were the dominant size range, with fragments and resin pellets as types with the highest number of items. PAHs and PCBs were found in plastic debris, and their levels did not differ from baseline values reported for similar locations. The abundance of plastic debris was significantly and positively correlated with both the presence of possible land-based sources (e.g. storm-water drains, beach bars, beach access, car parking, and roads), and dissipative beach conditions. The analysis of coastal currents suggested some potential deposition areas along Punta del Este, and particularly for resin pellets, although modeling was not conclusive. From a local management point of view, the development and use of indices that allow predicting trends in the accumulation of plastic debris would be critically useful. The time dimension (e.g. seasonal) should also be considered for this threat, being crucial for locations such as Uruguay, where the use of beaches increases significantly during the summer. This first diagnosis aims to generate scientific baseline, necessary for improved management of plastic litter on beaches and their watersheds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Genetic variation, population structure and linkage disequilibrium in Switchgrass with ISSR, SCoT and EST-SSR markers.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yu; Yan, Haidong; Jiang, Xiaomei; Wang, Xiaoli; Huang, Linkai; Xu, Bin; Zhang, Xinquan; Zhang, Lexin

    2016-01-01

    To evaluate genetic variation, population structure, and the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD), 134 switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) samples were analyzed with 51 markers, including 16 ISSRs, 20 SCoTs, and 15 EST-SSRs. In this study, a high level of genetic variation was observed in the switchgrass samples and they had an average Nei's gene diversity index (H) of 0.311. A total of 793 bands were obtained, of which 708 (89.28 %) were polymorphic. Using a parameter marker index (MI), the efficiency of the three types of markers (ISSR, SCoT, and EST-SSR) in the study were compared and we found that SCoT had a higher marker efficiency than the other two markers. The 134 switchgrass samples could be divided into two sub-populations based on STRUCTURE, UPGMA clustering, and principal coordinate analyses (PCA), and upland and lowland ecotypes could be separated by UPGMA clustering and PCA analyses. Linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed an average r 2 of 0.035 across all 51 markers, indicating a trend of higher LD in sub-population 2 than that in sub-population 1 ( P  < 0.01). The population structure revealed in this study will guide the design of future association studies using these switchgrass samples.

  19. Curation of microarray oligonucleotides and corresponding ESTs/cDNAs used for gene expression analysis in zebra finches.

    PubMed

    Lovell, Peter V; Huizinga, Nicole A; Getachew, Abel; Mees, Brianna; Friedrich, Samantha R; Wirthlin, Morgan; Mello, Claudio V

    2018-05-18

    Zebra finches are a major model organism for investigating mechanisms of vocal learning, a trait that enables spoken language in humans. The development of cDNA collections with expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and microarrays has allowed for extensive molecular characterizations of circuitry underlying vocal learning and production. However, poor database curation can lead to errors in transcriptome and bioinformatics analyses, limiting the impact of these resources. Here we used genomic alignments and synteny analysis for orthology verification to curate and reannotate ~ 35% of the oligonucleotides and corresponding ESTs/cDNAs that make-up Agilent microarrays for gene expression analysis in finches. We found that: (1) 5475 out of 43,084 oligos (a) failed to align to the zebra finch genome, (b) aligned to multiple loci, or (c) aligned to Chr_un only, and thus need to be flagged until a better genome assembly is available, or (d) reflect cloning artifacts; (2) Out of 9635 valid oligos examined further, 3120 were incorrectly named, including 1533 with no known orthologs; and (3) 2635 oligos required name update. The resulting curated dataset provides a reference for correcting gene identification errors in previous finch microarrays studies, and avoiding such errors in future studies.

  20. PubMed

    Scotta, Ana Verónica; Bongiovanni, Guillermina Azucena; Soria, Elio Andrés

    2018-03-21

    Antecedentes: Clorpirifos es un pesticida altamente tóxico, que puede producir inmunotoxicidad con efectos deletéreos sobre la salud a nivel mundial. Por otro lado, las plantas americanas pueden tener derivados con actividad protectora e inmunoestimulante. Por lo tanto, debe evaluarse el potencial de estas plantas frente a clorpirifos. Objetivo: Identificar extractos acuosos bioactivos de Lantana grisebachii (LG), Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco (AQ), Peumus boldus (PB), e Ilex paraguariensis (IP), contra la toxicidad de clorpirifos sobre esplenocitos de hembras Balb/c. Materiales y Métodos: Esplenocitos fueron tratados in vitro por 72 horas con 0-35 µg/mL de clorpirifos, 0-100 µg/mL de cada extracto (LG, AQ, PB, IP) y 0-5 µg/mL de concanavalina A. Luego, se midió y analizó estadísticamente viabilidad y muerte celular (tinciones de resazurina y yoduro de propidio), hidroperóxidos, lipoperóxidos (ensayos basados en naranja de xilenol), actividad de la ?-glutamiltranspeptidasa (método de Szasz). Resultados: Clorpirifos redujo la viabilidad celular de forma dosis dependiente, lo que fue contrarrestado por AQ e IP, los que fueron menos activos en las células inducibles por concanavalina A (p<0,05). La toxicidad por clorpirifos implicó la inducción de la ?-glutamiltranspeptidasa con la consecuente reducción de los peróxidos, mientras que AQ y principalmente IP antagonizaron dichas respuestas (p<0,05). Conclusiones: Los extractos de Ilex paraguariensis y Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco protegieron in vitro a los esplenocitos frente a clorpirifos. Este efecto dependió del tipo celular, dado que las células inducibles por concanavalina A fueron más susceptibles a este tóxico.

  1. Analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from cocoa (Theobroma cacao L) upon infection with Phytophthora megakarya.

    PubMed

    Naganeeswaran, Sudalaimuthu Asari; Subbian, Elain Apshara; Ramaswamy, Manimekalai

    2012-01-01

    Phytophthora megakarya, the causative agent of cacao black pod disease in West African countries causes an extensive loss of yield. In this study we have analyzed 4 libraries of ESTs derived from Phytophthora megakarya infected cocoa leaf and pod tissues. Totally 6379 redundant sequences were retrieved from ESTtik database and EST processing was performed using seqclean tool. Clustering and assembling using CAP3 generated 3333 non-redundant (907 contigs and 2426 singletons) sequences. The primary sequence analysis of 3333 non-redundant sequences showed that the GC percentage was 42.7 and the sequence length ranged from 101 - 2576 nucleotides. Further, functional analysis (Blast, Interproscan, Gene ontology and KEGG search) were executed and 1230 orthologous genes were annotated. Totally 272 enzymes corresponding to 114 metabolic pathways were identified. Functional annotation revealed that most of the sequences are related to molecular function, stress response and biological processes. The annotated enzymes are aldehyde dehydrogenase (E.C: 1.2.1.3), catalase (E.C: 1.11.1.6), acetyl-CoA C-acetyltransferase (E.C: 2.3.1.9), threonine ammonia-lyase (E.C: 4.3.1.19), acetolactate synthase (E.C: 2.2.1.6), O-methyltransferase (E.C: 2.1.1.68) which play an important role in amino acid biosynthesis and phenyl propanoid biosynthesis. All this information was stored in MySQL database management system to be used in future for reconstruction of biotic stress response pathway in cocoa.

  2. In silico mining and characterization of simple sequence repeats from gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) expressed sequence tags (EST-SSRs); PCR amplification, polymorphism evaluation and multiplexing and cross-species assays.

    PubMed

    Vogiatzi, Emmanouella; Lagnel, Jacques; Pakaki, Victoria; Louro, Bruno; Canario, Adelino V M; Reinhardt, Richard; Kotoulas, Georgios; Magoulas, Antonios; Tsigenopoulos, Costas S

    2011-06-01

    We screened for simple sequence repeats (SSRs) found in ESTs derived from an EST-database development project ('Marine Genomics Europe' Network of Excellence). Different motifs of di-, tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexanucleotide SSRs were evaluated for variation in length and position in the expressed sequences, relative abundance and distribution in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). We found 899 ESTs that harbor 997 SSRs (4.94%). On average, one SSR was found per 2.95 kb of EST sequence and the dinucleotide SSRs are the most abundant accounting for 47.6% of the total number. EST-SSRs were used as template for primer design. 664 primer pairs could be successfully identified and a subset of 206 pairs of primers was synthesized, PCR-tested and visualized on ethidium bromide stained agarose gels. The main objective was to further assess the potential of EST-SSRs as informative markers and investigate their cross-species amplification in sixteen teleost fish species: seven sparid species and nine other species from different families. Approximately 78% of the primer pairs gave PCR products of expected size in gilthead sea bream, and as expected, the rate of successful amplification of sea bream EST-SSRs was higher in sparids, lower in other perciforms and even lower in species of the Clupeiform and Gadiform orders. We finally determined the polymorphism and the heterozygosity of 63 markers in a wild gilthead sea bream population; fifty-eight loci were found to be polymorphic with the expected heterozygosity and the number of alleles ranging from 0.089 to 0.946 and from 2 to 27, respectively. These tools and markers are expected to enhance the available genetic linkage map in gilthead sea bream, to assist comparative mapping and genome analyses for this species and further with other model fish species and finally to help advance genetic analysis for cultivated and wild populations and accelerate breeding programs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. A new set of ESTs and cDNA clones from full-length and normalized libraries for gene discovery and functional characterization in citrus

    PubMed Central

    Marques, M Carmen; Alonso-Cantabrana, Hugo; Forment, Javier; Arribas, Raquel; Alamar, Santiago; Conejero, Vicente; Perez-Amador, Miguel A

    2009-01-01

    Background Interpretation of ever-increasing raw sequence information generated by modern genome sequencing technologies faces multiple challenges, such as gene function analysis and genome annotation. Indeed, nearly 40% of genes in plants encode proteins of unknown function. Functional characterization of these genes is one of the main challenges in modern biology. In this regard, the availability of full-length cDNA clones may fill in the gap created between sequence information and biological knowledge. Full-length cDNA clones facilitate functional analysis of the corresponding genes enabling manipulation of their expression in heterologous systems and the generation of a variety of tagged versions of the native protein. In addition, the development of full-length cDNA sequences has the power to improve the quality of genome annotation. Results We developed an integrated method to generate a new normalized EST collection enriched in full-length and rare transcripts of different citrus species from multiple tissues and developmental stages. We constructed a total of 15 cDNA libraries, from which we isolated 10,898 high-quality ESTs representing 6142 different genes. Percentages of redundancy and proportion of full-length clones range from 8 to 33, and 67 to 85, respectively, indicating good efficiency of the approach employed. The new EST collection adds 2113 new citrus ESTs, representing 1831 unigenes, to the collection of citrus genes available in the public databases. To facilitate functional analysis, cDNAs were introduced in a Gateway-based cloning vector for high-throughput functional analysis of genes in planta. Herein, we describe the technical methods used in the library construction, sequence analysis of clones and the overexpression of CitrSEP, a citrus homolog to the Arabidopsis SEP3 gene, in Arabidopsis as an example of a practical application of the engineered Gateway vector for functional analysis. Conclusion The new EST collection denotes an

  4. Salud mental en desastres naturales: estrategias interventivas con adultos mayores en sectores rurales de Chile.

    PubMed

    Osorio-Parraguez, Paulina; Espinoza, Adriana

    2016-06-01

    En el presente artículo se da a conocer una estrategia de intervención llevada a cabo con adultos mayores en la comuna de Paredones, sexta región de Chile, con posterioridad al terremoto y tsunami del 27 de febrero 2010 en Chile, en el contexto de una investigación sobre fortalezas y vulnerabilidades desplegadas por este grupo etario, con posterioridad a un desastre natural. Se presenta una descripción del desarrollo metodológico de la intervención y de los sustentos teóricos y conceptuales en los que se basa. Como resultado de este proceso, se propone una estrategia que trabaje a través de la identificación de las propias experiencias y fortalezas de los sujetos. De tal forma se minimizan los efectos negativos de los determinantes sociales de la salud (como la edad y el lugar de residencia) en contexto de crisis; permitiendo a los adultos mayores fortalecer sus recursos individuales y colectivos, en pro de su bienestar psicosocial. © The Author(s) 2015.

  5. Novel relationships among ten fish model species revealed based on a phylogenomic analysis using ESTs.

    PubMed

    Steinke, Dirk; Salzburger, Walter; Meyer, Axel

    2006-06-01

    The power of comparative phylogenomic analyses also depends on the amount of data that are included in such studies. We used expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from fish model species as a proof of principle approach in order to test the reliability of using ESTs for phylogenetic inference. As expected, the robustness increases with the amount of sequences. Although some progress has been made in the elucidation of the phylogeny of teleosts, relationships among the main lineages of the derived fish (Euteleostei) remain poorly defined and are still debated. We performed a phylogenomic analysis of a set of 42 of orthologous genes from 10 available fish model systems from seven different orders (Salmoniformes, Siluriformes, Cypriniformes, Tetraodontiformes, Cyprinodontiformes, Beloniformes, and Perciformes) of euteleostean fish to estimate divergence times and evolutionary relationships among those lineages. All 10 fish species serve as models for developmental, aquaculture, genomic, and comparative genetic studies. The phylogenetic signal and the strength of the contribution of each of the 42 orthologous genes were estimated with randomly chosen data subsets. Our study revealed a molecular phylogeny of higher-level relationships of derived teleosts, which indicates that the use of multiple genes produces robust phylogenies, a finding that is expected to apply to other phylogenetic issues among distantly related taxa. Our phylogenomic analyses confirm that the euteleostean superorders Ostariophysi and Acanthopterygii are monophyletic and the Protacanthopterygii and Ostariophysi are sister clades. In addition, and contrary to the traditional phylogenetic hypothesis, our analyses determine that killifish (Cyprinodontiformes), medaka (Beloniformes), and cichlids (Perciformes) appear to be more closely related to each other than either of them is to pufferfish (Tetraodontiformes). All 10 lineages split before or during the fragmentation of the supercontinent Pangea in the

  6. Genome size, cytogenetic data and transferability of EST-SSRs markers in wild and cultivated species of the genus Theobroma L. (Byttnerioideae, Malvaceae)

    PubMed Central

    da Silva, Rangeline Azevedo; Souza, Gustavo; Lemos, Lívia Santos Lima; Lopes, Uilson Vanderlei; Patrocínio, Nara Geórgia Ribeiro Braz; Alves, Rafael Moysés; Marcellino, Lucília Helena; Clement, Didier; Micheli, Fabienne

    2017-01-01

    The genus Theobroma comprises several trees species native to the Amazon. Theobroma cacao L. plays a key economic role mainly in the chocolate industry. Both cultivated and wild forms are described within the genus. Variations in genome size and chromosome number have been used for prediction purposes including the frequency of interspecific hybridization or inference about evolutionary relationships. In this study, the nuclear DNA content, karyotype and genetic diversity using functional microsatellites (EST-SSR) of seven Theobroma species were characterized. The nuclear content of DNA for all analyzed Theobroma species was 1C = ~ 0.46 pg. These species presented 2n = 20 with small chromosomes and only one pair of terminal heterochromatic bands positively stained (CMA+/DAPI− bands). The small size of Theobroma ssp. genomes was equivalent to other Byttnerioideae species, suggesting that the basal lineage of Malvaceae have smaller genomes and that there was an expansion of 2C values in the more specialized family clades. A set of 20 EST-SSR primers were characterized for related species of Theobroma, in which 12 loci were polymorphic. The polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.23 to 0.65, indicating a high level of information per locus. Combined results of flow cytometry, cytogenetic data and EST-SSRs markers will contribute to better describe the species and infer about the evolutionary relationships among Theobroma species. In addition, the importance of a core collection for conservation purposes is highlighted. PMID:28187131

  7. Genome size, cytogenetic data and transferability of EST-SSRs markers in wild and cultivated species of the genus Theobroma L. (Byttnerioideae, Malvaceae).

    PubMed

    da Silva, Rangeline Azevedo; Souza, Gustavo; Lemos, Lívia Santos Lima; Lopes, Uilson Vanderlei; Patrocínio, Nara Geórgia Ribeiro Braz; Alves, Rafael Moysés; Marcellino, Lucília Helena; Clement, Didier; Micheli, Fabienne; Gramacho, Karina Peres

    2017-01-01

    The genus Theobroma comprises several trees species native to the Amazon. Theobroma cacao L. plays a key economic role mainly in the chocolate industry. Both cultivated and wild forms are described within the genus. Variations in genome size and chromosome number have been used for prediction purposes including the frequency of interspecific hybridization or inference about evolutionary relationships. In this study, the nuclear DNA content, karyotype and genetic diversity using functional microsatellites (EST-SSR) of seven Theobroma species were characterized. The nuclear content of DNA for all analyzed Theobroma species was 1C = ~ 0.46 pg. These species presented 2n = 20 with small chromosomes and only one pair of terminal heterochromatic bands positively stained (CMA+/DAPI- bands). The small size of Theobroma ssp. genomes was equivalent to other Byttnerioideae species, suggesting that the basal lineage of Malvaceae have smaller genomes and that there was an expansion of 2C values in the more specialized family clades. A set of 20 EST-SSR primers were characterized for related species of Theobroma, in which 12 loci were polymorphic. The polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.23 to 0.65, indicating a high level of information per locus. Combined results of flow cytometry, cytogenetic data and EST-SSRs markers will contribute to better describe the species and infer about the evolutionary relationships among Theobroma species. In addition, the importance of a core collection for conservation purposes is highlighted.

  8. Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] consensus linkage map constructed using four RIL mapping populations and newly developed EST-SSRs.

    PubMed

    Rajaram, Vengaldas; Nepolean, Thirunavukkarasu; Senthilvel, Senapathy; Varshney, Rajeev K; Vadez, Vincent; Srivastava, Rakesh K; Shah, Trushar M; Supriya, Ambawat; Kumar, Sushil; Ramana Kumari, Basava; Bhanuprakash, Amindala; Narasu, Mangamoori Lakshmi; Riera-Lizarazu, Oscar; Hash, Charles Thomas

    2013-03-09

    Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is a widely cultivated drought- and high-temperature tolerant C4 cereal grown under dryland, rainfed and irrigated conditions in drought-prone regions of the tropics and sub-tropics of Africa, South Asia and the Americas. It is considered an orphan crop with relatively few genomic and genetic resources. This study was undertaken to increase the EST-based microsatellite marker and genetic resources for this crop to facilitate marker-assisted breeding. Newly developed EST-SSR markers (99), along with previously mapped EST-SSR (17), genomic SSR (53) and STS (2) markers, were used to construct linkage maps of four F7 recombinant inbred populations (RIP) based on crosses ICMB 841-P3 × 863B-P2 (RIP A), H 77/833-2 × PRLT 2/89-33 (RIP B), 81B-P6 × ICMP 451-P8 (RIP C) and PT 732B-P2 × P1449-2-P1 (RIP D). Mapped loci numbers were greatest for RIP A (104), followed by RIP B (78), RIP C (64) and RIP D (59). Total map lengths (Haldane) were 615 cM, 690 cM, 428 cM and 276 cM, respectively. A total of 176 loci detected by 171 primer pairs were mapped among the four crosses. A consensus map of 174 loci (899 cM) detected by 169 primer pairs was constructed using MergeMap to integrate the individual linkage maps. Locus order in the consensus map was well conserved for nearly all linkage groups. Eighty-nine EST-SSR marker loci from this consensus map had significant BLAST hits (top hits with e-value ≤ 1E-10) on the genome sequences of rice, foxtail millet, sorghum, maize and Brachypodium with 35, 88, 58, 48 and 38 loci, respectively. The consensus map developed in the present study contains the largest set of mapped SSRs reported to date for pearl millet, and represents a major consolidation of existing pearl millet genetic mapping information. This study increased numbers of mapped pearl millet SSR markers by >50%, filling important gaps in previously published SSR-based linkage maps for this species and will greatly

  9. Geologic Map of the Estes Park 30' x 60' Quadrangle, North-Central Colorado

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cole, James C.; Braddock, William A.

    2009-01-01

    The rocks and landforms of the Estes Park 30 x 60 minute quadrangle display an exceptionally complete record of geologic history in the northern Front Range of Colorado. The Proterozoic basement rocks exposed in the core of the range preserve evidence of Paleoproterozoic marine sedimentation, volcanism, and regional soft-sediment deformation, followed by regional folding and gradational metamorphism. The metasedimentary rocks of the Estes Park quadrangle are distinct within northern Colorado for preserving the complete metamorphic zonation from low-grade chlorite-muscovite phyllites, through middle greenschist-grade rocks with sequential aluminous porphyroblasts, to partially melted gneisses that contain high-grade cordierite and garnet in the non-melted residues. Regional and textural evidence shows that the widespread metamorphism was essentially concurrent with intrusion of the Boulder Creek Granodiorite and related magmas and with the peak of deformation in the partially melted high-grade rocks. The metamorphic thermal pulse arrived later following the peak of deformation in the physically higher, cooler, low-grade terrane. Mesoproterozoic time was marked by intrusion of biotite granite in the Longs Peak-St Vrain batholith, a complex, irregular body that occupies nearly half of the core of the Front Range in this quadrangle. The magma was dry and viscous as it invaded the metamorphic rocks and caused wholesale plastic folding of the wall rock structure. Steep metamorphic foliation that resulted from the Paleoproterozoic deformations was bowed upward and re-oriented into flat-lying attitudes as the crystal-rich magma rose buoyantly and spread out in the middle crust. Magma invaded the schists and gneisses along weak foliation planes and produced a characteristic sill-upon-sill intrusive fabric, particularly in the higher parts of the batholith. Broad, open arches and swales that are defined by the flow-aligned feldspar foliation of the granite, as well as by

  10. EST-SSR marker revealed effective over biochemical and morphological scepticism towards identification of specific turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) cultivars.

    PubMed

    Sahoo, Ambika; Jena, Sudipta; Kar, Basudeba; Sahoo, Suprava; Ray, Asit; Singh, Subhashree; Joshi, Raj Kumar; Acharya, Laxmikanta; Nayak, Sanghamitra

    2017-05-01

    Turmeric (Curcuma longa L., family Zingiberaceae) is one of the most economically important plants for its use in food, medicine, and cosmetic industries. Cultivar identification is a major constraint in turmeric, owing to high degree of morphological similarity that in turn, affects its commercialization. The present study addresses this constraint, using EST-SSR marker based, molecular identification of 8 elite cultivars and 88 accessions in turmeric. Fifty EST-SSR primers were screened against eight cultivars of turmeric (Suroma, Roma, Lakadong, Megha, Alleppey Supreme, Kedaram, Pratibha, and Suvarna); out of which 11 primers showed polymorphic banding pattern. The polymorphic information content (PIC) of these primers ranged from 0.13 to 0.48. However, only three SSR loci (CSSR 14, CSSR 15, and CSSR 18) gave reproducible unique banding pattern clearly distinguishing the cultivars 'Lakadong' and 'Suvarna' from other cultivars tested. These three unique SSR markers also proved to be effective in identification of 'Lakadong' cultivars when analysed with 88 accessions of turmeric collected from different agro-climatic regions. Furthermore, two identified cultivars (Lakadong and Suvarna) could also be precisely differentiated when analysed and based on phylogenetic tree, with other 94 genotypes of turmeric. The novel SSR markers can be used for identification and authentication of two commercially important turmeric cultivars 'Lakadong' and 'Suvarna'.

  11. Isolation and Characterization of EstC, a New Cold-Active Esterase from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

    PubMed Central

    Brault, Guillaume; Shareck, François; Hurtubise, Yves; Lépine, François; Doucet, Nicolas

    2012-01-01

    The genome sequence of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) contains more than 50 genes coding for putative lipolytic enzymes. Many studies have shown the capacity of this actinomycete to store important reserves of intracellular triacylglycerols in nutrient depletion situations. In the present study, we used genome mining of S. coelicolor to identify genes coding for putative, non-secreted esterases/lipases. Two genes were cloned and successfully overexpressed in E. coli as His-tagged fusion proteins. One of the recombinant enzymes, EstC, showed interesting cold-active esterase activity with a strong potential for the production of valuable esters. The purified enzyme displayed optimal activity at 35°C and was cold-active with retention of 25% relative activity at 10°C. Its optimal pH was 8.5–9 but the enzyme kept more than 75% of its maximal activity between pH 7.5 and 10. EstC also showed remarkable tolerance over a wide range of pH values, retaining almost full residual activity between pH 6–11. The enzyme was active toward short-chain p-nitrophenyl esters (C2–C12), displaying optimal activity with the valerate (C5) ester (k cat/K m = 737±77 s−1 mM−1). The enzyme was also very active toward short chain triglycerides such as triacetin (C2:0) and tributyrin (C4:0), in addition to showing good primary alcohol and organic solvent tolerance, suggesting it could function as an interesting candidate for organic synthesis of short-chain esters such as flavors. PMID:22396747

  12. A consensus genetic map of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.] and synteny based on EST-derived SNPs.

    PubMed

    Muchero, Wellington; Diop, Ndeye N; Bhat, Prasanna R; Fenton, Raymond D; Wanamaker, Steve; Pottorff, Marti; Hearne, Sarah; Cisse, Ndiaga; Fatokun, Christian; Ehlers, Jeffrey D; Roberts, Philip A; Close, Timothy J

    2009-10-27

    Consensus genetic linkage maps provide a genomic framework for quantitative trait loci identification, map-based cloning, assessment of genetic diversity, association mapping, and applied breeding in marker-assisted selection schemes. Among "orphan crops" with limited genomic resources such as cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] (2n = 2x = 22), the use of transcript-derived SNPs in genetic maps provides opportunities for automated genotyping and estimation of genome structure based on synteny analysis. Here, we report the development and validation of a high-throughput EST-derived SNP assay for cowpea, its application in consensus map building, and determination of synteny to reference genomes. SNP mining from 183,118 ESTs sequenced from 17 cDNA libraries yielded approximately 10,000 high-confidence SNPs from which an Illumina 1,536-SNP GoldenGate genotyping array was developed and applied to 741 recombinant inbred lines from six mapping populations. Approximately 90% of the SNPs were technically successful, providing 1,375 dependable markers. Of these, 928 were incorporated into a consensus genetic map spanning 680 cM with 11 linkage groups and an average marker distance of 0.73 cM. Comparison of this cowpea genetic map to reference legumes, soybean (Glycine max) and Medicago truncatula, revealed extensive macrosynteny encompassing 85 and 82%, respectively, of the cowpea map. Regions of soybean genome duplication were evident relative to the simpler diploid cowpea. Comparison with Arabidopsis revealed extensive genomic rearrangement with some conserved microsynteny. These results support evolutionary closeness between cowpea and soybean and identify regions for synteny-based functional genomics studies in legumes.

  13. Contribution of the EVER-EST project to the community of the Geohazard Supersites initiative

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trasatti, Elisa; Rubbia, Giuliana; Romaniello, Vito; Merucci, Luca; Corradini, Stefano; Spinetti, Claudia; Puglisi, Giuseppe; Borgstrom, Sven; Salvi, Stefano; Parks, Michelle; Dürig, Tobias; Sigmundsson, Freysteinn

    2017-04-01

    The EVER-EST project (European Virtual Environment for Research - Earth Science Themes: a solution) is a H2020 project (2015-2018) aimed at the creation of a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) focused on the requirements of the Earth Science community. The VRE is intended to enhance the ability to collaborate, interoperate and share knowledge and experience between all relevant stakeholders, including researchers, monitoring teams and civil protection agencies. Among the innovations of the project is the exploitation of the "Research Object" concept (http://www.rohub.org), i.e. "digital objects that encapsulate essential information about experiments and investigations to facilitate their reusability, reproducibility and better understanding". Research Objects encapsulate not only data and publications, but also algorithms, codes, results, and workflows that can be stored, shared and re-used. The European subgroup of the GEO Geohazard Supersites community involved in the project (INGV, University of Iceland) has provided user requirements and user scenarios, as well as created Research Objects embedding research activities and workflows on the Permanent Supersites Campi Flegrei, Mount Etna and Icelandic Volcanoes. These Supersites play the role of test sites for the platform, but during the last year of the project other Supersites may also be involved, to demonstrate the added value of the collaborative environment in research activities aiming to support Disaster Risk Reduction. Using the VRE, the Supersite scientists should be able to collaborate with colleagues located in different parts of the world, in a simple and effective way. This includes being able to remotely access and share data, research results and ideas, to carry out training sessions and discussions, to compare different results and models, and to synthesize many different pieces of information in a single consensus product to be disseminated to end-users. A further need of the Supersite

  14. Development methodology of the novel Endoscopic stone treatment step 1 (EST s1) training/assessment curriculum.

    PubMed

    Veneziano, Domenico; Ahmed, Kamran; Van Cleynenbreugel, Ben S E P; Gözen, Ali Serdar; Palou, Joan; Sarica, Kemal; Liatsikos, Evangelos N; Sanguedolce, Francesco; Honeck, Patrick; Alvarez-Maestro, Mario; Papatsoris, Athanasios; Kallidonis, Panagiotis; Greco, Francesco; Breda, Alberto; Somani, Bhaskar

    2017-07-10

    Background Simulation based technical-skill assessment is a core topic of debate, especially in high-risk environments. After the introduction of the E-BLUS exam for basic laparoscopy, no more technical training/assessment urological protocols have been developed in Europe. Objective We describe the methodology used in the development of the novel Endoscopic Stone Treatment step 1 (EST s1) assessment curriculum. Materials and Methods The "full life cycle curriculum development" template was followed for curriculum development. A CTA was run to define the most important steps and details of RIRS, in accordance with EAU Urolithiasis guidelines. Training tasks were created between April 2015 and September 2015. Tasks and metrics were further analyzed by a consensus meeting with the EULIS board in February 2016. A review, aimed to study available simulators and their accordance with task requirements, was subsequently run in London on March 2016. After initial feedback and further tests, content validity of this protocol was achieved during EUREP 2016. Results The EST s1 curriculum development, took 23 months. 72 participants tested the 5 preliminary tasks during EUREP 2015, with sessions of 45 minutes each. Likert-scale questionnaires were filled-out to score the quality of training. The protocol was modified accordingly and 25 participants tested the 4 tasks during the hands-on training sessions of the ESUT 2016 congress. 134 participants finally participated in the validation study in EUREP 2016. During the same event 10 experts confirmed content validity by filling-out a Likert-scale questionnaire. Conclusion We described a reliable and replicable methodology that can be followed to develop training/assessment protocols for surgical procedures. The expert consensus meetings, strict adherence to guidelines and updated literature search towards an Endourology curriculum allowed correct training and assessment protocol development. It is the first step towards

  15. A new approach to the study of therapeutic work in the transference.

    PubMed

    Pessier, J; Stuart, J

    2000-02-01

    Vergangenheit der Fall war. Cet article propose une nouvelle méthode pour évaluer les effets du travail sur le transfert entre thérapeute et patient. Ce travail est souvent difficile pour le patient, et il peut y avoir un pattern caractéristique de délai entre une înterprétation de transfert et son effet thérapeutique. Pour expliquer ce délai, nous avons évalué les réponses des patients à des interprétatios au cours de séances entières. C'est les narrations des patients sur d'autres, ou Episodes Relationnels (ERs), qui ont constitué les unités de base de cette étude. Dans un échantillon de 3 séances consécutives venant de 3 cas psychodynamiques, nous avons identifié plusieurs moments où le traail sur le transfert semblait avoir un effet inhibitoire initial, mais favorisait le progrès en regardant la séance entière. Nous recommandons pour de futures études sur l'effet des interprétations de prendre des segments plus longs et cliniquement significatifs du récit du patient que ceux utilisés dans le passé. Este artículo propone un nuevo método para evaluar los efectos del trabajo de terapeuta y paciente en la transferencia. El trabajo en la transferencia es, con frecuencia, dificil para el paciente y puede mostrar un lapso característico entre una interpretación transferencial y sus efectos terapéuticos. Para explicar este lapso, hemos evaluado las respuestas del paciente a las interpretaciones a lo largo de sesiones enteras. Como unidad de estudio se usaron las narrativas de los pacientes acerca de otros, o sea, los episodios relacionales (REs). En una muestra de tres sesiones consecutivas tomadas de tres casos psicodinámicos, identificamos varioss casos en los que la trasferencia parecía tener un efecto inicial inhibitorio, aunque se vio que a lo largo de la sesión facilitaba el progreso. Recomendamos que, para examinar los efectos de las interpretaciones, los futuros estudios usen segmentos más largos y clínicamente más significativos

  16. Gene-based SSR markers for common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) derived from root and leaf tissue ESTs: an integration of the BMc series.

    PubMed

    Blair, Matthew W; Hurtado, Natalia; Chavarro, Carolina M; Muñoz-Torres, Monica C; Giraldo, Martha C; Pedraza, Fabio; Tomkins, Jeff; Wing, Rod

    2011-03-22

    Sequencing of cDNA libraries for the development of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) as well as for the discovery of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) has been a common method of developing microsatellites or SSR-based markers. In this research, our objective was to further sequence and develop common bean microsatellites from leaf and root cDNA libraries derived from the Andean gene pool accession G19833 and the Mesoamerican gene pool accession DOR364, mapping parents of a commonly used reference map. The root libraries were made from high and low phosphorus treated plants. A total of 3,123 EST sequences from leaf and root cDNA libraries were screened and used for direct simple sequence repeat discovery. From these EST sequences we found 184 microsatellites; the majority containing tri-nucleotide motifs, many of which were GC rich (ACC, AGC and AGG in particular). Di-nucleotide motif microsatellites were about half as common as the tri-nucleotide motif microsatellites but most of these were AGn microsatellites with a moderate number of ATn microsatellites in root ESTs followed by few ACn and no GCn microsatellites. Out of the 184 new SSR loci, 120 new microsatellite markers were developed in the BMc (Bean Microsatellites from cDNAs) series and these were evaluated for their capacity to distinguish bean diversity in a germplasm panel of 18 genotypes. We developed a database with images of the microsatellites and their polymorphism information content (PIC), which averaged 0.310 for polymorphic markers. The present study produced information about microsatellite frequency in root and leaf tissues of two important genotypes for common bean genomics: namely G19833, the Andean genotype selected for whole genome shotgun sequencing from race Peru, and DOR364 a race Mesoamerica subgroup 2 genotype that is a small-red seeded, released variety in Central America. Both race Peru and Mesoamerica subgroup 2 (small red beans) have been understudied in comparison to race Nueva

  17. Development of EST-SSR markers for Elaeocarpus photiniifolia (Elaeocarpaceae), an endemic taxon of the Bonin Islands.

    PubMed

    Sugai, Kyoko; Setsuko, Suzuki; Uchiyama, Kentaro; Murakami, Noriaki; Kato, Hidetoshi; Yoshimaru, Hiroshi

    2012-02-01

    Expressed sequence tag (EST)-derived microsatellite markers were developed for Elaeocarpus photiniifolia, an endemic taxon of the Bonin Islands. Initially, a complementary DNA (cDNA) library was constructed by de novo pyrosequencing of total RNA extracted from a seedling. A total of 267 primer pairs were designed from the library. Of the 48 tested loci, 25 loci were polymorphic among 41 individuals representing the entire geographical range of the species, with the number of alleles per locus and expected heterozygosity ranging from two to 14 and 0.09 to 0.86, respectively. Most loci were transferable to a related species, E. sylvestris. The developed markers will be useful for evaluating the genetic structure of E. photiniifolia.

  18. Exploiting EST databases for the development and characterisation of 3425 gene-tagged CISP markers in biofuel crop sugarcane and their transferability in cereals and orphan tropical grasses.

    PubMed

    Chandra, Amaresh; Jain, Radha; Solomon, Sushil; Shrivastava, Shiksha; Roy, Ajoy K

    2013-02-04

    Sugarcane is an important cash crop, providing 70% of the global raw sugar as well as raw material for biofuel production. Genetic analysis is hindered in sugarcane because of its large and complex polyploid genome and lack of sufficiently informative gene-tagged markers. Modern genomics has produced large amount of ESTs, which can be exploited to develop molecular markers based on comparative analysis with EST datasets of related crops and whole rice genome sequence, and accentuate their cross-technical functionality in orphan crops like tropical grasses. Utilising 246,180 Saccharum officinarum EST sequences vis-à-vis its comparative analysis with ESTs of sorghum and barley and the whole rice genome sequence, we have developed 3425 novel gene-tagged markers - namely, conserved-intron scanning primers (CISP) - using the web program GeMprospector. Rice orthologue annotation results indicated homology of 1096 sequences with expressed proteins, 491 with hypothetical proteins. The remaining 1838 were miscellaneous in nature. A total of 367 primer-pairs were tested in diverse panel of samples. The data indicate amplification of 41% polymorphic bands leading to 0.52 PIC and 3.50 MI with a set of sugarcane varieties and Saccharum species. In addition, a moderate technical functionality of a set of such markers with orphan tropical grasses (22%) and fodder cum cereal oat (33%) is observed. Developed gene-tagged CISP markers exhibited considerable technical functionality with varieties of sugarcane and unexplored species of tropical grasses. These markers would thus be particularly useful in identifying the economical traits in sugarcane and developing conservation strategies for orphan tropical grasses.

  19. Generation and analysis of ESTs from strawberry (Fragaria xananassa) fruits and evaluation of their utility in genetic and molecular studies

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Cultivated strawberry is a hybrid octoploid species (Fragaria xananassa Duchesne ex. Rozier) whose fruit is highly appreciated due to its organoleptic properties and health benefits. Despite recent studies on the control of its growth and ripening processes, information about the role played by different hormones on these processes remains elusive. Further advancement of this knowledge is hampered by the limited sequence information on genes from this species, despite the abundant information available on genes from the wild diploid relative Fragaria vesca. However, the diploid species, or one ancestor, only partially contributes to the genome of the cultivated octoploid. We have produced a collection of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from different cDNA libraries prepared from different fruit parts and developmental stages. The collection has been analysed and the sequence information used to explore the involvement of different hormones in fruit developmental processes, and for the comparison of transcripts in the receptacle of ripe fruits of diploid and octoploid species. The study is particularly important since the commercial fruit is indeed an enlarged flower receptacle with the true fruits, the achenes, on the surface and connected through a network of vascular vessels to the central pith. Results We have sequenced over 4,500 ESTs from Fragaria xananassa, thus doubling the number of ESTs available in the GenBank of this species. We then assembled this information together with that available from F. xananassa resulting a total of 7,096 unigenes. The identification of SSRs and SNPs in many of the ESTs allowed their conversion into functional molecular markers. The availability of libraries prepared from green growing fruits has allowed the cloning of cDNAs encoding for genes of auxin, ethylene and brassinosteroid signalling processes, followed by expression studies in selected fruit parts and developmental stages. In addition, the sequence

  20. Hacia el consumo informado de tabaco en México: efecto de las advertencias con pictogramas en población fumadora

    PubMed Central

    Thrasher, James F; Pérez-Hernández, Rosaura; Arillo-Santillán, Edna; Barrientos-Gutiérrez, Inti

    2015-01-01

    Resumen Objetivo Evaluar el efecto de las advertencias sanitarias (AS) con pictogramas en las cajetillas de tabaco en adultos fumadores. Material y métodos Cohorte de fumadores con representatividad poblacional de siete ciudades mexi canas, antes (2010) y después (2011) de la implementación de AS con pictogramas (ASP). Para determinar el cambio en las variables sobre el impacto cognitivo y conductual de las advertencias, se estimaron modelos bivariados y ajustados de ecuaciones de estimación generalizada. En el Segundo levantamiento (2011), se estimaron modelos para determiner los factores que se asocian con el reporte de recordar cada advertencia que había entrado al mercado, además de los factores asociados con el autorreporte del impacto de cada advertencia vigente. Resultados Se observaron incrementos importantes de 2010 a 2011 en los conocimientos sobre los riesgos de fumar, los componentes tóxicos del tabaco y el número telefónico para recibir consejos sobre dejar de fumar. La recordación e impacto de las primeras advertencias con pictogramas parecen ser amplios y equitativos a través de la población fumadora. En comparación con 2010, un mayor nivel de ex fumadores entrevistados en 2011 reportaron que las advertencias habían influido mucho en dejar de fumar (RM=2.44, 95% IC 1.27–4.72). Conclusiones Las AS con pictogramas han logrado un impacto importante en el conocimiento y conducta, información relevante para la población y en tomadores de decisiones. PMID:22689162

  1. Development of 23 novel polymorphic EST-SSR markers for the endangered relict conifer Metasequoia glyptostroboides.

    PubMed

    Jin, Yuqing; Bi, Quanxin; Guan, Wenbin; Mao, Jian-Feng

    2015-09-01

    Metasequoia glyptostroboides is an endangered relict conifer species endemic to China. In this study, expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers were developed using transcriptome mining for future genetic and functional studies. We collected 97,565 unigene sequences generated by 454 pyrosequencing. A bioinformatics analysis identified 2087 unique and putative microsatellites, from which 96 novel microsatellite markers were developed. Fifty-three of the 96 primer sets successfully amplified clear fragments of the expected sizes; 23 of those loci were polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to eight, with an average of three, and the observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0 to 1.0 and 0.117 to 0.813, respectively. These microsatellite loci will enrich the genetic resources to develop functional studies and conservation strategies for this endangered relict species.

  2. EST resources and establishment and validation of a 16k cDNA microarray from Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).

    PubMed

    Edvardsen, Rolf B; Malde, Ketil; Mittelholzer, Christian; Taranger, Geir Lasse; Nilsen, Frank

    2011-03-01

    The Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, is an important species both for traditional fishery and increasingly also in fish farming. The Atlantic cod is also under potential threat from various environmental changes such as pollution and climate change, but the biological impact of such changes are not well known, in particular when it comes to sublethal effects that can be difficult to assert. Modern molecular and genomic approaches have revolutionized biological research during the last decade, and offer new avenues to study biological functions and e.g. the impact of anthropogenic activities at different life-stages for a given organism. In order to develop genomic data and genomic tools for Atlantic cod we conducted a program were we constructed 20 cDNA libraries, and produced and analyzed 44006 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from these. Several tissues are represented in the multiple cDNA libraries, that differ in either sexual maturation or immulogical stimulation. This approach allowed us to identify genes that are expressed in particular tissues, life-stages or in response to specific stimuli, and also gives us information about potential functions of the transcripts. The ESTs were used to construct a 16k cDNA microarray to further investigate the cod transcriptome. Microarray analyses were preformed on pylorus, pituitary gland, spleen and testis of sexually maturing male cod. The four different tissues displayed tissue specific transcriptomes demonstrating that the cDNA array is working as expected and will prove to be a powerful tool in further experiments. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. ≪ Si ce n’est pas documenté, ça n’a pas été fait ≫: quand les indicateurs de gestion escamotent le travail invisible des femmes

    PubMed Central

    Chadoin, Martin; Messing, Karen; Daly, Tamara; Armstrong, Pat

    2018-01-01

    RÉSUMÉ Autrefois, les soins aux ainé.e.s étaient surtout assurés par des femmes non-rémunérées anonymes, chez elles. Celles-ci ayant rejoint le marché du travail, beaucoup de ces soins sont maintenant assurés par des préposé.e.s aux bénéficiaires (PAB), surtout féminins. Avec l’introduction massive de la gestion par indicateurs dans les organismes publics, c’est une forme de silence organisationnel qui apparait: ce travail demeure invisible. Mais quel est le mécanisme précis de cette invisibilisation ? Nous avons observé le travail de 37 PAB de 6 résidences ontariennes et effectué des entrevues. Contrairement à sa prescription, le travail des PAB est en grande partie collectif et la documentation réalisée est très contraignante, rentrant même en concurrence avec les activités de soins directs. Les PAB sont parfois forcées d’omettre des données démontrant la difficulté du travail, créant un cercle vicieux où elles n’obtiennent pas les ressources nécessaires, et doivent donc escamoter encore plus l’activité de documentation. PMID:29467597

  4. Numerical Results for a Polytropic Cosmology Interpreted as a Dust Universe Producing Gravitational Waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klapp, J.; Cervantes-Cota, J.; Chauvet, P.

    1990-11-01

    RESUMEN. A nivel cosmol6gico pensamos que se ha estado prodticiendo radiaci6n gravitacional en cantidades considerables dentro de las galaxias. Si los eventos prodnctores de radiaci6n gravitatoria han venido ocurriendo desde Ia epoca de Ia formaci6n de las galaxias, cuando menos, sus efectos cosmol6gicos pueden ser tomados en cuenta con simplicidad y elegancia al representar la producci6n de radiaci6n y, por consiguiente, su interacci6n con materia ordinaria fenomenol6gicamente a trave's de una ecuaci6n de estado politr6pica, como lo hemos mostrado en otros trabajos. Presentamos en este articulo resultados nunericos de este modelo. ABSTRACT A common believe in cosmology is that gravitational radiation in considerable quantities is being produced within the galaxies. Ifgravitational radiation production has been running since the galaxy formation epoch, at least, its cosmological effects can be assesed with simplicity and elegance by representing the production of radiation and, therefore, its interaction with ordinary matter phenomenologically through a polytropic equation of state as shown already elsewhere. We present in this paper the numerical results of such a model. K words: COSMOLOGY - GRAVITATION

  5. Experiencias y repercusión de una formación en ética de investigación

    PubMed Central

    Rupaya, Carmen Rosa García

    2012-01-01

    El presente artículo tiene como propósito describir los logros y repercusiones de la capacitación en ética de la investigación que brinda el Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios en Bioética de la Universidad de Chile, sirviendo de estímulo, motivación y orientación a profesionales que requieren conocer y aplicar las normas y el raciocinio conducente a la deliberación de los problemas en esta disciplina. Asimismo, describe cómo este conocimiento genera un efecto multiplicador en aspectos tales como la participación en un comité de ética de la investigación (CEI), organización de cursos y creación y desarrollo de líneas de investigación, que repercuten en publicaciones realizadas con estudiantes de posgrado. Relata además los contenidos y estrategias didácticas que pueden ser empleados en cursos de ética y bioética para estudiantes de estomatología y concluye mencionando la aplicación práctica de esta capacitación en los ámbitos docente, institucional y de investigación. PMID:24482556

  6. CRAWview: for viewing splicing variation, gene families, and polymorphism in clusters of ESTs and full-length sequences.

    PubMed

    Chou, A; Burke, J

    1999-05-01

    DNA sequence clustering has become a valuable method in support of gene discovery and gene expression analysis. Our interest lies in leveraging the sequence diversity within clusters of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) to model gene structure for the study of gene variants that arise from, among other things, alternative mRNA splicing, polymorphism, and divergence after gene duplication, fusion, and translocation events. In previous work, CRAW was developed to discover gene variants from assembled clusters of ESTs. Most importantly, novel gene features (the differing units between gene variants, for example alternative exons, polymorphisms, transposable elements, etc.) that are specialized to tissue, disease, population, or developmental states can be identified when these tools collate DNA source information with gene variant discrimination. While the goal is complete automation of novel feature and gene variant detection, current methods are far from perfect and hence the development of effective tools for visualization and exploratory data analysis are of paramount importance in the process of sifting through candidate genes and validating targets. We present CRAWview, a Java based visualization extension to CRAW. Features that vary between gene forms are displayed using an automatically generated color coded index. The reporting format of CRAWview gives a brief, high level summary report to display overlap and divergence within clusters of sequences as well as the ability to 'drill down' and see detailed information concerning regions of interest. Additionally, the alignment viewing and editing capabilities of CRAWview make it possible to interactively correct frame-shifts and otherwise edit cluster assemblies. We have implemented CRAWview as a Java application across windows NT/95 and UNIX platforms. A beta version of CRAWview will be freely available to academic users from Pangea Systems (http://www.pangeasystems.com). Contact :

  7. La matério-vigilance dans un Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire du Centre-Est tunisien: enquête auprès des médecins

    PubMed Central

    Mahjoub, Mohamed; Jedidi, Maher; Masmoudi, Tasnim; Bouafia, Nabiha; Njah, Mansour

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Pour la meilleure gestion des risques en milieu hospitalier et l’amélioration de la qualité et la sécurité de nos soins, le CHU de Sousse (Tunisie), a mis en place, suite aux recommandations de l’ANCSEP (Agence Nationale de Contrôle Sanitaire et Environnementale des Produits) un système de matério-vigilance (MV). En Tunisie l’absence d’un cadre réglementaire organisant la MV est l’obstacle majeur à l’implication des soignants à ce système. L’objectif de cette étude est de déterminer les connaissances, attitudes et pratiques des médecins du CHU quant à la mise en place du système de MV. Méthodes Etude descriptive de type CAP (connaissances, attitudes et pratiques) transversale auprès de tous les médecins titulaires exerçant au CHU de Sousse (Tunisie) qui sont utilisateurs des dispositifs médicaux (DMs) lors de leur pratique d’activité de soin. Un questionnaire auto-administré, préétabli et pré-testé a été établi. Saisie et l’analysée des données par logiciel SPSS20.0. Résultats Le taux de réponse de 51,9 % (183/95), un manque des connaissances relatif à la MV a été rapporté. Plus de la moitié des répondants ne connaissent pas le correspondant local de son établissement et l’existence d’un formulaire standardisé de signalement. Concernant les attitudes, 89,5 % notifient l’intérêt de mise en place du système de MV et 37,5 % reconnaissent que le signalement doit émaner du soignant constatant l’incident. Pour les pratiques, la majorité confirment l’absence d’une gestion organisée de la maintenance des DMs dans leurs services. 90,5 % expriment leurs souhaits de recevoir une information mais peu d’entre eux expriment leurs désirs de suivre une formation (57,9 %). Conclusion Un manque d’information et de formation dans un domaine pourtant sensible et devant être lourdement réglementé est soulevé. La promulgation de textes réglementaires est nécessaire afin de promouvoir le

  8. The North East Regional Conference on Quality Educational Standards in Teaching. Summary Findings (Albany, March 7-8, 1969). QuEST Report Series, #1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC.

    This booklet reports a workshop conference sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Council for Quality Educational Standards in Teaching (QuEST) to involve delegates from locals in clarifying and solving professional problems. Summary of the workshop on "The Diffuclut Child" includes description of the effects of disruptive children…

  9. Proyecto para la medición sistemática de seeing en CASLEO

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fernández Lajus, E.; Forte, J. C.

    La calidad del seeing astronómico es ciertamente uno de los parámetros mas importantes que caracterizan el sitio de un observatorio. Por tanto se desea determinar si el alto valor de seeing observado con el telescopio de 2.15 m se debe a efectos internos y/o del entorno a la cupula o si se debe simplemente al seeing propio del lugar. El actual mecanismo de refrigeración del espejo primario del 2.15, parece haber mejorado notablemente la calidad del seeing. Sin embargo se hace necesario saber hasta que punto el valor del seeing puede ser mejorado. La primera etapa del proyecto consistió en la puesta a punto del telescopio emplazado para este propósito y la adquisición de las primeras medidas tentativas de seeing.

  10. De novo transcriptome assembly, development of EST-SSR markers and population genetic analyses for the desert biomass willow, Salix psammophila

    PubMed Central

    Jia, Huixia; Yang, Haifeng; Sun, Pei; Li, Jianbo; Zhang, Jin; Guo, Yinghua; Han, Xiaojiao; Zhang, Guosheng; Lu, Mengzhu; Hu, Jianjun

    2016-01-01

    Salix psammophila, a sandy shrub known as desert willow, is regarded as a potential biomass feedstock and plays an important role in maintaining local ecosystems. However, a lack of genomic data and efficient molecular markers limit the study of its population evolution and genetic breeding. In this study, chromosome counts, flow cytometry and SSR analyses indicated that S. psammophila is tetraploid. A total of 6,346 EST-SSRs were detected based on 71,458 de novo assembled unigenes from transcriptome data. Twenty-seven EST-SSR markers were developed to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of S. psammophila from eight natural populations in Northern China. High levels of genetic diversity (mean 10.63 alleles per locus; mean HE 0.689) were dectected in S. psammophila. The weak population structure and little genetic differentiation (pairwise FST = 0.006–0.016) were found among Population 1-Population 7 (Pop1-Pop7; Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi), but Pop8 (Ningxia) was clearly separated from Pop1-Pop7 and moderate differentiation (pairwise FST = 0.045–0.055) was detected between them, which may be influenced by local habitat conditions. Molecular variance analyses indicated that most of the genetic variation (94.27%) existed within populations. These results provide valuable genetic informations for natural resource conservation and breeding programme optimisation of S. psammophila. PMID:27995985

  11. Functional molecular markers (EST-SSR) in the full-sib reciprocal recurrent selection program of maize (Zea mays L.).

    PubMed

    Galvão, K S C; Ramos, H C C; Santos, P H A D; Entringer, G C; Vettorazzi, J C F; Pereira, M G

    2015-07-03

    This study aimed to improve grain yield in the full-sib reciprocal recurrent selection program of maize from the North Fluminense State University. In the current phase of the program, the goal is to maintain, or even increase, the genetic variability within and among populations, in order to increase heterosis of the 13th cycle of reciprocal recurrent selection. Microsatellite expressed sequence tags (EST-SSRs) were used as a tool to assist the maximization step of genetic variability, targeting the functional genome. Eighty S1 progenies of the 13th recur-rent selection cycle, 40 from each population (CIMMYT and Piranão), were analyzed using 20 EST-SSR loci. Genetic diversity, observed heterozygosity, information content of polymorphism, and inbreeding co-efficient were estimated. Subsequently, analysis of genetic dissimilarity, molecular variance, and a graphical dispersion of genotypes were conducted. The number of alleles in the CIMMYT population ranged from 1 to 6, while in the Piranão population the range was from 2 to 8, with a mean of 3.65 and 4.35, respectively. As evidenced by the number of alleles, the Shannon index showed greater diversity for the Piranão population (1.04) in relation to the CIMMYT population (0.89). The genic SSR markers were effective in clustering genotypes into their respective populations before selection and an increase in the variation between populations after selection was observed. The results indicate that the study populations have expressive genetic diversity, which cor-responds to the functional genome, indicating that this strategy may contribute to genetic gain, especially in association with the grain yield of future hybrids.

  12. In silico identification and characterization of conserved miRNAs and their target genes in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs)

    PubMed Central

    Dehury, Budheswar; Panda, Debashis; Sahu, Jagajjit; Sahu, Mousumi; Sarma, Kishore; Barooah, Madhumita; Sen, Priyabrata; Modi, Mahendra Kumar

    2013-01-01

    The endogenous small non-coding micro RNAs (miRNAs), which are typically ~21–24 nt nucleotides, play a crucial role in regulating the intrinsic normal growth of cells and development of the plants as well as in maintaining the integrity of genomes. These small non-coding RNAs function as the universal specificity factors in post-transcriptional gene silencing. Discovering miRNAs, identifying their targets, and further inferring miRNA functions is a routine process to understand normal biological processes of miRNAs and their roles in the development of plants. Comparative genomics based approach using expressed sequence tags (EST) and genome survey sequences (GSS) offer a cost-effective platform for identification and characterization of miRNAs and their target genes in plants. Despite the fact that sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an important staple food source for poor small farmers throughout the world, the role of miRNA in various developmental processes remains largely unknown. In this paper, we report the computational identification of miRNAs and their target genes in sweet potato from their ESTs. Using comparative genomics-based approach, 8 potential miRNA candidates belonging to miR168, miR2911, and miR156 families were identified from 23 406 ESTs in sweet potato. A total of 42 target genes were predicted and their probable functions were illustrated. Most of the newly identified miRNAs target transcription factors as well as genes involved in plant growth and development, signal transduction, metabolism, defense, and stress response. The identification of miRNAs and their targets is expected to accelerate the pace of miRNA discovery, leading to an improved understanding of the role of miRNA in development and physiology of sweet potato, as well as stress response. PMID:24067297

  13. ocsESTdb: a database of oil crop seed EST sequences for comparative analysis and investigation of a global metabolic network and oil accumulation metabolism.

    PubMed

    Ke, Tao; Yu, Jingyin; Dong, Caihua; Mao, Han; Hua, Wei; Liu, Shengyi

    2015-01-21

    Oil crop seeds are important sources of fatty acids (FAs) for human and animal nutrition. Despite their importance, there is a lack of an essential bioinformatics resource on gene transcription of oil crops from a comparative perspective. In this study, we developed ocsESTdb, the first database of expressed sequence tag (EST) information on seeds of four large-scale oil crops with an emphasis on global metabolic networks and oil accumulation metabolism that target the involved unigenes. A total of 248,522 ESTs and 106,835 unigenes were collected from the cDNA libraries of rapeseed (Brassica napus), soybean (Glycine max), sesame (Sesamum indicum) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea). These unigenes were annotated by a sequence similarity search against databases including TAIR, NR protein database, Gene Ontology, COG, Swiss-Prot, TrEMBL and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Five genome-scale metabolic networks that contain different numbers of metabolites and gene-enzyme reaction-association entries were analysed and constructed using Cytoscape and yEd programs. Details of unigene entries, deduced amino acid sequences and putative annotation are available from our database to browse, search and download. Intuitive and graphical representations of EST/unigene sequences, functional annotations, metabolic pathways and metabolic networks are also available. ocsESTdb will be updated regularly and can be freely accessed at http://ocri-genomics.org/ocsESTdb/ . ocsESTdb may serve as a valuable and unique resource for comparative analysis of acyl lipid synthesis and metabolism in oilseed plants. It also may provide vital insights into improving oil content in seeds of oil crop species by transcriptional reconstruction of the metabolic network.

  14. Regulación del flujo sanguíneo uterino. I. Funciones de estrógeno y receptores estrogénicos α/β en el endotelio vascular uterino durante el embarazo

    PubMed Central

    Mayra, Pastore R.; Rosalina, Villalón L.; López, Gladys; Iruretagoyena, Jesús; Magness, Ronald

    2015-01-01

    Resumen El estrógeno y los receptores estrogénicos clásicos (REs), RE-α y RE-β, han demostrado ser parcialmente responsable por las adaptaciones endoteliales uterinas durante el embarazo al corto y largo plazo. Las diferencias moleculares y estructurales, junto con los diferentes efectos causados por estos receptores en las células y los tejidos, sugieren que su función varía dependiendo de la manera en la cual el estrógeno se comunica con sus receptores. En ésta revisión bibliográfica se discuten la función del estrógeno y sus receptores clásicos en las adaptaciones cardiovasculares durante el embarazo y la expresión de los Res in vivo e in vitro en el endotelio de la arteria uterina durante el ciclo ovárico y el embarazo, a la vez comparado con la expresión en endotelio arterial de tejidos reproductivos y no reproductivos. Estos temas integran el conocimiento actual de este amplio campo científico con interpretaciones e hipótesis diversas relacionadas con los efectos estrogénicos mediados bien sea por uno o los dos REs. Esta revisión también incluye la relación con las adaptaciones vasodilatadoras y angiogénicas requeridas para modular el dramático incremento fisiológico en la perfusión útero-placentaria observada durante un embarazo normal. PMID:26113750

  15. De novo assembly and characterization of bark transcriptome using Illumina sequencing and development of EST-SSR markers in rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.)

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background In rubber tree, bark is one of important agricultural and biological organs. However, the molecular mechanism involved in the bark formation and development in rubber tree remains largely unknown, which is at least partially due to lack of bark transcriptomic and genomic information. Therefore, it is necessary to carried out high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of rubber tree bark to generate enormous transcript sequences for the functional characterization and molecular marker development. Results In this study, more than 30 million sequencing reads were generated using Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. In total, 22,756 unigenes with an average length of 485 bp were obtained with de novo assembly. The similarity search indicated that 16,520 and 12,558 unigenes showed significant similarities to known proteins from NCBI non-redundant and Swissprot protein databases, respectively. Among these annotated unigenes, 6,867 and 5,559 unigenes were separately assigned to Gene Ontology (GO) and Clusters of Orthologous Group (COG). When 22,756 unigenes searched against the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway (KEGG) database, 12,097 unigenes were assigned to 5 main categories including 123 KEGG pathways. Among the main KEGG categories, metabolism was the biggest category (9,043, 74.75%), suggesting the active metabolic processes in rubber tree bark. In addition, a total of 39,257 EST-SSRs were identified from 22,756 unigenes, and the characterizations of EST-SSRs were further analyzed in rubber tree. 110 potential marker sites were randomly selected to validate the assembly quality and develop EST-SSR markers. Among 13 Hevea germplasms, PCR success rate and polymorphism rate of 110 markers were separately 96.36% and 55.45% in this study. Conclusion By assembling and analyzing de novo transcriptome sequencing data, we reported the comprehensive functional characterization of rubber tree bark. This research generated a substantial fraction

  16. SNP mining in Crassostrea gigas EST data: transferability to four other Crassostrea species, phylogenetic inferences and outlier SNPs under selection.

    PubMed

    Zhong, Xiaoxiao; Li, Qi; Yu, Hong; Kong, Lingfeng

    2014-01-01

    Oysters, with high levels of phenotypic plasticity and wide geographic distribution, are a challenging group for taxonomists and phylogenetics. Our study is intended to generate new EST-SNP markers and to evaluate their potential for cross-species utilization in phylogenetic study of the genus Crassostrea. In the study, 57 novel SNPs were developed from an EST database of C. gigas by the HRM (high-resolution melting) method. Transferability of 377 SNPs developed for C. gigas was examined on four other Crassostrea species: C. sikamea, C. angulata, C. hongkongensis and C. ariakensis. Among the 377 primer pairs tested, 311 (82.5%) primers showed amplification in C. sikamea, 353 (93.6%) in C. angulata, 254 (67.4%) in C. hongkongensis and 253 (67.1%) in C. ariakensis. A total of 214 SNPs were found to be transferable to all four species. Phylogenetic analyses showed that C. hongkongensis was a sister species of C. ariakensis and that this clade was sister to the clade containing C. sikamea, C. angulata and C. gigas. Within this clade, C. gigas and C. angulata had the closest relationship, with C. sikamea being the sister group. In addition, we detected eight SNPs as potentially being under selection by two outlier tests (fdist and hierarchical methods). The SNPs studied here should be useful for genetic diversity, comparative mapping and phylogenetic studies across species in Crassostrea and the candidate outlier SNPs are worth exploring in more detail regarding association genetics and functional studies.

  17. Development of 23 novel polymorphic EST-SSR markers for the endangered relict conifer Metasequoia glyptostroboides1

    PubMed Central

    Jin, Yuqing; Bi, Quanxin; Guan, Wenbin; Mao, Jian-Feng

    2015-01-01

    Premise of the study: Metasequoia glyptostroboides is an endangered relict conifer species endemic to China. In this study, expressed sequence tag–simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers were developed using transcriptome mining for future genetic and functional studies. Methods and Results: We collected 97,565 unigene sequences generated by 454 pyrosequencing. A bioinformatics analysis identified 2087 unique and putative microsatellites, from which 96 novel microsatellite markers were developed. Fifty-three of the 96 primer sets successfully amplified clear fragments of the expected sizes; 23 of those loci were polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to eight, with an average of three, and the observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0 to 1.0 and 0.117 to 0.813, respectively. Conclusions: These microsatellite loci will enrich the genetic resources to develop functional studies and conservation strategies for this endangered relict species. PMID:26421250

  18. Sampling gene diversity across the supergroup Amoebozoa: large EST data sets from Acanthamoeba castellanii, Hartmannella vermiformis, Physarum polycephalum, Hyperamoeba dachnaya and Hyperamoeba sp.

    PubMed

    Watkins, Russell F; Gray, Michael W

    2008-04-01

    From comparative analysis of EST data for five taxa within the eukaryotic supergroup Amoebozoa, including two free-living amoebae (Acanthamoeba castellanii, Hartmannella vermiformis) and three slime molds (Physarum polycephalum, Hyperamoeba dachnaya and Hyperamoeba sp.), we obtained new broad-range perspectives on the evolution and biosynthetic capacity of this assemblage. Together with genome sequences for the amoebozoans Dictyostelium discoideum and Entamoeba histolytica, and including partial genome sequence available for A. castellanii, we used the EST data to identify genes that appear to be exclusive to the supergroup, and to specific clades therein. Many of these genes are likely involved in cell-cell communication or differentiation. In examining on a broad scale a number of characters that previously have been considered in simpler cross-species comparisons, typically between Dictyostelium and Entamoeba, we find that Amoebozoa as a whole exhibits striking variation in the number and distribution of biosynthetic pathways, for example, ones for certain critical stress-response molecules, including trehalose and mannitol. Finally, we report additional compelling cases of lateral gene transfer within Amoebozoa, further emphasizing that although this process has influenced genome evolution in all examined amoebozoan taxa, it has done so to a variable extent.

  19. A New Set of ESTs from Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Embryo Reveals Two Novel F-Box Genes, CarF-box_PP2 and CarF-box_LysM, with Potential Roles in Seed Development

    PubMed Central

    Gupta, Shefali; Garg, Vanika; Bhatia, Sabhyata

    2015-01-01

    Considering the economic importance of chickpea (C. arietinum L.) seeds, it is important to understand the mechanisms underlying seed development for which a cDNA library was constructed from 6 day old chickpea embryos. A total of 8,186 ESTs were obtained from which 4,048 high quality ESTs were assembled into 1,480 unigenes that majorly encoded genes involved in various metabolic and regulatory pathways. Of these, 95 ESTs were found to be involved in ubiquitination related protein degradation pathways and 12 ESTs coded specifically for putative F-box proteins. Differential transcript accumulation of these putative F-box genes was observed in chickpea tissues as evidenced by quantitative real-time PCR. Further, to explore the role of F-box proteins in chickpea seed development, two F-box genes were selected for molecular characterization. These were named as CarF-box_PP2 and CarF-box_LysM depending on their C-terminal domains, PP2 and LysM, respectively. Their highly conserved structures led us to predict their target substrates. Subcellular localization experiment revealed that CarF-box_PP2 was localized in the cytoplasm and CarF-box_LysM was localized in the nucleus. We demonstrated their physical interactions with SKP1 protein, which validated that they function as F-box proteins in the formation of SCF complexes. Sequence analysis of their promoter regions revealed certain seed specific cis-acting elements that may be regulating their preferential transcript accumulation in the seed. Overall, the study helped in expanding the EST database of chickpea, which was further used to identify two novel F-box genes having a potential role in seed development. PMID:25803812

  20. Nanoparticulas basadas en complejos de Fe(II) con transicion de espin: sintesis, caracterizacion y aplicaciones en electronica molecular

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Monrabal Capilla, Maria

    sintesis de otro nuevo tipo de nanoparticulas, obtenidas a partir de otro polimero de la misma familia, el [FeO8ZnO2(Htrz)3](BF4). Estas nanoparticulas se sintetizaron con el objetivo de estudiar el efecto de la dilucion del metal en la muestra. Como resultado se obtuvieron nanoparticulas que tambien presentan una estrecha distribucion de tamanos pero en este caso la transicion de espin no es tan abrupta como en los casos anteriores. Aunque sigue presentando un ciclo de histeresis termica bastante ancho y a temperaturas proximas a la temperatura ambiente. En el capitulo 4 se describiran las estrategias que se han seguido para mejorar la estabilidad y afinidad sobre diferentes sustratos de las nanoparticulas sintetizadas en el capitulo 2. Tambien se hablara de los intentos realizados parar depositarlas en superficies y embeberlas en diferentes matrices organicas e inorganicas. En el capitulo 5 presentaremos la obtencion de un interruptor molecular realizado poniendo en contacto nanoparticulas individuales sintetizadas en el capitulo 2, con unos electrodos separados varios nanometros. Este dispositivo exhibe "switching" y efecto memoria a temperaturas proximas a la temperatura ambiente como consecuencia de la biestabilidad intrinseca de las nanoparticulas. Ademas demostraremos que el estado magnetico de estas nanoparticulas puede ser controlado electricamente, ya que la transicion de espin en este nanodispositivo molecular puede ser inducida simplemente aplicando un voltaje, lo que puede ser de gran interes para la electronica molecular.

  1. A protocol for storage and long-distance shipment of Mediterranean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) eggs. II. Assessment of the optimal temperature and the substrate for male-only production

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Maman, E.; Caceres, C.

    The present study has been conducted to assess the effect and interaction of various storage substrates and conditions on eggs of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). Tests were carried out with the genetic sexing strain VIENNA 8/D53, a strain that carries a temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) mutation that allows the selective killing of female zygotes. This study identifies strategies to enhance the storage and transport conditions through assessment of effect on egg, pupal and adult survival in order to facilitate the establishment of satellite mass rearing facilities for the production of male medflies. Eggs were immersed inmore » two different substrates and stored at different temperatures and for different time periods. Findings from this study suggest that egg storage periods, and to some extent, the storage substrates have significant effects on pupal and adult survival. For 72-h storage periods, the eggs preserved in agar solution at 10 deg. C produced the most pupae. There was an inverse relationship between the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the substrate during storage and the quality and survival of the stored/transported eggs. Apparently low levels of dissolved oxygen reduce metabolic rates, allowing the storage period to be prolonged. (author) [Spanish] El presente estudio fue conducido para evaluar el efecto e interaccion de varios substratos y condiciones de almacenamiento en huevos de la mosca mediterranea de la fruta, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). Las pruebas se realizaron con la cepa en la cual es posible separar los sexos geneticamente VIENNA 8/D53, la cual contiene una mutacion letal sensible a la temperatura que permite la eliminacion selectiva de los zigotos femeninos. Este estudio identifica estrategias para mejorar las condiciones de almacenamiento y transporte por medio de la evaluacion de su efecto en la supervivencia de huevos, pupas y adultos, esto para facilitar el establecimiento de

  2. ['La médecine c'est guérir parfois, soulager souvent, consoler toujours'; in search of the origins of an aphorism].

    PubMed

    de Groof, A P N A

    2002-12-21

    The aphorism 'La médecine c'est guérir parfois, soulager souvent, consoler toujours' is quoted rather often in the medical world. Several sources state that these words were first voiced by the famous French surgeon Ambroise Paré (1510-1590). However, further investigation suggests otherwise. It is more than likely an old saying that has possibly been roaming through medicine for centuries, but the origins of which have been lost.

  3. The Sea Monitoring Virtual Research Community (VRC) in the EVER-EST Project (a virtual research environment for the Earth Sciences).

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Foglini, Federica; Boero, Ferdinando; Guarino, Raffaele

    2016-04-01

    The EU's H2020 EVER-EST Project is dedicated to the realization of a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) for Earth Science researchers during 2015-2018. In this framework the Sea monitoring represents one of the four use case VRCs chosen to validate the EVER-EST e-infrastructure, which is aimed at representing a wide and multidisciplinary Earth Science domain. The objective of the Sea Monitoring Virtual Research Community (VRC) is to provide useful and applicable contributions to the identification and definition of variables indicated by the European Commission in the Marine Directive under the framework for Good Environment Status (GES). The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/index_en.htm) has defined the descriptors for Good Environmental Status in marine waters. The first descriptor is biodiversity; the second one is the presence of non-indigenous species while the remaining nine (even when they consider physical, chemical or geological variables) require proper functioning of the ecosystem, linked to a good state of biodiversity. The Sea Monitoring VRC is direct to provide practical methods, procedures and protocols to support coherent and widely accepted interpretation of the Descriptors 1(Biodiversity), 2 (non- indigenous species), 4 (food webs) and 6 (seafloor integrity) identified in GES. In that context, the criteria and methodological standards already identified by the European Commission, and at same time considering the activities and projects in progress in the marine framework, will be taken into account. This research of practical methods to estimate and measure GES parameters requires a close cooperation among different disciplines including: biologists, geologists, geophysics, oceanographers, Earth observation experts and others. It will also require a number of different types of scientific data and observations (e.g. biology related, chemico-physical, etc.) from different inputs and sensors

  4. Prévention de la transmission mère-enfant du VIH/sida au Bénin: le consentement des femmes au dépistage est-il libre et éclairé ?

    PubMed Central

    Kêdoté, N.M.; Brousselle, A.; Champagne, F.; Laudy, D.

    2016-01-01

    Résumé Introduction Dans les politiques internationales et nationales sur le VIH/sida, le consentement libre et éclairé est reconnu comme une composante essentielle des programmes de dépistage. Le consentement libre et éclairé implique pour les femmes enceintes d’obtenir des informations sur le programme de prévention de la transmission du VIH de la mère à l’enfant (PTME), de les comprendre et de faire un choix autonome après avoir évalué les risques et avantages. Cependant, aucune évaluation du programme de PTME ne s’est intéressée au consentement. L’objectif de cet article est d’explorer le caractère libre et éclairé du consentement des femmes enceintes quant au dépistage et à leurs motivations à faire le test. Méthode Nous avons utilisé des données récoltées dans le cadre d’une analyse d’implantation du programme de PTME au Bénin. Cette analyse s’appuie sur un devis d’étude de cas multiples incluant six maternités choisies parmi les 56 sites fonctionnels. Spécifiquement pour l’analyse du consentement, nous avons associé les données provenant d’une enquête à celles d’une recherche qualitative. Résultats Hormis trois cas de dépistage à l’insu, le caractère volontaire du consentement au test est respecté sur les sites de PTME. Vingt-neuf cas de refus ont été identifiés. Les raisons les plus souvent évoquées par les femmes enceintes sont la peur du résultat positif et de ses conséquences sur la vie familiale dans 55,2 % des cas et l’attente de l’accord ou du désaccord du mari dans 27,6 % des cas. Si globalement le consentement a été volontaire sur tous les sites, son caractère éclairé est moins probant. PMID:27840660

  5. Effects of Sterilizing Agents on Microorganisms

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1963-03-01

    light increases with the incubation of Escherichia coli at 15, but the rate of in- 85. ESTUDIO DE LOS EFECTOS QUE PRODUCE duction of mutations...between the deoxyribonucleic acid content of a cell and its response to irradiation: 5-fluor- 86. ESTUDIO DE LOS EFECTOS QUE PRODUCE ouracil treated...EFFECTS OF ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT ON 84. ESTUDIO DE LOS EFECTOS QUE PRODUCE BACTERIA. III. ALTERATIONS IN THE LA LUZ ULTRAVIOLETA SOBRE LAS PHYSIOLOGICAL

  6. Población de galaxias de baja luminosidad en cúmulos

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valotto, C. A.; Muriel, H.; Moore, B.; García Lambas, D.

    En este trabajo se discute sobre la presencia de un exceso de galaxias de baja luminosidad en medios de alta densidad de galaxias y la posibilidad de que los halos de galaxias cD puedan ser formados a partir de galaxias en cúmulos ricos, los cuales muestran una función de luminosidad (FL) con el extremo débil plano. Se analizaron muestras de cúmulos cercanos obtenidas a partir de los catálogos de Abell y X-ray Sample of Bright Clusters. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los cúmulos de galaxias que tienen emisión en rayos X detectada poseen una FL plana (α ≈ -1.2), consistente con los valores encontrados para las galaxias de campo. En cambio, los cúmulos de galaxias identificados a partir de distribuciones bidimensionales de galaxias que no tienen su contraparte en rayos X, muestran una FL con una pendiente pronunciada en el extremo débil (α ≈ -1.6). Se examinaron además, los posibles efectos debido a la presencia de una galaxia central dominante sobre el extremo débil de la FL. Se analizaron muestras de acuerdo a la clasificación Bautz-Morgan dividiendo en las submuestras I,I-II y II, II- III, III. Las FL resultantes para ambas muestras son indistinguibles. Nuestros resultados son consistentes con la hipótesis de que los efectos de proyección en cúmulos identificados en dos dimensiones pueden producir un exceso artificial de galaxias de baja luminosidad.

  7. Impacto del Seguro Popular en el gasto catastrófico y de bolsillo en el México rural y urbano, 2005–2008

    PubMed Central

    Sosa-Rubí, Sandra G; Salinas-Rodríguez, Aarón; Galárraga, Omar

    2016-01-01

    Objetivo Estimar el efecto del Seguro Popular (SP) sobre la incidencia del gasto catastrófico en salud (GCS) y sobre el gasto de bolsillo en salud (GBS) en el mediano plazo. Material y métodos Con base en la Encuesta de Evaluación del Seguro Popular (2005–2008), se analizaron los resultados del efecto del SP en la cohorte rural para dos años de seguimiento (2006 y 2008) y en la cohorte urbana para un año (2008). Resultados A nivel conglomerado no se detectaron efectos del SP. A nivel hogar se encontró que el SP tiene un efecto protector en el GCS y en el GBS en consulta externa y hospitalización en zonas rurales; y efectos significativos en la reducción de GBS en consulta externa en zonas urbanas. Conclusiones El SP se muestra como un programa efectivo para proteger a los hogares contra gastos de bolsillo por motivos de salud en el mediano plazo. PMID:22282205

  8. An Expressed Sequence Tag (EST)-enriched genetic map of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus): a useful framework for comparative genomics across model and farmed teleosts

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background The turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a relevant species in European aquaculture. The small turbot genome provides a source for genomics strategies to use in order to understand the genetic basis of productive traits, particularly those related to sex, growth and pathogen resistance. Genetic maps represent essential genomic screening tools allowing to localize quantitative trait loci (QTL) and to identify candidate genes through comparative mapping. This information is the backbone to develop marker-assisted selection (MAS) programs in aquaculture. Expressed sequenced tag (EST) resources have largely increased in turbot, thus supplying numerous type I markers suitable for extending the previous linkage map, which was mostly based on anonymous loci. The aim of this study was to construct a higher-resolution turbot genetic map using EST-linked markers, which will turn out to be useful for comparative mapping studies. Results A consensus gene-enriched genetic map of the turbot was constructed using 463 SNP and microsatellite markers in nine reference families. This map contains 438 markers, 180 EST-linked, clustered at 24 linkage groups. Linkage and comparative genomics evidences suggested additional linkage group fusions toward the consolidation of turbot map according to karyotype information. The linkage map showed a total length of 1402.7 cM with low average intermarker distance (3.7 cM; ~2 Mb). A global 1.6:1 female-to-male recombination frequency (RF) ratio was observed, although largely variable among linkage groups and chromosome regions. Comparative sequence analysis revealed large macrosyntenic patterns against model teleost genomes, significant hits decreasing from stickleback (54%) to zebrafish (20%). Comparative mapping supported particular chromosome rearrangements within Acanthopterygii and aided to assign unallocated markers to specific turbot linkage groups. Conclusions The new gene-enriched high-resolution turbot map represents a

  9. Genomic resources for Myzus persicae: EST sequencing, SNP identification, and microarray design

    PubMed Central

    Ramsey, John S; Wilson, Alex CC; de Vos, Martin; Sun, Qi; Tamborindeguy, Cecilia; Winfield, Agnese; Malloch, Gaynor; Smith, Dawn M; Fenton, Brian; Gray, Stewart M; Jander, Georg

    2007-01-01

    Background The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), is a world-wide insect pest capable of infesting more than 40 plant families, including many crop species. However, despite the significant damage inflicted by M. persicae in agricultural systems through direct feeding damage and by its ability to transmit plant viruses, limited genomic information is available for this species. Results Sequencing of 16 M. persicae cDNA libraries generated 26,669 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Aphids for library construction were raised on Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, Brassica oleracea, B. napus, and Physalis floridana (with and without Potato leafroll virus infection). The M. persicae cDNA libraries include ones made from sexual and asexual whole aphids, guts, heads, and salivary glands. In silico comparison of cDNA libraries identified aphid genes with tissue-specific expression patterns, and gene expression that is induced by feeding on Nicotiana benthamiana. Furthermore, 2423 genes that are novel to science and potentially aphid-specific were identified. Comparison of cDNA data from three aphid lineages identified single nucleotide polymorphisms that can be used as genetic markers and, in some cases, may represent functional differences in the protein products. In particular, non-conservative amino acid substitutions in a highly expressed gut protease may be of adaptive significance for M. persicae feeding on different host plants. The Agilent eArray platform was used to design an M. persicae oligonucleotide microarray representing over 10,000 unique genes. Conclusion New genomic resources have been developed for M. persicae, an agriculturally important insect pest. These include previously unknown sequence data, a collection of expressed genes, molecular markers, and a DNA microarray that can be used to study aphid gene expression. These resources will help elucidate the adaptations that allow M. persicae to develop compatible interactions with its

  10. Transfiguring structural, optical and dielectric properties of cadmium thiourea acetate crystal by the addition of L-threonine for laser assisted device applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kulkarni, Rupali B.; Anis, Mohd; Hussaini, S. S.; Shirsat, Mahendra D.

    2018-03-01

    Present investigation reports the growth of pure and L-threonine (LT) doped cadmium thiourea acetate (CTA) crystals by slow solution evaporation technique followed by structural, optical and dielectric characterization studies. A bulk single crystal of LT-CTA has been grown at temperature 38 °C. The single crystal x-ray diffraction technique has been employed to confirm the structural parameters of pure and LT doped CTA crystals. The increase in optical transparency of LT-CTA crystal was ascertained in the range of 200 to 900 nm using UV-visible spectral analysis. The widened optical band gap of the LT-CTA crystal is found to be 4.7 eV. Pure and doped crystals are subjected to FT-IR analysis to indicate the presence of functional groups quantitatively. Appreciable enhancement in second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of LT-CTA crystal with reference to parent CTA was confirmed from Kurtz-Perry SHG test (1.31 times of CTA crystal). The assertive influence of LT on electrical properties of grown crystals has been investigated in the temperature range 35 °C-120 °C. Electronic purity and the color centered photoluminescence emission nature of pure and IA-CTA crystals were justified by luminescence analysis. With the aid of single beam Z-scan analysis, the Kerr lensing nonlinearity was identified and the magnitude of TONLO parameters has been determined. The cubic susceptibility (χ3) and figure of merit (FOM) was found to be 4.81 × 10-4esu and 978.35. Results vitalize LT-CTA for laser stabilization systems.

  11. [In Process Citation].

    PubMed

    Fófano do Lago, Márcia; Chaia Kaippert, Vanessa; Lopes Souto, Débora; Lopes Rosado, Eliane

    2016-03-25

    Introducción: el tipo de ácido graso de la dieta presenta diferentes efectos sobre la obesidad y sus complicaciones, pero estos efectos pueden verse influenciados por los genes y sus polimorfismos, tales como los receptores activados por el proliferador de los peroxisomas isoforma γ2 (PPARγ2). Además, no está claro si el grado de insaturación de los lípidos posee diferentes efectos en el metabolismo de los lípidos y de la glucosa y, particularmente, en la pérdida de peso. Objetivos: evaluar la influencia de dietas ricas en ácidos grasos poliinsaturados (AGPI) y monoinsaturados (AGMI) en las variables antropométricas y bioquímicas en el peso corporal y el perfil glucémico y lipémico en mujeres obesas con el genotipo Pro12Pro en el gen PPARγ2. Métodos: dieciocho mujeres obesas con genotipo Pro12Pro fueron distribuidas aleatoriamente para una de las dietas, rica en AGPI (n = 8) o AGMI (n = 10). Las variables antropométricas (índice de masa corporal [IMC] y circunferencia de la cintura) y bioquímicas (glucosa, insulina, HOMA-IR, colesterol total, LDL-colesterol, HDL colesterol y triglicéridos) fueron evaluadas antes y después de un periodo de 45 días. Resultados: las variables antropométricas y bioquímicas fueron similares entre los grupos antes y después de la intervención (p > 0,05). El IMC disminuyó después de la ingesta de AGPI (p = 0,01), probablemente debido al menor contenido de lípidos. El AGMI redujo la glucosa (p = 0,03), insulina (p = 0,03) y HOMA-IR (p = 0,02). Conclusión: los AGMI fueron más eficientes para reducir la resistencia a la insulina en mujeres obesas con el genotipo Pro12Pro en el gen PPARγ2, aunque las mujeres presentaran una elevada ingesta de lípidos totales y ácidos grasos saturados.

  12. ESTs Analysis Reveals Putative Genes Involved in Symbiotic Seed Germination in Dendrobium officinale

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Ming-Ming; Zhang, Gang; Zhang, Da-Wei; Hsiao, Yu-Yun; Guo, Shun-Xing

    2013-01-01

    Dendrobium officinale (Orchidaceae) is one of the world’s most endangered plants with great medicinal value. In nature, D . officinale seeds must establish symbiotic relationships with fungi to germinate. However, the molecular events involved in the interaction between fungus and plant during this process are poorly understood. To isolate the genes involved in symbiotic germination, a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library of symbiotically germinated D . officinale seeds was constructed. From this library, 1437 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were clustered to 1074 Unigenes (including 902 singletons and 172 contigs), which were searched against the NCBI non-redundant (NR) protein database (E-value cutoff, e-5). Based on sequence similarity with known proteins, 579 differentially expressed genes in D . officinale were identified and classified into different functional categories by Gene Ontology (GO), Clusters of orthologous Groups of proteins (COGs) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. The expression levels of 15 selected genes emblematic of symbiotic germination were confirmed via real-time quantitative PCR. These genes were classified into various categories, including defense and stress response, metabolism, transcriptional regulation, transport process and signal transduction pathways. All transcripts were upregulated in the symbiotically germinated seeds (SGS). The functions of these genes in symbiotic germination were predicted. Furthermore, two fungus-induced calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs), which were upregulated 6.76- and 26.69-fold in SGS compared with un-germinated seeds (UGS), were cloned from D . officinale and characterized for the first time. This study provides the first global overview of genes putatively involved in D . officinale symbiotic seed germination and provides a foundation for further functional research regarding symbiotic relationships in orchids. PMID:23967335

  13. ESTs analysis reveals putative genes involved in symbiotic seed germination in Dendrobium officinale.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Ming-Ming; Zhang, Gang; Zhang, Da-Wei; Hsiao, Yu-Yun; Guo, Shun-Xing

    2013-01-01

    Dendrobiumofficinale (Orchidaceae) is one of the world's most endangered plants with great medicinal value. In nature, D. officinale seeds must establish symbiotic relationships with fungi to germinate. However, the molecular events involved in the interaction between fungus and plant during this process are poorly understood. To isolate the genes involved in symbiotic germination, a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library of symbiotically germinated D. officinale seeds was constructed. From this library, 1437 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were clustered to 1074 Unigenes (including 902 singletons and 172 contigs), which were searched against the NCBI non-redundant (NR) protein database (E-value cutoff, e(-5)). Based on sequence similarity with known proteins, 579 differentially expressed genes in D. officinale were identified and classified into different functional categories by Gene Ontology (GO), Clusters of orthologous Groups of proteins (COGs) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. The expression levels of 15 selected genes emblematic of symbiotic germination were confirmed via real-time quantitative PCR. These genes were classified into various categories, including defense and stress response, metabolism, transcriptional regulation, transport process and signal transduction pathways. All transcripts were upregulated in the symbiotically germinated seeds (SGS). The functions of these genes in symbiotic germination were predicted. Furthermore, two fungus-induced calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs), which were upregulated 6.76- and 26.69-fold in SGS compared with un-germinated seeds (UGS), were cloned from D. officinale and characterized for the first time. This study provides the first global overview of genes putatively involved in D. officinale symbiotic seed germination and provides a foundation for further functional research regarding symbiotic relationships in orchids.

  14. Contaminación por mercurio de leche materna de madres lactantes de municipios de Antioquia con explotación minera de oro.

    PubMed

    Molina, Carlos Federico; Arango, Catalina María; Sepúlveda, Hernán

    2018-05-01

    Introducción. La leche materna es esencial para el desarrollo del ser humano, pero puede contener sustancias tóxicas provenientes de la contaminación ambiental, especialmente en las áreas mineras.Objetivo. Determinar la prevalencia de la contaminación con mercurio de la leche materna de mujeres lactantes residentes en los municipios con explotación minera de oro.Materiales y métodos. Se hizo un estudio transversal de 150 madres lactantes de cuatro municipios mineros de Antioquia (El Bagre, Segovia, Remedios y Zaragoza), a quienes se les hizo una encuesta sobre factores sociodemográficos, ocupacionales y ambientales relacionados con el mercurio, y se les tomaron muestras de leche materna, de orina y de cabello. Se calculó el promedio de la concentración de mercurio y las prevalencias municipales de contaminación.Resultados. El promedio de la concentración de mercurio en la leche materna fue de 2,5 (± desviación estándar 9,2) μg/L. La prevalencia de muestras de leche materna con niveles altos de mercurio fue de 11,7 %.Conclusión. En este estudio se evidencia un grave problema en las regiones mineras auríferas de Antioquia por el efecto de la contaminación con mercurio en sectores de la población más vulnerable.

  15. Estudio multifrecuencia del medio interestelar cercano a HD 192281

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arnal, E. M.; Cappa, C.; Cichowolski, S.; Pineault, S.; St-Louis, N.

    Una de las causas que modifica la estructura y dinámica del medio interestelar es la acción que los vientos de las estrellas de gran masa ejercen sobre el mismo. En este trabajo, mediante el uso de datos interferométricos obtenidos en la banda de radio en la transición de 21-cm del Hidrógeno neutro y de imágenes de la emisión de continuo en las bandas de 408 y 1420 MHz, de imágenes HIRES del satélite IRAS en 60 y 100 micrones, y de observaciones de continuo obtenidas con radiotelescopios de disco simple en 2695, 4850 y 8350 MHz se ha realizado un estudio multifrecuencia de los efectos que los vientos estelares de HD 192281, una estrella de tipo espectral O5 Vn((f))p, han tenido sobre el medio interestelar que rodea a la misma.

  16. Estudio multifrecuencia del medio interestelar cercano a HD 192281

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arnal, E. M.; Cappa, C. E.; Cichowolski, S.; Pineault, S.; St-Louis, N.

    Una de las causas que modifica la estructura y dinámica del medio interestelar es la acción que los vientos de las estrellas de gran masa ejercen sobre el mismo. En este trabajo, mediante el uso de datos interferométricos obtenidos en la banda de radio en la transición de λ˜21-cm del hidrógeno neutro y de imágenes de la emisión de continuo en las bandas de 408 y 1420 MHz, de imágenes HIRES del satélite IRAS en 60 y 100μm, y de observaciones de continuo obtenidas con radiotelescopios de disco simple en 2695, 4850 y 8350 MHz se ha realizado un estudio multifrecuencia de los efectos que los vientos estelares de HD 192281, una estrella de tipo espectral O5,Vn((f))p, han tenido sobre el medio interestelar que rodea a la misma.

  17. Survival of captive-reared Hispaniolan Parrots released in Parque Nacional del Este, Dominican Republic

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Collazo, J.A.; White, T.H.; Vilella, F.J.; Guerrero, S.A.

    2003-01-01

    We report first-year survival rates of 49 captive-reared Hispaniolan Parrots (Amazona ventralis) released in Parque Nacional del Este, Dominican Republic. Our goal was to learn about factors affecting postrelease survival. Specifically, we tested if survival was related to movements and whether modifying prerelease protocols influenced survival rates. We also estimated survival in the aftermath of Hurricane Georges (22 September 1998). Twenty-four parrots, fitted with radio-transmitters, were released between 14 September and 12 December 1997. Twenty-five more were released between 29 June and 16 September 1998. First-year survival rates were 30% in 1997 and 29% in 1998. Survival probability was related to bird mobility. In contrast to birds released in 1997, none of the 25 parrots released in 1998 suffered early postrelease mortality (i.e., 3-5 days after release). Two adjustments to prerelease protocols (increased exercise and reduced blood sampling) made in 1998 may have contributed to differences in mobility and survival between years. The reduction of early postrelease mortality in 1998 was encouraging, as was the prospect for higher first-year survival (e.g., 30% to 65%). Only one death was attributed to the immediate impact of the hurricane. Loss of foraging resources was likely a major contributor to ensuing mortality. Birds increased their mobility, presumably in search of food. Survival rates dropped 23% in only eight weeks posthurricane. This study underscores the value of standardized prerelease protocols, and of estimating survival and testing for factors that might influence it. Inferences from such tests will provide the best basis to make adjustments to a release program.

  18. New gSSR and EST-SSR markers reveal high genetic diversity in the invasive plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. and can be transferred to other invasive Ambrosia species.

    PubMed

    Meyer, Lucie; Causse, Romain; Pernin, Fanny; Scalone, Romain; Bailly, Géraldine; Chauvel, Bruno; Délye, Christophe; Le Corre, Valérie

    2017-01-01

    Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., (common ragweed), is an annual invasive and highly troublesome plant species originating from North America that has become widespread across Europe. New sets of genomic and expressed sequence tag (EST) based simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers were developed in this species using three approaches. After validation, 13 genomic SSRs and 13 EST-SSRs were retained and used to characterize the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of Ambrosia artemisiifolia populations from the native (North America) and invasive (Europe) ranges of the species. Analysing the mating system based on maternal families did not reveal any departure from complete allogamy and excess homozygosity was mostly due the presence of null alleles. High genetic diversity and patterns of genetic structure in Europe suggest two main introduction events followed by secondary colonization events. Cross-species transferability of the newly developed markers to other invasive species of the Ambrosia genus was assessed. Sixty-five percent and 75% of markers, respectively, were transferable from A. artemisiifolia to Ambrosia psilostachya and Ambrosia tenuifolia. 40% were transferable to Ambrosia trifida, this latter species being seemingly more phylogenetically distantly related to A. artemisiifolia than the former two.

  19. Prenatal developmental toxicity testing of petroleum substances: Application of the mouse embryonic stem cell test (EST) to compare in vitro potencies with potencies observed in vivo.

    PubMed

    Kamelia, Lenny; Louisse, Jochem; de Haan, Laura; Rietjens, Ivonne M C M; Boogaard, Peter J

    2017-10-01

    Prenatal developmental toxicity (PDT) as observed with some petroleum substances (PS) has been associated with the presence of 3-7 ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In the present study, the applicability of ES-D3 cell differentiation assay of the EST to evaluate in vitro embryotoxicity potencies of PS and gas-to-liquid (GTL) products as compared to their in vivo potencies was investigated. DMSO-extracts of a range of PS, containing different amounts of PAHs, and GTL-products, which are devoid of PAHs, were tested in the ES-D3 cell proliferation and differentiation assays of the EST. The results show that PS inhibited the differentiation of ES-D3 cells into cardiomyocytes in a concentration-dependent manner at non-cytotoxic concentrations, and that their potency was proportional to their PAH content. In contrast, as expected, GTL-products did not inhibit ES-D3 cell viability or differentiation at all. The in vitro PDT potencies were compared to published in vivo PDT studies, and a good correlation was found between in vitro and in vivo results (R 2 =0.97). To conclude, our results support the hypothesis that PAHs are the primary inducers of the PDT in PS. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  20. Declaración SPIRIT 2013: definición de los elementos estándares del protocolo de un ensayo clínico*

    PubMed Central

    Chan, An-Wen; Tetzlaff, Jennifer M.; Altman, Douglas G.; Laupacis, Andreas; Gøtzsche, Peter C.; Krleža-Jerić, Karmela; Hrobjartsson, Asbjørn; Mann, Howard; Dickersin, Kay; Berlin, Jesse A.; Dore, Caroline J.; Parulekar, Wendy R.; Summerskill, William S.M.; Groves, Trish; Schulz, Kenneth F.; Sox, Harold C.; Rockhold, Frank W.; Rennie, Drummond; Moher, David

    2016-01-01

    Resumen El protocolo de un ensayo clínico es la base para planificar, ejecutar, publicar y evaluar el ensayo. Sin embargo, los protocolos y las guías que existen para su elaboración varían enormemente en cuanto a su calidad y contenido. En este artículo se describe la elaboración sistemática y el alcance de la Declaración SPIRIT 2013 (denominada así por la sigla en inglés de Standard Protocol items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials o Elementos estándares de un protocolo: recomendaciones para los ensayos de intervención), una guía en la que se establecen los contenidos mínimos que debe tener el protocolo de un ensayo clínico. La lista de comprobación de la declaración SPIRIT, que consta de 33 elementos, se aplica a los protocolos de todos los ensayos clínicos y se centra más en el contenido que en el formato. En esta lista se recomienda hacer una descripción completa de lo que se ha planificado, aunque no se establece cómo diseñar o ejecutar un ensayo. Al brindar orientación sobre los contenidos fundamentales, las recomendaciones SPIRIT procuran facilitar la redacción de protocolos de alta calidad. El cumplimiento de las recomendaciones SPIRIT debería mejorar la transparencia y la exhaustividad de los protocolos de los ensayos en beneficio de los investigadores, los participantes, los pacientes, los patrocinadores, los financiadores, los comités de ética de la investigación o las juntas de revisión institucionales, los revisores, las revistas biomédicas, los registros de ensayos, los formuladores de políticas, los organismos reguladores y otras partes interesadas clave. PMID:27440100

  1. Transcriptomic resources for the medicinal legume Mucuna pruriens: de novo transcriptome assembly, annotation, identification and validation of EST-SSR markers.

    PubMed

    Sathyanarayana, N; Pittala, Ranjith Kumar; Tripathi, Pankaj Kumar; Chopra, Ratan; Singh, Heikham Russiachand; Belamkar, Vikas; Bhardwaj, Pardeep Kumar; Doyle, Jeff J; Egan, Ashley N

    2017-05-25

    The medicinal legume Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. has attracted attention worldwide as a source of the anti-Parkinson's drug L-Dopa. It is also a popular green manure cover crop that offers many agronomic benefits including high protein content, nitrogen fixation and soil nutrients. The plant currently lacks genomic resources and there is limited knowledge on gene expression, metabolic pathways, and genetics of secondary metabolite production. Here, we present transcriptomic resources for M. pruriens, including a de novo transcriptome assembly and annotation, as well as differential transcript expression analyses between root, leaf, and pod tissues. We also develop microsatellite markers and analyze genetic diversity and population structure within a set of Indian germplasm accessions. One-hundred ninety-one million two hundred thirty-three thousand two hundred forty-two bp cleaned reads were assembled into 67,561 transcripts with mean length of 626 bp and N50 of 987 bp. Assembled sequences were annotated using BLASTX against public databases with over 80% of transcripts annotated. We identified 7,493 simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs, including 787 polymorphic repeats between the parents of a mapping population. 134 SSRs from expressed sequenced tags (ESTs) were screened against 23 M. pruriens accessions from India, with 52 EST-SSRs retained after quality control. Population structure analysis using a Bayesian framework implemented in fastSTRUCTURE showed nearly similar groupings as with distance-based (neighbor-joining) and principal component analyses, with most of the accessions clustering per geographical origins. Pair-wise comparison of transcript expression in leaves, roots and pods identified 4,387 differentially expressed transcripts with the highest number occurring between roots and leaves. Differentially expressed transcripts were enriched with transcription factors and transcripts annotated as belonging to secondary metabolite pathways. The M

  2. Analysis of 10,000 ESTs from lymphocytes of the cynomolgus monkey to improve our understanding of its immune system

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Wei-Hua; Wang, Xue-Xia; Lin, Wei; He, Xiao-Wei; Wu, Zhen-Qiang; Lin, Ying; Hu, Song-Nian; Wang, Xiao-Ning

    2006-01-01

    Background The cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) is one of the most widely used surrogate animal models for an increasing number of human diseases and vaccines, especially immune-system-related ones. Towards a better understanding of the gene expression background upon its immunogenetics, we constructed a cDNA library from Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B lymphocytes of a cynomolgus monkey and sequenced 10,000 randomly picked clones. Results After processing, 8,312 high-quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated and assembled into 3,728 unigenes. Annotations of these uniquely expressed transcripts demonstrated that out of the 2,524 open reading frame (ORF) positive unigenes (mitochondrial and ribosomal sequences were not included), 98.8% shared significant similarities (E-value less than 1e-10) with the NCBI nucleotide (nt) database, while only 67.7% (E-value less than 1e-5) did so with the NCBI non-redundant protein (nr) database. Further analysis revealed that 90.0% of the unigenes that shared no similarities to the nr database could be assigned to human chromosomes, in which 75 did not match significantly to any cynomolgus monkey and human ESTs. The mapping regions to known human genes on the human genome were described in detail. The protein family and domain analysis revealed that the first, second and fourth of the most abundantly expressed protein families were all assigned to immunoglobulin and major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-related proteins. The expression profiles of these genes were compared with that of homologous genes in human blood, lymph nodes and a RAMOS cell line, which demonstrated expression changes after transformation with EBV. The degree of sequence similarity of the MHC class I and II genes to the human reference sequences was evaluated. The results indicated that class I molecules showed weak amino acid identities (<90%), while class II showed slightly higher ones. Conclusion These results indicated that the

  3. An EST-based analysis identifies new genes and reveals distinctive gene expression features of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Coffee is one of the world's most important crops; it is consumed worldwide and plays a significant role in the economy of producing countries. Coffea arabica and C. canephora are responsible for 70 and 30% of commercial production, respectively. C. arabica is an allotetraploid from a recent hybridization of the diploid species, C. canephora and C. eugenioides. C. arabica has lower genetic diversity and results in a higher quality beverage than C. canephora. Research initiatives have been launched to produce genomic and transcriptomic data about Coffea spp. as a strategy to improve breeding efficiency. Results Assembling the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of C. arabica and C. canephora produced by the Brazilian Coffee Genome Project and the Nestlé-Cornell Consortium revealed 32,007 clusters of C. arabica and 16,665 clusters of C. canephora. We detected different GC3 profiles between these species that are related to their genome structure and mating system. BLAST analysis revealed similarities between coffee and grape (Vitis vinifera) genes. Using KA/KS analysis, we identified coffee genes under purifying and positive selection. Protein domain and gene ontology analyses suggested differences between Coffea spp. data, mainly in relation to complex sugar synthases and nucleotide binding proteins. OrthoMCL was used to identify specific and prevalent coffee protein families when compared to five other plant species. Among the interesting families annotated are new cystatins, glycine-rich proteins and RALF-like peptides. Hierarchical clustering was used to independently group C. arabica and C. canephora expression clusters according to expression data extracted from EST libraries, resulting in the identification of differentially expressed genes. Based on these results, we emphasize gene annotation and discuss plant defenses, abiotic stress and cup quality-related functional categories. Conclusion We present the first comprehensive genome-wide transcript

  4. Analisis de Alteraciones EN la Imagen Debidas a Descolimacion de un Telescopio

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cobos, F. J.; Galan, M. J.

    1987-05-01

    Podemos considerar, en términos generales, que los espejos de un telescopio tienen una calidad óptica intrínseca, entendiendo por ésta la que se ha obtenido como resultado, fundamentalmente, de la destreza del personal del Taller Optico, que considerará terminadas las superficies ópticas cuando éstas satisfagan los requisitos de diseño y las pruebas de evaluación pertinentes. Debemos esperar que, una vez instalados los espejos en el telescopio, no se altere esta calidad de la óptica por un funcionamiento inadecuado de partes mecánicas del mismo. En los últimos años, en la medida que los problemas de infraestructuratura de nuestros Observatorios se han ido resolviendo, se ha hecho más patente la necesidad de llevar a la instrumentación existente al máximo de su potencial y parte esencial de ésta la conforman los mismos te lescopios. Mejorar la calidad óptica de las imágenes obtenidas con ellos ha hecho que sea prioritario el realizar una investigación más sistemática de sus características. Este trabajo ha tenido como objetivo primordial el usar un programa de diseño óptico, en el caso particular del telescopio UNAM212, con el fin de calcular y obtener gráficamente los diagramas de manchas de imagenes en foco y extrafocales, tanto con la óptica perfectamente alineada como descolimándola (mediante pequenos giros y descentramientos de los espejos). De esta manera, se hizo una evaluación de los efectos que estas alteraciones simuladas producirían en las imágenes focales y extra focales para así poder compararlas con las que realmente se han observado. Asimismo, se ha buscado información bibliográfica, en particular sobre los efectos de giros y descentramientos en las imágenes extrafocales, en lo que se ref iere a la falta de concentricidad de los círculos que forman la "dona" y a la distribución de intensidad luminosa en la misma. De ésta, l futuro un proceso que, haciendo uso de los detectores bidimensionales, nos permita Ilevar a

  5. Proceedings of the U.S. Geological Survey Interdisciplinary Microbiology Workshop, Estes Park, Colorado, October 15-17, 2008

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Briggs, Kay Marano

    2010-01-01

    Preface A U.S. Geological Survey Interdisciplinary Microbiology Workshop was held in Estes Park, Colorado, on October 15-17, 2008. Participants came from all USGS regions and disciplines. This report contains abstracts from 36 presentations and 35 poster sessions and notes from 5 breakout sessions. The seven presentation topics follow: Ecology of wildlife and fish disease Mechanisms of fish and wildlife disease Microbial ecology Geographic patterns/visualization Public health and water quality Geomicrobiology Ecosystem function The six poster session topics follow: Wildlife disease Disease detection methods Water quality Microbial ecology Metabolic processes Tools and techniques Five working groups met in breakout sessions on October 16, 2008. The highlights for each working group are summarized in this report, and their goals are listed below: Working Group I: to plan a Fact Sheet on interdisciplinary microbiology in the USGS Working Group II: to plan a USGS interdisciplinary microbiology Web site Working Group III: to suggest ways to broadcast and publicize the types of microbiology conducted at the USGS Working Group IV: to identify emerging issues in USGS interdisciplinary microbiology research Working Group V: to identify potential opportunities for interdisciplinary microbiology work at the USGS After the workshop, the USGS interdisciplinary microbiology Web site was activated in June 2009 at http://microbiology.usgs.gov/.

  6. ESTs from Seeds to Assist the Selective Breeding of Jatropha curcas L. for Oil and Active Compounds

    PubMed Central

    Gomes, Kleber A; Almeida, Tiago C; Gesteira, Abelmon S; Lôbo, Ivon P; Guimarães, Ana Carolina R; de Miranda, Antonio B; Van Sluys, Marie-Anne; da Cruz, Rosenira S; Cascardo, Júlio CM; Carels, Nicolas

    2010-01-01

    We report here on the characterization of a cDNA library from seeds of Jatropha curcas L. at three stages of fruit maturation before yellowing. We sequenced a total of 2200 clones and obtained a set of 931 non-redundant sequences (unigenes) after trimming and quality control, ie, 140 contigs and 791 singlets with PHRED quality ≥10. We found low levels of sequence redundancy and extensive metabolic coverage by homology comparison to GO. After comparison of 5841 non-redundant ESTs from a total of 13193 reads from GenBank with KEGG, we identified tags with nucleotide variations among J. curcas accessions for genes of fatty acid, terpene, alkaloid, quinone and hormone pathways of biosynthesis. More specifically, the expression level of four genes (palmitoyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterase, 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase B, lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase and geranyl pyrophosphate synthase) measured by real-time PCR proved to be significantly different between leaves and fruits. Since the nucleotide polymorphism of these tags is associated to higher level of gene expression in fruits compared to leaves, we propose this approach to speed up the search for quantitative traits in selective breeding of J. curcas. We also discuss its potential utility for the selective breeding of economically important traits in J. curcas. PMID:26217103

  7. Are Japanese groups more competitive than Japanese individuals? A cross-cultural validation of the interindividual-intergroup discontinuity effect.

    PubMed

    Takemura, Kosuke; Yuki, Masaki

    2007-02-01

    -à-face avec leur opposant avant de prendre leur décision. De plus, les participants de la condition entre groupes avaient également la possibilité de converser librement avec les membres de leur propre groupe. Les résultats se sont révélés semblables à ceux des études antérieures réalisées aux États-Unis; les groupes ont fait des choix plus compétitifs que les individus. En outre, ni la magnitude de l'effet de discontinuité, ni la fréquence des choix compétitifs faits par les groupes n'étaient plus grands chez les Japonais comparativement à la majorité des études antérieures menées aux États-Unis. Ces résultats soutiennent la robustesse interculturelle de l'effet de discontinuité entre les individus et entre les groupes. Aussi, fait intéressant, ils contredisent la simple distinction entre l'individualisme et le collectivisme. Les implications pour des études sur les cultures et les processus de groupe sont discutées. El efecto de discontinuidad entre individuos y entre grupos es la tendencia a que las relaciones entre grupos sean más competitivas que las relaciones entre individuos. Se ha observado con insistencia en estudios conducidos en Estados Unidos, una sociedad caracterizada como "individualista". En el presente estudio, se exploró si el efecto se repetía en una sociedad "colectivista" como la japonesa. Desde la perspectiva tradicional de la psicología trans cultural, que subraya la naturaleza colectivista de los pueblos asiáticos, se esperaba que el efecto de discontinuidad fuese mayor en Japón que en Estados Unidos. Por otra parte, con base en los hallazgos empíricos recientes que sugieren que los estadounidenses no están menos orientados al grupo que los de este asiático, se esperaba que el efecto de discontinuidad no fuera mayor en Japón que en los Estados Unidos. Ciento sesenta estudiantes universitarios japoneses participaron en un juego del dilema de un prisionero de diez ensayos repetidos: veintiséis sesiones entre

  8. CONTAMINACIÓN AMBIENTAL, VARIABILIDAD CLIMÁTICA Y CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO: UNA REVISIÓN DEL IMPACTO EN LA SALUD DE LA POBLACIÓN PERUANA

    PubMed Central

    Gonzales, Gustavo F.; Zevallos, Alisson; Gonzales-Castañeda, Cynthia; Nuñez, Denisse; Gastañaga, Carmen; Cabezas, César; Naeher, Luke; Levy, Karen; Steenland, Kyle

    2015-01-01

    RESUMEN El presente artículo es una revisión sobre la contaminación del agua, el aire y el efecto del cambio climático en la salud de la población peruana. Uno de los principales contaminantes del aire es el material particulado menor de 2,5 μ (PM 2,5), en la ciudad de Lima, anualmente 2300 muertes prematuras son atribuibles a este contaminante. Otro problema es la contaminación del aire domiciliario por el uso de cocinas con combustible de biomasa, donde la exposición excesiva a PM 2,5 dentro de las casas es responsable de aproximadamente 3000 muertes prematuras anuales entre adultos, con otro número desconocido de muertes entre niños debido a infecciones respiratorias. La contaminación del agua tiene como principales causas los desagües vertidos directamente a los ríos, minerales (arsénico) de varias fuentes, y fallas de las plantas de tratamiento. En el Perú, el cambio climático puede impactar en la frecuencia y severidad del fenómeno de El Niño oscilación del sur (ENSO) que se ha asociado con un incremento en los casos de enfermedades como cólera, malaria y dengue. El cambio climático incrementa la temperatura y puede extender las áreas afectadas por enfermedades transmitidas por vectores, además de tener efecto en la disponibilidad del agua y en la contaminación del aire. En conclusión, el Perú, pasa por una transición de factores de riesgo ambientales, donde coexisten riesgos tradicionales y modernos, y persisten los problemas infecciosos y crónicos, algunos de los cuales se asocian con problemas de contaminación de agua y de aire. PMID:25418656

  9. ADIPOQUINAS EN EL NIÑO SANO Y AFECTO DE OBESIDAD

    PubMed Central

    Martos-Moreno, G.A.; Kopchick, J.J.; Argente, y J.

    2015-01-01

    El incremento universal de la prevalencia de obesidad en niños y adolescentes durante las últimas décadas, junto con la evidencia creciente de que el establecimiento de obesidad en etapas precoces de la vida está asociado con un incremento de la prevalencia de comorbilidades y del riesgo de muerte prematura, con gran repercusión económica en los sistemas sanitarios de los países occidentales, ha impulsado la investigación en este área. Estos estudios han remarcado la importante actividad endocrina del tejido adiposo, ejercida por medio de la síntesis y secreción de un gran número de péptidos y citoquinas, denominados adipoquinas. En esta revisión se resume el estado actual de los conocimientos, así como los estudios más relevantes, en relación con la dinámica de secreción de las principales adipoquinas en niños, centrándose en el control de la homeostasis energética, regulación metabólica (fundamentalmente, metabolismo de los hidratos de carbono) e inflamación. Asímismo, se analizan las particularidades de la síntesis, secreción y acciones de las adipoquinas desde el nacimiento hasta la adolescencia, reseñando el efecto que, sobre ellas, ejerce la instauración de la obesidad. PMID:23228441

  10. Phytoremediation of chromium using Salix species: cloning ESTs and candidate genes involved in the Cr response.

    PubMed

    Quaggiotti, Silvia; Barcaccia, Gianni; Schiavon, Michela; Nicolé, Silvia; Galla, Giulio; Rossignolo, Virginia; Soattin, Marica; Malagoli, Mario

    2007-11-01

    In this research a differential display based on the detection of cDNA-AFLP markers was used to identify candidate genes potentially involved in the regulation of the response to chromium in four different willow species (Salix alba, Salix eleagnos, Salix fragilis and Salix matsudana) chosen on the basis of their suitability in phytoremediation techniques. Our approach enabled the assay of a large set of mRNA-related fragments and increased the reliability of amplification-based transcriptome analysis. The vast majority of transcript-derived fragments were shared among samples within species and thus attributable to constitutively expressed genes. However, a number of differentially expressed mRNAs were scored in each species and a total of 68 transcripts displaying an altered expression in response to Cr were isolated and sequenced. Public database querying revealed that 44.1% and 4.4% of the cloned ESTs score significant similarity with genes encoding proteins having known or putative function, or with genes coding for unknown proteins, respectively, whereas the remaining 51.5% did not retrieve any homology. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis of seven candidate genes fully confirmed the expression patterns obtained by cDNA-AFLP. Our results indicate the existence of common mechanisms of gene regulation in response to Cr, pathogen attack and senescence-mediated programmed cell death, and suggest a role for the genes isolated in the cross-talk of the signaling pathways governing the adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses.

  11. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and phylogenetic analysis of floral genes from a paleoherb species, Asarum caudigerum.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Yinhe; Wang, Guoying; Zhang, Jinpeng; Yang, Junbo; Peng, Shang; Gao, Lianming; Li, Chengyun; Hu, Jinyong; Li, Dezhu; Gao, Lizhi

    2006-07-01

    Asarum caudigerum (Aristolochiaceae) is an important species of paleoherb in relation to understanding the origin and evolution of angiosperm flowers, due to its basal position in the angiosperms. The aim of this study was to isolate floral-related genes from A. caudigerum, and to infer evolutionary relationships among florally expression-related genes, to further illustrate the origin and diversification of flowers in angiosperms. A subtracted floral cDNA library was constructed from floral buds using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). The cDNA of floral buds and leaves at the seedling stage were used as a tester and a driver, respectively. To further identify the function of putative MADS-box transcription factors, phylogenetic trees were reconstructed in order to infer evolutionary relationships within the MADS-box gene family. In the forward-subtracted floral cDNA library, 1920 clones were randomly sequenced, from which 567 unique expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained. Among them, 127 genes failed to show significant similarity to any published sequences in GenBank and thus are putatively novel genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that a total of 29 MADS-box transcription factors were members of the APETALA3(AP3) subfamily, while nine others were putative MADS-box transcription factors that formed a cluster with MADS-box genes isolated from Amborella, the basal-most angiosperm, and those from the gymnosperms. This suggests that the origin of A. caudigerum is intermediate between the angiosperms and gymnosperms.

  12. Integrated pathway modules using time-course metabolic profiles and EST data from Milnesium tardigradum.

    PubMed

    Beisser, Daniela; Grohme, Markus A; Kopka, Joachim; Frohme, Marcus; Schill, Ralph O; Hengherr, Steffen; Dandekar, Thomas; Klau, Gunnar W; Dittrich, Marcus; Müller, Tobias

    2012-06-19

    Tardigrades are multicellular organisms, resistant to extreme environmental changes such as heat, drought, radiation and freezing. They outlast these conditions in an inactive form (tun) to escape damage to cellular structures and cell death. Tardigrades are apparently able to prevent or repair such damage and are therefore a crucial model organism for stress tolerance. Cultures of the tardigrade Milnesium tardigradum were dehydrated by removing the surrounding water to induce tun formation. During this process and the subsequent rehydration, metabolites were measured in a time series by GC-MS. Additionally expressed sequence tags are available, especially libraries generated from the active and inactive state. The aim of this integrated analysis is to trace changes in tardigrade metabolism and identify pathways responsible for their extreme resistance against physical stress. In this study we propose a novel integrative approach for the analysis of metabolic networks to identify modules of joint shifts on the transcriptomic and metabolic levels. We derive a tardigrade-specific metabolic network represented as an undirected graph with 3,658 nodes (metabolites) and 4,378 edges (reactions). Time course metabolite profiles are used to score the network nodes showing a significant change over time. The edges are scored according to information on enzymes from the EST data. Using this combined information, we identify a key subnetwork (functional module) of concerted changes in metabolic pathways, specific for de- and rehydration. The module is enriched in reactions showing significant changes in metabolite levels and enzyme abundance during the transition. It resembles the cessation of a measurable metabolism (e.g. glycolysis and amino acid anabolism) during the tun formation, the production of storage metabolites and bioprotectants, such as DNA stabilizers, and the generation of amino acids and cellular components from monosaccharides as carbon and energy source

  13. Newtonian Version of the Variable Mass Theory of Gravity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carvalho, J. C.; Lima, J. A. S.

    1990-11-01

    RESUMEN. Se presenta una versi6n Newtoniana de los modelos cosmol6gicos espacialmente e isotr6picos con masa variable. La influencia de la variaci6n de masa en la evoluci6n de la funci6n de escala est establecida para el caso de un Universo lieno de polvo bajo Ia suposici6n de que esta variaci6n es un efecto estrictamente cosmol6jico. Se muestra que el hiperb6lico, parab6lico 0 el#ptico dcl movimiento de puede ser modificado a lo larjo de la expansi6n. ABSTRACT. This paper presents a Newtonian version of the spatially homojeneous and isotropic cosmolojical models with variable mass. The influence of the mass variation on the evolution of the scale function is established for the case of a dust-filled Universe under the assumption that this variation is a strict cosmolojical effect. It is shown that the hyperbolic, parabolic or elliptic character of the fluid motion can be modified alonj the expansion. Keq : COSMOLOGY

  14. EST: Evading Scientific Text.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ward, Jeremy

    2001-01-01

    Examines chemical engineering students' attitudes to text and other parts of English language textbooks. A questionnaire was administered to a group of undergraduates. Results reveal one way students get around the problem of textbook reading. (Author/VWL)

  15. Characterization of the glutathione S-transferase gene family through ESTs and expression analyses within common and pigmented cultivars of Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) represent a ubiquitous gene family encoding detoxification enzymes able to recognize reactive electrophilic xenobiotic molecules as well as compounds of endogenous origin. Anthocyanin pigments require GSTs for their transport into the vacuole since their cytoplasmic retention is toxic to the cell. Anthocyanin accumulation in Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck fruit flesh determines different phenotypes affecting the typical pigmentation of Sicilian blood oranges. In this paper we describe: i) the characterization of the GST gene family in C. sinensis through a systematic EST analysis; ii) the validation of the EST assembly by exploiting the genome sequences of C. sinensis and C. clementina and their genome annotations; iii) GST gene expression profiling in six tissues/organs and in two different sweet orange cultivars, Cadenera (common) and Moro (pigmented). Results We identified 61 GST transcripts, described the full- or partial-length nature of the sequences and assigned to each sequence the GST class membership exploiting a comparative approach and the classification scheme proposed for plant species. A total of 23 full-length sequences were defined. Fifty-four of the 61 transcripts were successfully aligned to the C. sinensis and C. clementina genomes. Tissue specific expression profiling demonstrated that the expression of some GST transcripts was 'tissue-affected' and cultivar specific. A comparative analysis of C. sinensis GSTs with those from other plant species was also considered. Data from the current analysis are accessible at http://biosrv.cab.unina.it/citrusGST/, with the aim to provide a reference resource for C. sinensis GSTs. Conclusions This study aimed at the characterization of the GST gene family in C. sinensis. Based on expression patterns from two different cultivars and on sequence-comparative analyses, we also highlighted that two sequences, a Phi class GST and a Mapeg class GST, could be involved in

  16. Characterization of the glutathione S-transferase gene family through ESTs and expression analyses within common and pigmented cultivars of Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck.

    PubMed

    Licciardello, Concetta; D'Agostino, Nunzio; Traini, Alessandra; Recupero, Giuseppe Reforgiato; Frusciante, Luigi; Chiusano, Maria Luisa

    2014-02-03

    Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) represent a ubiquitous gene family encoding detoxification enzymes able to recognize reactive electrophilic xenobiotic molecules as well as compounds of endogenous origin. Anthocyanin pigments require GSTs for their transport into the vacuole since their cytoplasmic retention is toxic to the cell. Anthocyanin accumulation in Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck fruit flesh determines different phenotypes affecting the typical pigmentation of Sicilian blood oranges. In this paper we describe: i) the characterization of the GST gene family in C. sinensis through a systematic EST analysis; ii) the validation of the EST assembly by exploiting the genome sequences of C. sinensis and C. clementina and their genome annotations; iii) GST gene expression profiling in six tissues/organs and in two different sweet orange cultivars, Cadenera (common) and Moro (pigmented). We identified 61 GST transcripts, described the full- or partial-length nature of the sequences and assigned to each sequence the GST class membership exploiting a comparative approach and the classification scheme proposed for plant species. A total of 23 full-length sequences were defined. Fifty-four of the 61 transcripts were successfully aligned to the C. sinensis and C. clementina genomes. Tissue specific expression profiling demonstrated that the expression of some GST transcripts was 'tissue-affected' and cultivar specific. A comparative analysis of C. sinensis GSTs with those from other plant species was also considered. Data from the current analysis are accessible at http://biosrv.cab.unina.it/citrusGST/, with the aim to provide a reference resource for C. sinensis GSTs. This study aimed at the characterization of the GST gene family in C. sinensis. Based on expression patterns from two different cultivars and on sequence-comparative analyses, we also highlighted that two sequences, a Phi class GST and a Mapeg class GST, could be involved in the conjugation of anthocyanin

  17. Ordered shotgun sequencing of a 135 kb Xq25 YAC containing ANT2 and four possible genes, including three confirmed by EST matches.

    PubMed Central

    Chen, C N; Su, Y; Baybayan, P; Siruno, A; Nagaraja, R; Mazzarella, R; Schlessinger, D; Chen, E

    1996-01-01

    Ordered shotgun sequencing (OSS) has been successfully carried out with an Xq25 YAC substrate. yWXD703 DNA was subcloned into lambda phage and sequences of insert ends of the lambda subclones were used to generate a map to select a minimum tiling path of clones to be completely sequenced. The sequence of 135 038 nt contains the entire ANT2 cDNA as well as four other candidates suggested by computer-assisted analyses. One of the putative genes is homologous to a gene implicated in Graves' disease and it, ANT2 and two others are confirmed by EST matches. The results suggest that OSS can be applied to YACs in accord with earlier simulations and further indicate that the sequence of the YAC accurately reflects the sequence of uncloned human DNA. PMID:8918809

  18. The EVER-EST portal as support for the Sea Monitoring Virtual Research Community, through the sharing of resources, enabling dynamic collaboration and promoting community engagement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Foglini, Federica; Grande, Valentina; De Leo, Francesco; Mantovani, Simone; Ferraresi, Sergio

    2017-04-01

    EVER-EST offers a framework based on advanced services delivered both at the e-infrastructure and domain-specific level, with the objective of supporting each phase of the Earth Science Research and Information Lifecycle. It provides innovative e-research services to Earth Science user communities for communication, cross-validation and the sharing of knowledge and science outputs. The project follows a user-centric approach: real use cases taken from pre-selected Virtual Research Communities (VRC) covering different Earth Science research scenarios drive the implementation of the Virtual Research Environment (VRE) services and capabilities. The Sea Monitoring community is involved in the evaluation of the EVER-EST infrastructure. The community of potential users is wide and heterogeneous including both multi-disciplinary scientists and national/international agencies and authorities (e.g. MPAs directors, technicians from regional agencies like ARPA in Italy, the technicians working for the Ministry of the Environment) dealing with the adoption of a better way of measuring the quality of the environment. The scientific community has the main role of assessing the best criteria and indicators for defining the Good Environmental Status (GES) in their own sub regions, and implementing methods, protocols and tools for monitoring the GES descriptors. According to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the environmental status of marine waters is defined by 11 descriptors, and forms a proposed set of 29 associated criteria and 56 different indicators. The objective of the Sea Monitoring VRC is to provide useful and applicable contributions to the evaluation of the descriptors: D1.Biodiversity, D2.Non-indigenous species and D6.Seafloor Integrity (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/good-environmental-status/index_en.htm). The main challenges for the community members are: 1. discovery of existing data and products distributed among different infrastructures; 2

  19. A standardised challenge model with an enterotoxigenic F4+ Escherichia coli strain in piglets assessing clinical traits and faecal shedding of fae and est-II toxin genes.

    PubMed

    Spitzer, Franz; Vahjen, Wilfried; Pieper, Robert; Martinez-Vallespin, Beatriz; Zentek, Jürgen

    2014-12-01

    This study evaluated the effect of five feed additives on post weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in piglets challenged 3 d after weaning with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strain (ETEC). In three experimental runs, a total of 84 piglets was weaned at 21 days of age and randomly assigned to seven treatments. As dietary treatment, piglets were fed a basal diet or diets with addition of bovine colostrum (0.2%), pineapple stem extract containing bromelain (0.2%), an autolysed yeast preparation (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (0.1%), a combination of organic acids (0.7%) and a phytogenic product with thyme essential oil (0.015%). A porcine ETEC, serotype O149:K91:K88ac was given twice via oral infection on day 3 after weaning at 10(10) colony forming units/animal. One group of piglets was fed the basal diet without ETEC challenge. Traits included clinical sores, body temperature, faecal scoring and determination of faecal dry matter and the shedding of fae and est-II ETEC toxin genes. After weaning, non-challenged control piglets did not show signs of diarrhoea or impaired health, while the majority of infected piglets had a drop in body temperature, signs of diarrhoea and impaired general health. Mortality, the decrease of faecal dry matter and shedding of the toxin genes fae and est-II were not affected by the different additives. In conclusion, the ETEC challenge model induced distinct clinical signs of PWD in piglets, but the tested feed additives had no preventive effect under these conditions.

  20. Comparative genomics of grass EST libraries reveals previously uncharacterized splicing events in crop plants.

    PubMed

    Chuang, Trees-Juen; Yang, Min-Yu; Lin, Chuang-Chieh; Hsieh, Ping-Hung; Hung, Li-Yuan

    2015-02-05

    Crop plants such as rice, maize and sorghum play economically-important roles as main sources of food, fuel, and animal feed. However, current genome annotations of crop plants still suffer false-positive predictions; a more comprehensive registry of alternative splicing (AS) events is also in demand. Comparative genomics of crop plants is largely unexplored. We performed a large-scale comparative analysis (ExonFinder) of the expressed sequence tag (EST) library from nine grass plants against three crop genomes (rice, maize, and sorghum) and identified 2,879 previously-unannotated exons (i.e., novel exons) in the three crops. We validated 81% of the tested exons by RT-PCR-sequencing, supporting the effectiveness of our in silico strategy. Evolutionary analysis reveals that the novel exons, comparing with their flanking annotated ones, are generally under weaker selection pressure at the protein level, but under stronger pressure at the RNA level, suggesting that most of the novel exons also represent novel alternatively spliced variants (ASVs). However, we also observed the consistency of evolutionary rates between certain novel exons and their flanking exons, which provided further evidence of their co-occurrence in the transcripts, suggesting that previously-annotated isoforms might be subject to erroneous predictions. Our validation showed that 54% of the tested genes expressed the newly-identified isoforms that contained the novel exons, rather than the previously-annotated isoforms that excluded them. The consistent results were steadily observed across cultivated (Oryza sativa and O. glaberrima) and wild (O. rufipogon and O. nivara) rice species, asserting the necessity of our curation of the crop genome annotations. Our comparative analyses also inferred the common ancestral transcriptome of grass plants and gain- and loss-of-ASV events. We have reannotated the rice, maize, and sorghum genomes, and showed that evolutionary rates might serve as an indicator

  1. Integrated pathway modules using time-course metabolic profiles and EST data from Milnesium tardigradum

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Tardigrades are multicellular organisms, resistant to extreme environmental changes such as heat, drought, radiation and freezing. They outlast these conditions in an inactive form (tun) to escape damage to cellular structures and cell death. Tardigrades are apparently able to prevent or repair such damage and are therefore a crucial model organism for stress tolerance. Cultures of the tardigrade Milnesium tardigradum were dehydrated by removing the surrounding water to induce tun formation. During this process and the subsequent rehydration, metabolites were measured in a time series by GC-MS. Additionally expressed sequence tags are available, especially libraries generated from the active and inactive state. The aim of this integrated analysis is to trace changes in tardigrade metabolism and identify pathways responsible for their extreme resistance against physical stress. Results In this study we propose a novel integrative approach for the analysis of metabolic networks to identify modules of joint shifts on the transcriptomic and metabolic levels. We derive a tardigrade-specific metabolic network represented as an undirected graph with 3,658 nodes (metabolites) and 4,378 edges (reactions). Time course metabolite profiles are used to score the network nodes showing a significant change over time. The edges are scored according to information on enzymes from the EST data. Using this combined information, we identify a key subnetwork (functional module) of concerted changes in metabolic pathways, specific for de- and rehydration. The module is enriched in reactions showing significant changes in metabolite levels and enzyme abundance during the transition. It resembles the cessation of a measurable metabolism (e.g. glycolysis and amino acid anabolism) during the tun formation, the production of storage metabolites and bioprotectants, such as DNA stabilizers, and the generation of amino acids and cellular components from monosaccharides as carbon and

  2. Inverse modeling of groundwater flow in the semiarid evaporitic closed basin of Los Monegros, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samper-Calvete, F. J.; García-Vera, M. A.

    Monegros en la que existen toda una serie de lagunas salinas. La implantación del regadío en esta zona puede alterar el régimen hidrológico de las lagunas, provocar problemas de salinización de suelos y aguas y aumentar la salinidad del río Ebro. Con el fin de evaluar estos efectos se construyó un modelo numérico del flujo subterráneo. Con la información disponible se pueden distinguir dos acuíferos que están conectados mediante un acuitardo. El modelo de flujo se calibró en régimen estacionario utilizando el procedimiento de calibración automática de Carrera y Neuman (1986a) basado en el método de la máxima verosimilitud. El modelo finalmente calibrado es capaz de reproducir los niveles piezométricos medidos y es coherente con los resultados de los balances hidrológicos en las lagunas. La conductividad hidráulica media del modelo es superior en casi dos órdenes de magnitud a la media de las conductividades hidráulicas obtenidas en ensayos de campo a escala local. Este efecto de escala en la conductividad hidráulica es coherente con los resultados de Neuman (1994) y Sánchez-Vila et al. (1996) y confirma que dicho efecto también se observa en medios evaporíticos.

  3. Quantifying Loss of Acoustic Communication Space for Right Whales in and around a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-01-01

    buscan mejorar el manejo de los efectos acumulativos del ruido sobre especies marinas y sus hábitats. Palabras Clave: área marina protegida, especies...dependientes del sonido para comunicarse están poco entendidos. Buscamos desarrollar métodos para cuantificar los efectos del enmascaramiento de la comu... tiempo ( tiempo pico de alimentación). Utilizamos un conjunto de grabadoras acústicas autónomas, temporales, montadas en el fondo en el Santuario

  4. El uso de la neuromodulación para el tratamiento del temblor

    PubMed Central

    Bendersky, Damián; Ajler, Pablo; Yampolsky, Claudio

    2014-01-01

    Introducción: El temblor puede ser un desorden incapacitante y el tratamiento de primera línea para estos pacientes es farmacológico. Sin embargo, este tratamiento puede llevar a una reducción satisfactoria del temblor en sólo el 50% de los pacientes con temblor esencial. La talamotomía era el tratamiento de elección para el temblor refractario al tratamiento médico hasta que comenzó a utilizarse la estimulación cerebral profunda (ECP) del núcleo ventral intermedio (Vim) del tálamo. En la actualidad, raramente se realiza la talamotomía. Métodos: Este artículo es una revisión no sistemática de las indicaciones, resultados, parámetros de programación y técnica quirúrgica de la ECP del Vim para el tratamiento del temblor. Resultados: Aunque los resultados clínicos son similares usando la talamotomía o la ECP del Vim, la primera causa más efectos adversos que la última. Además, la ECP puede ser usada bilateralmente, mientras que la talamotomía tiene un alto riesgo de causar disartria cuando se realiza de ambos lados. La ECP del Vim logró una adecuada mejoría del temblor en varias series de pacientes con temblor causado por temblor esencial, enfermedad de Parkinson o esclerosis múltiple. Además del Vim, hay otros blancos que están siendo usados por varios autores, tales como la zona incerta y las radiaciones prelemniscales. Conclusión: La ECP del Vim es un tratamiento útil para el temblor incapacitante refractario al tratamiento médico. Es esencial realizar una precisa selección de pacientes, así como utilizar una técnica quirúrgica correcta. Aún se desconoce el mejor blanco estereotáctico para el temblor, aunque el Vim es el más usado. PMID:25165613

  5. Astronomía Gamma desde El Leoncito

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rovero, A. C.; Colombo, E.; Sahade, J.; Weekes, T. C.

    La astronomía gamma, en el extremo de energías detectadas hasta el presente, se encuentra en desarrollo en muchas partes del mundo y proporciona resultados sorprendentes a medida que la tecnología avanza en el desarrollo de nuevos detectores. La técnica Cherenkov Atmosférica es la utilizada para la detección, mediante telescopios en tierra, del efecto secundario causado por la radiación gamma de muy altas energías (E ≈ TeV). Por medio de telescopios o arreglos de detectores y utilizando la técnica mencionada, se han podido detectar algunas fuentes puntuales de mucha importancia astrofísica como la Nebulosa del Cangrejo y la galaxia de núcleo activo Markarian 421. El sistema instalado en San Juan, en cooperación con el grupo de Radiación Gamma del Observatorio Whipple, está constituído por tres colectores de 1.5m que registran pulsos de luz generados por las cascadas de partículas producidas por rayos cósmicos de todo tipo al entrar en la atmósfera terrestre. El sistema opera por barrido en ascención recta de la fuente observada que, para esta etapa del experimento, es el Centro Galáctico. Esta fuente extensa es conocida como emisor gamma de energías inferiores al TeV y ha sido observada anteriormente en este rango de energía desde el hemisferio norte pero con elevaciones bajas, situación no óptima para este tipo de técnica. Se presentan los primeros resultados del análisis de los datos obtenidos observando la región del Centro Galáctico, luego de dos años de observaciones, así como una descripción de la técnica Cherenkov Atmosférica y del equipo utilizado en la experiencia.

  6. La utilizacion de los mapas conceptuales en la ensenanza de biologia y su efecto sobre el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis en los estudiantes universitarios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gonzalez Rivera, Maria M.

    Se investigo el efecto de los mapas conceptuales sobre el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis en estudiantes universitarios. La investigacion utilizo dos estrategias: mapas conceptuales individuales y mapas conceptuales colaborativos, con el fin de investigar si existen diferencias significativas en el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis. El analisis de los datos incluyo aspectos cualitativos y cuantitativos. Se desprende del estudio que el 80% de los estudiantes describen la utilizacion de los mapas conceptuales como una experiencia beneficiosa. El 70% de los estudiantes expreso que los mapas conceptuales son utiles en el aprendizaje del proceso de fotosintesis y el 61% indico que facilitan la comprension de los conceptos. Los hallazgos mas importantes del analisis cuantitativo indican que los estudiantes que utilizaron los mapas conceptuales mejoraron significativamente su desempeno en la posprueba global. Se utilizo la prueba Mann-Whitney para investigar si existian diferencias significativas en la posprueba y preprueba global, el valor de W = 1945.0, para un valor p de 0.00, lo cual establece diferencias significativas. Para determinar si existian diferencias significativas entre la posprueba y preprueba del grupo individual, se realizo la prueba nuevamente. El valor de W correspondio a 490.5, que es significativo, con un valor p de 0.00. Se concluye que existen diferencias significativas entre la ejecucion de la posprueba y preprueba del grupo individual. Los datos proveen suficiente evidencia para sostener que los estudiantes que utilizaron la estrategia de mapas conceptuales individuales mejoraron el dominio del proceso de fotosintesis significativamente. Se realizo nuevamente la prueba para los resultados de posprueba y preprueba del grupo colaborativo. El valor de W correspondio a 446 con un valor p de 0.00. Se concluyo que existen diferencias significativas entre la ejecucion de la posprueba y preprueba del grupo colaborativo. Finalmente, se efectuo una

  7. [Not Available].

    PubMed

    Fernández Castillo, Rafael; Cañadas de la Fuente, Gustavo R; Cañadas de la Fuente, Guillermo A; De la Fuente Solana, Emilia Inmaculada; Esteban de la Rosa, Rafael José; Bravo Soto, Juan

    2016-07-19

    Introducción: la obesidad y el sobrepeso presentan efectos adversos sobre la salud, lo que contribuye a la aparición de enfermedades metabólicas y cardiovasculares que ponen en peligro la integridad del injerto.Objetivo: investigar la influencia del IMC pretrasplante renal sobre el funcionamiento del injerto renal al año de trasplante mediante el estudio de cuatro métodos distintos de medir la filtración glomerular.Material y métodos: en este trabajo se ha seguido a 1.336 pacientes de ambos sexos trasplantados renales; se les realizaron mediciones pretrasplante y postrasplante de parámetros bioquímicos, mediciones antropométricas y función renal mediante medidas de filtrado glomerular.Resultados: a mayor índice de masa corporal pretrasplante se produce una disminución del filtrado glomerular medido por cuatro métodos distintos, así como mayor porcentaje de rechazos.Conclusiones: un IMC elevado pretrasplante contribuye a la disfunción del injerto, a una disminución del filtrado glomerular y a complicaciones del injerto en el primer año postrasplante.

  8. The Romhilt-Estes electrocardiographic score predicts sudden cardiac arrest independent of left ventricular mass and ejection fraction.

    PubMed

    Darouian, Navid; Aro, Aapo L; Narayanan, Kumar; Uy-Evanado, Audrey; Rusinaru, Carmen; Reinier, Kyndaron; Gunson, Karen; Jui, Jonathan; Chugh, Sumeet S

    2017-07-01

    The Romhilt-Estes point score system (RE) is an established ECG criterion for diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). In this study, we assessed for the first time, whether RE and its components are predictive of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) independent of left ventricular (LV) mass. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) cases occurring between 2002 and 2014 in a Northwestern US metro region (catchment area approx. 1 million) were compared to geographic controls. ECGs and echocardiograms performed prior to the SCA and those of controls were acquired from the medical records and evaluated for the ECG criteria established in the RE score and for LV mass. Two hundred forty-seven SCA cases (age 68.3 ± 14.6, male 64.4%) and 330 controls (age 67.4 ± 11.5, male 63.6) were included in the analysis. RE scores were greater in cases than controls (2.5 ± 2.1 vs. 1.9 ± 1.7, p < .001), and SCA cases were more likely to meet definite LVH criteria (18.6% vs. 7.9%, p < .001). In a multivariable model including echocardiographic LVH and LV function, definite LVH remained independently predictive of SCA (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.16-3.59, p = .013). The model was replicated with the individual ECG criteria, and only SV 1.2  ≥ 30 mm and delayed intrinsicoid deflection remained significant predictors of SCA. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as defined by the RE point score system is associated with SCA independent of echocardiographic LVH and reduced LV ejection fraction. These findings support an independent role for purely electrical LVH, in the genesis of lethal ventricular arrhythmias. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. QuEST: Robust Quantum Gadgets

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-02-28

    the size of the entangled states. Publications for 2011-12: S . T. Flammia , A. W. Harrow and J. Shi. “Local Embeddings of Quantum Codes” in...Publications (published) during reporting period: S . T. Flammia , A. W. Harrow and J. Shi. "Local Embeddings of Quantum Codes," in preparation, 2013. A. W...Publications: S . T. Flammia , A. W. Harrow and J. Shi. "Local Embeddings of Quantum Codes," in preparation, 2013. A. W. Harrow. "Testing Entanglement

  10. A benchmarking project on the quality of previous guidelines about the management of malignant pleural effusion from the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) Pleural Diseases Working Group.

    PubMed

    Bertolaccini, Luca; Bedetti, Benedetta; Brunelli, Alessandro; Marinova, Katerina; Raveglia, Federico; Rocco, Gaetano; Shargall, Yaron; Solli, Piergiorgio; Varela, Gonzalo; Papagiannopoulos, Kostas; Kuzdzal, Jaroslaw; Massard, Gilbert; Ruffini, Enrico; Falcoz, Pierre-Emmanuel; Martinez-Barenys, Carlos; Opitz, Isabelle; Batirel, Hasan F; Toker, Alper; Scarci, Marco

    2017-08-01

    In the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) survey about management of malignant pleural effusions (MPE), 56% of respondents are not informed of any relevant clinical guidelines and 52%, who are aware of the existence of guidelines, declared that they are in need of updating or revision. The ESTS Pleural Diseases Working Group developed a benchmarking project on quality of previous guidelines on the management of MPE. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument was used to assess each guideline. Each item was scored on a 7-point scale. Scores for each domain were calculated. Economic data for the nations which have issued the guidelines were collected from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development health statistics database. Six guidelines fitted the inclusion criteria and were assessed. Five out of 6 guidelines were produced by a multinational collaboration. Observers would recommend only 2 guidelines with minimal modification. Two areas that received the best score were clarity of presentation and scope and purpose (objectives and health questions target population). The applicability of guideline domain had the lowest score. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that clarity of presentation, international guidelines and publication through medical journal were related to improved scores. A strong correlation was observed between the measures of economic status. The quality of guidelines assessed by the AGREE II criteria was found to be extremely variable. Guidelines achieving higher AGREE II scores were more likely to come from the European Union with the direct involvement of scientific societies in their development. It was also recognized that some fundamental unanswered questions remain about the management of MPE. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

  11. A Brassica rapa Linkage Map of EST-based SNP Markers for Identification of Candidate Genes Controlling Flowering Time and Leaf Morphological Traits

    PubMed Central

    Li, Feng; Kitashiba, Hiroyasu; Inaba, Kiyofumi; Nishio, Takeshi

    2009-01-01

    For identification of genes responsible for varietal differences in flowering time and leaf morphological traits, we constructed a linkage map of Brassica rapa DNA markers including 170 EST-based markers, 12 SSR markers, and 59 BAC sequence-based markers, of which 151 are single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. By BLASTN, 223 markers were shown to have homologous regions in Arabidopsis thaliana, and these homologous loci covered nearly the whole genome of A. thaliana. Synteny analysis between B. rapa and A. thaliana revealed 33 large syntenic regions. Three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for flowering time were detected. BrFLC1 and BrFLC2 were linked to the QTLs for bolting time, budding time, and flowering time. Three SNPs in the promoter, which may be the cause of low expression of BrFLC2 in the early-flowering parental line, were identified. For leaf lobe depth and leaf hairiness, one major QTL corresponding to a syntenic region containing GIBBERELLIN 20 OXIDASE 3 and one major QTL containing BrGL1, respectively, were detected. Analysis of nucleotide sequences and expression of these genes suggested possible involvement of these genes in leaf morphological traits. PMID:19884167

  12. Comportamiento del Helio en estrellas químicamente peculiares

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malaroda, S. M.; López García, Z.; Leone, F.; Catalano, F.

    Las estrellas químicamente peculiares (CP) se caracterizan por tener deficiencias y sobreabundancias de algunos elementos químicos de hasta 106 veces la abundancia solar. Además presentan variaciones en las líneas espectrales. Se piensa que ello se debe a que los campos magnéticos presentes en este tipo de estrellas son principalmente dipolares, con un eje de simetría diferente del eje de rotación. La distribución de los elementos sobreabundantes y deficientes no es homogénea sobre la superficie estelar y las variaciones observadas serían una consecuencia directa de la rotación estelar. Entre los elementos con abundancia anómala se encuentra el Helio, cuyas líneas tienen intensidades que no son consistentes con una abundancia normal, que no puede ser determinada del modo usual, o sea, considerando una atmósfera con composición solar. Con el fin de determinar la abundancia de este elemento, se inició un estudio de estrellas anómalas de Helio, Hew y He strong. Además se determinarán las abundancias de otros elementos anómalos como ser el Si, Cr, Mg, Mn y Fe. Las mismas se determinan del modo tradicional, o sea: a) medida de los anchos equivalentes de las líneas de los distintos elementos analizados; b) adopción de la temperatura efectiva, gravedad y abundancia del Helio; c) cálculo del modelo de atmósfera d) comparación con las observaciones y reinicio de un proceso iterativo hasta lograr un acuerdo entre todos los parámetros analizados. Las observaciones se llevaron a cabo en el Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito. Se observaron setenta y ocho estrellas anómalas de Helio. En este momento se está procediendo a calcular las abundancias correspondientes a los distintos elementos químicos. Para ello se hace uso de los modelos de Kurucz, ATLAS9. Los cálculos NLTE de las líneas de Helio se llevan a cabo con el programa MULTI y se compararán con los realizados con el programa WIDTH9 de Kurucz (LTE), con el objeto de resaltar la importancia de

  13. Cross-sectional analysis of the association between bedtime and malaria exposure in the Ouest and Sud-Est Departments of Haiti.

    PubMed

    Stephenson, Caroline J; Rossheim, Matthew E; Frankenfeld, Cara L; Boncy, Jacques; Okech, Bernard A; von Fricken, Michael E

    2017-12-01

    The governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic have a binational agreement to work towards malaria elimination for the island of Hispaniola by the year 2020. Understanding malaria-related knowledge and behaviors can help inform elimination efforts. This study examined the association between social-behavioral factors, like bedtime and bed net ownership, with malaria seroconversion status among people in the Ouest and Sud-Est departments of Haiti. In 2013, cross-sectional survey data (n=377) and blood samples were collected from a convenience sample of individuals within community, clinic and school settings. Logistic regression models were constructed to examine associations between social-behavioral factors and malaria exposure, adjusting for potential confounders. Compared to people going to bed between 6 and 8 pm, those going to bed between 8 and 10 pm were 2.67 (OR, 95% CI: 1.16-6.14) times as likely to have been exposed to malaria. Participants who reported going to bed after 10 pm were 5.96 times as likely to have had previous malaria exposure (OR, 95% CI: 2.26-15.7), compared to 6-8 pm. No significant associations were found between malaria exposure and either insecticide use nor bed net ownership. These findings are consistent with suspected feeding behaviors of Anopheles albimanus, which prefers feeding at night and outdoors. Study findings may improve overall understanding of malaria transmission in Haiti and potentially guide future studies conducted in this region. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Translating an Evidence-Based Behavioral Intervention for Women Living with HIV into Clinical Practice: The SMART/EST Women's Program.

    PubMed

    Weiss, Stephen M; Tobin, Jonathan N; Lopez, Maria; Simons, Hannah; Cook, Ryan; Jones, Deborah L

    2015-06-01

    The process of translating scientific findings into clinical and public health settings has only recently received priority attention within the scientific community. Fueled by "Funding Opportunity Announcements" from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, scientists have begun to explore the pathways to effectively "transfer" promising research accomplishments into effective and sustainable service programs within the health care delivery system. Using Glasgow's RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance) model as a guide, this research team enrolled 428 socially disadvantaged, culturally diverse women living with HIV/AIDS to test the dissemination and implementation of an evidence-based behavioral intervention designed to improve and sustain the physical and emotional health of participants into the Community Health Center (CHC) setting when conducted by trained CHC staff. Findings demonstrate the ability of trained CHC staff group leaders to attain results equivalent or superior to those achieved when conducted by research staff on the three principal study outcomes: depression, medication adherence and HIV viral load. Four of five CHCs involved in the study also identified and successfully obtained funding to continue to run intervention groups, supporting the adoption and sustainability components of the translation model. This study confirmed (a) the "translatability" of the Stress Management And Relaxation Training/Emotional Supportive Therapy (SMART/EST) Women's Program, from academic to CHC settings in two geographic regions with high HIV prevalence among women, (b) the ability of local staff (using the "train the trainer" model) to successfully achieve program fidelity and clinical outcomes, and (c) the sustainability the program beyond the auspices of research support, through supportive CHC leadership securing continued program funding.

  15. PubMed

    Bueno Vargas, Pilar; Manzano Martín, Manuel; López-Aliaga, Inmaculada; López Pedrosa, José M ª

    2016-09-20

    Introducción: la gestación y lactancia están relacionadas con pérdidas temporales en la densidad mineral ósea (DMO) materna. Una suplementación con calcio podría resultar beneficiosa para evitar la pérdida de masa ósea del esqueleto materno. Otros nutrientes como los prebióticos han sido identificados como responsables de un incremento en la absorción de minerales, pudiendo condicionar la mineralización ósea.Objetivo: estudiar el efecto de la suplementación de la dieta materna con el prebiótico inulina enriquecida con oligofructosa, durante la gestación y la lactancia sobre el contenido mineral óseo (CMO) y la DMO al final del periodo de lactancia.Métodos: las ratas gestantes fueron alimentadas con dieta estándar (grupo CC), dieta fortificada en calcio (grupo Ca) o enriquecida con el prebiótico inulina enriquecida con oligofructosa (grupo Pre) hasta el final del periodo de lactancia. Posteriormente se evaluó el CMO y DMO por absorciometría de rayos X (DEXA) y el pH del contenido cecal.Resultados:en términos generales, el grupo Pre presenta los mayores valores absolutos de CMO y DMO de entre los tres grupos, siendo en la tibia significativamente diferentes en los grupos CC y Pre frente al grupo Ca. El pH del contenido cecal del grupo Pre es significativamente inferior al de los grupos CC y Ca.Conclusión:la suplementación con inulina enriquecida con oligofructosa, en condiciones nutricionales no deficientes en calcio, durante la gestación y la lactancia, ejerce una protección del esqueleto materno en las ratas y puede ser considerada como una estrategia nutricional para proteger la masa ósea materna en el periodo perinatal.

  16. [In Process Citation].

    PubMed

    Álvarez, Cristian; Ramírez-Campillo, Rodrigo; Vallejos-Rojas, Andrea; Jaramillo-Gallardo, Javiera; Salas Bravo, Carlos; Cano-Montoya, Johnattan; Celis-Morales, Carlos

    2016-03-25

     Introducción: obesidad e inactividad física son importantes factores de riesgo para el desarrollo de hipertensión en adultos. No obstante, hay poca evidencia sobre el efecto de estos factores de riesgo en el desarrollo de hipertensión en población infantil. Objetivo: investigar la asociación del estado nutricional, niveles de actividad física y etnicidad con niveles de hipertensión en escolares entre 6 y 13 años de edad. Métodos: un total de 418 escolares de ascendencia étnica europea (n = 311) y mapuche (n = 107) fueron participantes de este estudio transversal. Se midió el peso, talla, índice de masa corporal (IMC) y presión arterial, utilizando protocolos estandarizados. Resultados: no se encontraron diferencias significativas en IMC, estado nutricional y presión arterial entre niños con ascendencia europea y mapuche. No obstante, la prevalencia de prehipertensión (21,3% vs. 11,1%) e hipertensión (28,9% vs. 18,6%) fue significativamente mayor en escolares mapuches en comparación con europeos, respectivamente. Escolares con ascendencia mapuche tienen un mayor riesgo de desarrollar prehipertensión o hipertensión que escolares con ascendencia europea (OR: 1,92 [1,19 a 3,06], p < 0,01). La prevalencia de hipertensión aumenta significativamente en ambos grupos étnicos con el incremento de IMC y bajos niveles de actividad física. Conclusiones: el riesgo de desarrollar prehipertensión o hipertensión es mayor en población infantil ascendiente de mapuches que ascendiente de europeos y este riesgo se ve acentuado con el incremento de obesidad y bajos niveles de actividad física.

  17. Strange Stars, Neutron Stars and Pulsar Emission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benvenuto, O. G.; Horvath, J. E.

    1990-11-01

    RESUMEN. Se ha conjeturado que una partlecula de dieciocho quarks, sin Carga, sin espi'n y sin colar (quark-alfa) podri'a ser estable a ba5as tern peraturas y presiones aiTh COfl respecto a materia extrafla. Presentamos en este trabajo la estmctura de estrellas extraflas incluyendo los efectos y apariencia de parti'culas uark-alfa en las capas exteriores. La estruc tura interna ya no es hoinogenea del centro a la superficie, sino que muestra un centro de materia extrafla, capas s6lidas y una costra delgada de materia normal en la superficie. La superficie de materia nonnal permite la fornaci6n de una magnetosfera, la que se piensa sea el sitlo en donde ocurre la emisi6n del pulsar. La superficie de superflui'do ayuda a explicar el fen6rneno de `glitch', el cual ba sido observado en muchos pulsares. Se discute la ecuaci6n de estado para rnateria quark-alfa relevante en este regimen. ABSTIZACT:It has been conjectured that an quark, uncharged, spinless and colorless particle Cquark-alpha) could be stable at low pressures and temperatures even with respect to strange matter. We present in work tlie structure of stars including the effects of the appearance of quark-alpi' particles ii their outer layers. The internal structure is no longer from tlie center to the surface, but show a strange matter core, a solid and superfluid layers and a thin crust of normal matter at the surface. The normal matter surface allows tlie fon tion of a magnetosphere, whicl is to be tl place where pulsar emission occurs. A superfluid layer helps to explain tlie glitch , wlflch has been observed in . equation of state for quark-alpha matter relevant in regime is also discussed. Keq LA)OtL : ARY S - OF STATF - ?.ACT

  18. Dating and functional characterization of duplicated genes in the apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) by analyzing EST data.

    PubMed

    Sanzol, Javier

    2010-05-14

    Gene duplication is central to genome evolution. In plants, genes can be duplicated through small-scale events and large-scale duplications often involving polyploidy. The apple belongs to the subtribe Pyrinae (Rosaceae), a diverse lineage that originated via allopolyploidization. Both small-scale duplications and polyploidy may have been important mechanisms shaping the genome of this species. This study evaluates the gene duplication and polyploidy history of the apple by characterizing duplicated genes in this species using EST data. Overall, 68% of the apple genes were clustered into families with a mean copy-number of 4.6. Analysis of the age distribution of gene duplications supported a continuous mode of small-scale duplications, plus two episodes of large-scale duplicates of vastly different ages. The youngest was consistent with the polyploid origin of the Pyrinae 37-48 MYBP, whereas the older may be related to gamma-triplication; an ancient hexapolyploidization previously characterized in the four sequenced eurosid genomes and basal to the eurosid-asterid divergence. Duplicated genes were studied for functional diversification with an emphasis on young paralogs; those originated during or after the formation of the Pyrinae lineage. Unequal assignment of single-copy genes and gene families to Gene Ontology categories suggested functional bias in the pattern of gene retention of paralogs. Young paralogs related to signal transduction, metabolism, and energy pathways have been preferentially retained. Non-random retention of duplicated genes seems to have mediated the expansion of gene families, some of which may have substantially increased their members after the origin of the Pyrinae. The joint analysis of over-duplicated functional categories and phylogenies, allowed evaluation of the role of both polyploidy and small-scale duplications during this process. Finally, gene expression analysis indicated that 82% of duplicated genes, including 80% of young

  19. Efecto del Programa de Entrenamiento “Manejo del Dolor” en la Documentación de Enfermería en el Expediente Electrónico

    PubMed Central

    Monsiváis, María Guadalupe Moreno; Guzmán, Ma. Guadalupe Interial; Flores, Paz Francisco Sauceda; Arreola, Leticia Vázquez

    2012-01-01

    Resumen En el presente trabajo se muestra la importancia de entrenar al personal de enfermería para mejorar la documentación en el expediente electrónico. Se eligió el manejo del dolor por ser un área prioritaria; una alta proporción de pacientes en período post operatorio cursa con dolor, por lo tanto, la documentación debe ser útil para la toma de decisiones clínicas. Se implementó un programa de entrenamiento denominado “Manejo del Dolor” dirigido al personal de enfermería. Se utilizó la tecnología de la información como herramienta para fortalecer el conocimiento con base en la revisión sistemática de la literatura; el personal de enfermería participante seleccionó la mejor evidencia; posteriormente se trabajó en la transferencia de este conocimiento a la práctica a través del diseño de un protocolo para el manejo del dolor. Se concluye que el conocimiento del manejo del dolor es fundamental para que enfermería documente con mayor precisión sus intervenciones. PMID:24199106

  20. Introduction to the project VAHINE: VAriability of vertical and tropHIc transfer of diazotroph derived N in the south wEst Pacific

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bonnet, Sophie; Moutin, Thierry; Rodier, Martine; Grisoni, Jean-Michel; Louis, Francis; Folcher, Eric; Bourgeois, Bertrand; Boré, Jean-Michel; Renaud, Armelle

    2016-05-01

    On the global scale, N2 fixation provides the major external source of reactive nitrogen to the surface ocean, surpassing atmospheric and riverine inputs, and sustains ˜ 50 % of new primary production in oligotrophic environments. The main goal of the VAriability of vertical and tropHIc transfer of diazotroph derived N in the south wEst Pacific (VAHINE) project was to study the fate of nitrogen newly fixed by diazotrophs (or diazotroph-derived nitrogen) in oceanic food webs, and how it impacts heterotrophic bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton dynamics, stocks and fluxes of biogenic elements and particle export. Three large-volume ( ˜ 50 m3) mesocosms were deployed in a tropical oligotrophic ecosystem (the New Caledonia lagoon, south-eastern Pacific) and intentionally fertilized with ˜ 0.8 µM of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) to stimulate diazotrophy and follow subsequent ecosystem changes. VAHINE was a multidisciplinary project involving close collaborations between biogeochemists, molecular ecologist, chemists, marine opticians and modellers. This introductory paper describes in detail the scientific objectives of the project as well as the implementation plan: the mesocosm description and deployment, the selection of the study site (New Caledonian lagoon), and the logistical and sampling strategy. The main hydrological and biogeochemical conditions of the study site before the mesocosm deployment and during the experiment itself are described, and a general overview of the papers published in this special issue is presented.

  1. Ceci n'est pas une micromachine.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yarberry, Victor R.; Diegert, Carl F.

    2010-03-01

    The image created in reflected light DIC can often be interpreted as a true three-dimensional representation of the surface geometry, provided a clear distinction can be realized between raised and lowered regions in the specimen. It may be helpful if our definition of saliency embraces work on the human visual system (HVS) as well as the more abstract work on saliency, as it is certain that understanding by humans will always stand between recording of a useful signal from all manner of sensors and so-called actionable intelligence. A DARPA/DSO program lays down this requirement in a current program (Kruse 2010):more » The vision for the Neurotechnology for Intelligence Analysts (NIA) Program is to revolutionize the way that analysts handle intelligence imagery, increasing both the throughput of imagery to the analyst and overall accuracy of the assessments. Current computer-based target detection capabilities cannot process vast volumes of imagery with the speed, flexibility, and precision of the human visual system.« less

  2. QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lewis, Pattie

    2012-01-01

    Articles in this issue inlude: (1) Foundation of Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM) Technology Evaluation is Testing and Qualification, (2) Materials Management and Substitution Efforts, (3 Recycling and Pollution Control Efforts, and (4) Remediation Efforts

  3. E.S.T. and the Oracle.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, Ian M.

    1990-01-01

    A possible syllabus for English for Science and Technology is suggested based upon a set of causal relations, arising from a logical description of the presuppositional rhetoric of scientific passages that underlie most semantic functions. An empirical study is reported of the semantic functions present in 52 randomly selected passages.…

  4. A Paradigm for EST Materials Preparation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carreon, Edwina S.; Balarbar, Corazon V.

    In many countries, suitable English for special purposes (ESP) textbooks and materials are difficult to find. ESP teachers and program coordinators often must develop their own materials, but preparing such materials requires training. One model that has served as a guide to numerous ESP materials projects is the Hutchinson and Waters' model. This…

  5. QuEST for malware type-classification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vaughan, Sandra L.; Mills, Robert F.; Grimaila, Michael R.; Peterson, Gilbert L.; Oxley, Mark E.; Dube, Thomas E.; Rogers, Steven K.

    2015-05-01

    Current cyber-related security and safety risks are unprecedented, due in no small part to information overload and skilled cyber-analyst shortages. Advances in decision support and Situation Awareness (SA) tools are required to support analysts in risk mitigation. Inspired by human intelligence, research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computational Intelligence (CI) have provided successful engineering solutions in complex domains including cyber. Current AI approaches aggregate large volumes of data to infer the general from the particular, i.e. inductive reasoning (pattern-matching) and generally cannot infer answers not previously programmed. Whereas humans, rarely able to reason over large volumes of data, have successfully reached the top of the food chain by inferring situations from partial or even partially incorrect information, i.e. abductive reasoning (pattern-completion); generating a hypothetical explanation of observations. In order to achieve an engineering advantage in computational decision support and SA we leverage recent research in human consciousness, the role consciousness plays in decision making, modeling the units of subjective experience which generate consciousness, qualia. This paper introduces a novel computational implementation of a Cognitive Modeling Architecture (CMA) which incorporates concepts of consciousness. We apply our model to the malware type-classification task. The underlying methodology and theories are generalizable to many domains.

  6. ETV/ESTE RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION PROJECT

    EPA Science Inventory

    The final product for book chapter is not available for this material. If further information is needed, please refer to the bibliographic citation and contact the person listed under the Contract Field.

  7. Ce Chauffeur est un vrai chauffard.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calvet, Louis-Jean

    1989-01-01

    The definition of the suffix "-ard" as giving a negative or pejorative meaning to a word is disputed, and it is proposed that the suffix is simply a particular, socially marked form of expression. (MSE)

  8. Improved Annotation of 3′ Untranslated Regions and Complex Loci by Combination of Strand-Specific Direct RNA Sequencing, RNA-Seq and ESTs

    PubMed Central

    Song, Junfang; Duc, Céline; Storey, Kate G.; McLean, W. H. Irwin; Brown, Sara J.; Simpson, Gordon G.; Barton, Geoffrey J.

    2014-01-01

    The reference annotations made for a genome sequence provide the framework for all subsequent analyses of the genome. Correct and complete annotation in addition to the underlying genomic sequence is particularly important when interpreting the results of RNA-seq experiments where short sequence reads are mapped against the genome and assigned to genes according to the annotation. Inconsistencies in annotations between the reference and the experimental system can lead to incorrect interpretation of the effect on RNA expression of an experimental treatment or mutation in the system under study. Until recently, the genome-wide annotation of 3′ untranslated regions received less attention than coding regions and the delineation of intron/exon boundaries. In this paper, data produced for samples in Human, Chicken and A. thaliana by the novel single-molecule, strand-specific, Direct RNA Sequencing technology from Helicos Biosciences which locates 3′ polyadenylation sites to within +/− 2 nt, were combined with archival EST and RNA-Seq data. Nine examples are illustrated where this combination of data allowed: (1) gene and 3′ UTR re-annotation (including extension of one 3′ UTR by 5.9 kb); (2) disentangling of gene expression in complex regions; (3) clearer interpretation of small RNA expression and (4) identification of novel genes. While the specific examples displayed here may become obsolete as genome sequences and their annotations are refined, the principles laid out in this paper will be of general use both to those annotating genomes and those seeking to interpret existing publically available annotations in the context of their own experimental data. PMID:24722185

  9. Simulation of groundwater drainage into a tunnel in fractured rock and numerical analysis of leakage remediation, Romeriksporten tunnel, Norway

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kitterød, N.-O.; Colleuille, H.; Wong, W. K.; Pedersen, T. S.

    2000-09-01

    énérer l'hétérogénéité. La chenalisation de l'écoulement est le mécanisme d'écoulement le plus important si la variance du champ de perméabilité est grande par rapport à la valeur moyenne. Cette condition fait que les infiltrations dans le tunnel sont difficiles à contrôler. L'étanchéification du tunnel par des produits chimiques est simulé par une simple perturbation de la fonction de densité de probabilité log-normale de la perméabilité. Si la chenalisation de l'écoulement est le principal mécanisme de transport d'eau entrant dans le tunnel, la création d'une injection artificielle de l'eau pour contrôler l'infiltration dans le tunnel impose, pour réussir, une imperméabilisation préalable par des produits chimiques. Resumen. Se han aplicado métodos estadísticos convencionales para la simulación de la heterogeneidad en el túnel de Roeriksporte (Noruega), donde la presencia de agua en zonas fracturadas de alta permeabilidad originó problemas de drenaje en superficie durante su construcción. Una vez finalizado el túnel, para controlar la infiltración se inyectó agua en los pozos situados en su interior. La generación del campo heterogéneo se realizó a una escala lo suficientemente pequeña que permitiera simular los efectos de las medidas de control propuestas. El campo de flujo depende de la varianza de las permeabilidades y del modelo de covarianza utilizado para generar la heterogeneidad. El flujo a través de canales es el mecanismo dominante si la varianza del campo de permeabilidad es grande en relación con el valor esperado. Este hecho condiciona que las filtraciones en el túnel sean difíciles de controlar. Los principales efectos de los cambios de permeabilidad originados por las inyecciones para el sellado del túnel se simularon mediante una simple perturbación de la función de densidad de probabilidad lognormal de la permeabilidad. Si el flujo a través de canales es el principal mecanismo de la presencia de agua en el

  10. FinEstBeaMS - A wide-range Finnish-Estonian Beamline for Materials Science at the 1.5 GeV storage ring at the MAX IV Laboratory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pärna, R.; Sankari, R.; Kukk, E.; Nõmmiste, E.; Valden, M.; Lastusaari, M.; Kooser, K.; Kokko, K.; Hirsimäki, M.; Urpelainen, S.; Turunen, P.; Kivimäki, A.; Pankratov, V.; Reisberg, L.; Hennies, F.; Tarawneh, H.; Nyholm, R.; Huttula, M.

    2017-07-01

    The FinEstBeaMS beamline is under construction at the 1.5 GeV storage ring of the MAX IV Laboratory at Lund, Sweden. It has been designed to cover an unusually wide energy range from ultraviolet (4.3 eV) to soft X-rays (1000 eV) but experiments will also be possible at the Mg and Al Kα energies. Instead of having two different insertion devices and optical schemes for low and high photon energy regions, we have based our design on a single long-period, elliptically polarizing undulator and a plane grating monochromator. This solution will provide very good conditions for planned experiments in the whole photon energy region. The beamline will have two branches: one will mainly be used to investigate free atoms, molecules and clusters with photoelectron/photoion coincidence spectroscopy as well as solids with photoluminescence spectroscopy whereas the other one will be dedicated to ultra-high vacuum studies of surfaces and interfaces, utilizing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. This paper focuses on the optical design of the beamline and general design concepts of the gas phase and solid state end stations.

  11. A maize map standard with sequenced core markers, grass genome reference points and 932 expressed sequence tagged sites (ESTs) in a 1736-locus map.

    PubMed Central

    Davis, G L; McMullen, M D; Baysdorfer, C; Musket, T; Grant, D; Staebell, M; Xu, G; Polacco, M; Koster, L; Melia-Hancock, S; Houchins, K; Chao, S; Coe, E H

    1999-01-01

    We have constructed a 1736-locus maize genome map containing1156 loci probed by cDNAs, 545 probed by random genomic clones, 16 by simple sequence repeats (SSRs), 14 by isozymes, and 5 by anonymous clones. Sequence information is available for 56% of the loci with 66% of the sequenced loci assigned functions. A total of 596 new ESTs were mapped from a B73 library of 5-wk-old shoots. The map contains 237 loci probed by barley, oat, wheat, rice, or tripsacum clones, which serve as grass genome reference points in comparisons between maize and other grass maps. Ninety core markers selected for low copy number, high polymorphism, and even spacing along the chromosome delineate the 100 bins on the map. The average bin size is 17 cM. Use of bin assignments enables comparison among different maize mapping populations and experiments including those involving cytogenetic stocks, mutants, or quantitative trait loci. Integration of nonmaize markers in the map extends the resources available for gene discovery beyond the boundaries of maize mapping information into the expanse of map, sequence, and phenotype information from other grass species. This map provides a foundation for numerous basic and applied investigations including studies of gene organization, gene and genome evolution, targeted cloning, and dissection of complex traits. PMID:10388831

  12. De novo comparative transcriptome analysis of genes involved in fruit morphology of pumpkin cultivars with extreme size difference and development of EST-SSR markers.

    PubMed

    Xanthopoulou, Aliki; Ganopoulos, Ioannis; Psomopoulos, Fotis; Manioudaki, Maria; Moysiadis, Theodoros; Kapazoglou, Aliki; Osathanunkul, Maslin; Michailidou, Sofia; Kalivas, Apostolos; Tsaftaris, Athanasios; Nianiou-Obeidat, Irini; Madesis, Panagiotis

    2017-07-30

    The genetic basis of fruit size and shape was investigated for the first time in Cucurbita species and genetic loci associated with fruit morphology have been identified. Although extensive genomic resources are available at present for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), melon (Cucumis melo) and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), genomic databases for Cucurbita species are limited. Recently, our group reported the generation of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) transcriptome databases from two contrasting cultivars with extreme fruit sizes. In the current study we used these databases to perform comparative transcriptome analysis in order to identify genes with potential roles in fruit morphology and fruit size. Differential Gene Expression (DGE) analysis between cv. 'Munchkin' (small-fruit) and cv. 'Big Moose' (large-fruit) revealed a variety of candidate genes associated with fruit morphology with significant differences in gene expression between the two cultivars. In addition, we have set the framework for generating EST-SSR markers, which discriminate different C. pepo cultivars and show transferability to related Cucurbitaceae species. The results of the present study will contribute to both further understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating fruit morphology and furthermore identifying the factors that determine fruit size. Moreover, they may lead to the development of molecular marker tools for selecting genotypes with desired morphological traits. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. Population size and selection intensity effects on short-term response for a selection index in Tribolium.

    PubMed

    Campo, J L; Turrado, H

    1997-01-12

    selección sobre la respuesta a la selección a corto plazo fueron estudiados en un experimento con Tribolium usando un índice empírico de selección para dos caracteres (peso de pupa y peso adulto). Se seleccionaron 20 líneas siguiendo un modelo factorial de cinco tamaños de población (1, 2, 4, 8 y 16 pares de padres) y cuatro intensidades de selección (20, 25, 33 y 50%), con tres repeticiones. En cada repetición, había una línea control sin seleccionar con 16 pares de padres. Se hicieron cuatro generaciones de selección, por línea. La respuesta a la selección fue significativa en todas las líneas con el 20% de intensidad de selección y/o 16 pares de padres. Tanto la intensidad de selección como el tamaño de población fueron efectos significativos y hubo interacción significativa entre ellos. Las intensidades de selección más altas produjeron significativamente más respuesta en general (20% > (25% = 33%) > 50%), y esta significación se mantenía cuando el tamaño de población era de 16 pares de padres. Hubo diferencias significativas entre tamaños de población, dando los mayores tamaños más respuesta en general que los menores tamaños (16 pares = 8 pares = 4 pares) > (2 pares = 1 par), manteniendose esta significación para la intensidad de selección del 20%. La concordancia entre las respuestas observadas y las esperadas era buena, excepto cuando la intensidad de selección era 50% y/o el tamaño de población era 1 par de padres; los valores esperados en la generación 1 sobreestimaban los valores observados. La heredabilidad realizada fue similar en todas las líneas. Cuando el número total de animales era igual y alto, era mejor elegir una intensidad de selección alta que un tamaño de población grande. Los resultados indican que el efecto del tamaño de población no se puede ignorar incluso en experimentos de selección a corto plazo, y que la influencia principal de este efecto es a través del diferencial de selección. 1997

  14. ¿Qué es un repelente de insectos?

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Según la ley de pesticidas, estos productos son cualquier sustancia o mezcla de sustancias destinadas a lo siguiente: prevenir; eliminar; repeler; mitigar cualquier peste. (Mitigar significa reducir el efecto de algo).

  15. Evolución de estrellas enanas blancas de Helio de masa baja e intermedia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Althaus, L. G.; Benvenuto, O. G.

    Numerosas observaciones realizadas particularmente en los últimos dos años parecen confirmar que las enanas blancas (EB) de helio de masa baja e intermedia son el resultado de la evolución de sistemas binarios cercanos. Con el objeto de realizar una adecuada interpretación de estos objetos son necesarios modelos de EBs de helio lo más detallado posibles. En este estudio presentamos cálculos detallados de la evolución de EBs de helio con masas entre M=0.1Msolar y M=0.5Msolar a intervalos de 0.05Msolar . Para ello, hemos tenido en cuenta los efectos de temperatura finita mediante un código de evolución estelar lo más actualizado posible. En particular, el transporte de energía es descripto en el marco del nuevo modelo para la convección turbulenta desarrollado por Canuto - Mazzitelli. Además hemos considerado la nueva ecuación de estado para plasmas de helio de Saumon et al. y nuevas opacidades radiativas OPAL. Las pérdidas por neutrinos fueron asimismo tenidas en cuenta. Excepto para las EBs más masivas, nuestros modelos iniciales están ubicados en las cercanías de la correspondiente línea de Hayashi para configuraciones de helio. Nuestros resultados muestran que existe una región prohibida en el diagrama observacional HR donde ninguna EB de helio puede encontrarse. Dicha región es para log{(L/Lsolar )}>= -0.25 and log{Teff} >= 4.45. Hemos encontrado también que los tracks evolutivos en el diagrama HR en el dominio de alta luminosidad (pre - EB) son fuertemente afectados por la eficiencia convectiva y que las pérdidas por neutrinos son importantes en los modelos más masivos. Finalmente hemos analizado la estructura de la zona convectiva externa encontrando que la teoría de Canuto - Mazzitelli conduce a un perfil convectivo muy diferente del dado por cualquier versión de la popular teoría de la mixing length. Si bién este comportamiento es decisivo en el contexto de las inestabilides pulsacionales, los radios y gravedades superficiales de

  16. EST Reading Curriculum & Instruction: An Alignment Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mohammed, Lubna Ali; Sidek, H. M.

    2015-01-01

    In order for a curriculum to achieve its goals, it is imperative that the curriculum is coherent at all levels. In order to determine the coherency of a curriculum, the alignment of its theoretical underpinning and the label of a curriculum is one of the aspects that can be examined. The purpose of the current study was to examine if the…

  17. Tools for evaluating Lipolexis oregmae (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) in the field: Effects of host aphid and host plant on mummy location and color plus improved methods for obtaining adults

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Singh, R.; Hoy, M.A.

    Florida, nosotros evaluamos el papel de otras especies de afidos y plantas hospederas potenciales sobre la produccion y ubicacion de las momias. Bajo condiciones de laboratorio, este parasitoide produjo el mayor numero de progenies sobre la especie de plaga enfocada, el afido pardo de los citricos sobre Citrus . Este parasitoide, no como la mayoria de los afidiidos (Hymenoptera), no produjo momias sobre cualquiera de las plantas hospederas probadas cuando fue criado sobre el afido negro de los citricos, ( T. aurantii (Boyer de Fonscolombe)) en toronja, el afido spirea (Aphis spiraecola Patch) en toronja y pittosporum, el afido del caupi (A. craccivora Koch) en toronja y caupi o el afido del melon (A. gossypii Glover) en toronja y pepino. Asi, el muestreo para momias de L. oregmae de estas especies de afidos hospederos y plantas hospederas tiene que incluir el mantenimiento de follaje en el laboratorio hasta que se produzcan las momias. Este parasitoide requiere una alta humedad relativa para producir los adultos por que ningun adulto emergio cuando las momias fueron mantenidas en capsulas de gelatina, pero una tasa alta de emergencia de adultos fue observada cuando se mantuvo las momias en platos con agar al 1.5%. Ademas de esto, nosotros comparamos el color de 6 especies de afidos hospederos, asi como el color de las momias producidos por L. oregmae cuando fue criado sobre ellos para determinar si se puede usar el color de las momias para la identificacion de L. oregmae . El color de las momias varia entre las especies de afidos hospederos y las plantas hospederas probadas, por lo que no es una herramienta util para la identificacion de L. oregmae o para la evaluacion de su efecto sobre los organismos que no son el enfoque del control. (author)« less

  18. Analisis experimental de la propagacion en redes de area corporal para la banda de ultra wideband. experimental characterization of the propagation in ultra wideband body area networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia Serna, Ruben Gregorio

    Diferentes dispositivos capaces de obtener informacion sobre parametros fisiologicos, cinematicos o contextuales del cuerpo pueden interconectarse de manera inalambrica dando lugar a las denominadas Redes de Area Corporal Inalambricas (WBAN, Wireless Body Area Networks). De entre las posibles tecnologias para establecer los enlaces, Ultra Wideband (UWB) esta captando cada vez un mayor interes debido a caracteristicas tales como el bajo nivel de potencia de transmision requerido (bajo nivel de exposicion a campos electromagneticos), el alto ancho de banda disponible y la alta resolucion temporal/espacial. El diseno de sistemas centrados en el cuerpo requiere de modelos de canal que describan de manera precisa la propagacion de senales en este tipo de entornos. Esta tesis se plantea con el objetivo de contribuir al estudio experimental de la propagacion en sistemas centrados en el cuerpo operando en la banda UWB. En primer lugar, se presenta un marco introductorio a las redes WBAN, sus elementos constitutivos, bandas de frecuencia, estandarizacion y modelos de canal. Ademas, se introducen los fundamentos de la tecnologia UWB y sus aplicaciones en este area. Seguidamente, se analiza en terminos de las perdidas de propagacion y la dispersion de retardo la propagacion en el canal off-body entre un transmisor fijo y un dispositivo receptor colocado sobre la superficie del cuerpo de un sujeto. Se considera la influencia de diferentes aspectos, tales como el entorno de medidas, la posicion de colocacion de una antena sobre el cuerpo y la postura adoptada por un sujeto. Finalmente, se analiza el canal de propagacion in-body considerando el movimiento relativo entre dos dispositivos causado por efecto de la respiracion. Las condiciones de propagacion en el interior del cuerpo se emulan por medio de un phantom liquido para UWB y la caracterizacion se plantea tanto en frecuencia, en terminos del modelado de la forma y el ensanchamiento del espectro Doppler, como en tiempo, por

  19. Evolución de estrellas de Helio

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Panei, J. A.; Benvenuto, O. G.; Althaus, L. G.

    Podríamos identificar a las estrellas de helio con estrellas Wolf-Rayet (WR) que han perdido su envoltura rica en hidrógeno ya sea porque las mismas pertenecen a sistemas binarios o a través de fuertes vientos estelares. Las WR representan una etapa evolucionaria normal de las estrellas masivas, cuya pérdida de masa es >= 3 × 10-5Msolar/yr y la cual es sufrida por la estrella en un tiempo de escala mucho menor que el tiempo en que se produce la quema del He. Esto garantiza la ``homogeneidad'' de las estrellas de helio para nuestros modelos. Este tipo de estrellas serían posibles progenitores de SN tipo Ib y Ic. Aquí presentamos un estudio sobre la evolución de estrellas de helio a partir de la secuencia principal de helio, pasando por el flash de carbono, hasta agotarlo en la región central; como así también la dependencia con la variable masa y con la pérdida de la misma para distintos tipos de masas. Para tal fin hemos utilizado un código de evolución estelar completo que realiza todas las reacciones de Fowler en forma simultánea. También se han tenido en cuenta los procesos de mezcla convectiva, los principales mecanismos de emisión de neutrinos y los efectos de la pérdida de masa. Las opacidades utilizadas fueron las de Rogers & Iglesias (1992). Debido a la pérdida de masa en este tipo de estrellas, hemos encontrado que los perfiles convectivos, la composición química, las condiciones centrales de temperatura y presión, luminosidad y temperatura efectiva dependen en forma esencial de la velocidad de pérdida de masa adoptada, lo que tendría profundas implicaciones en la evolución posterior de estos objetos.

  20. ESTE Project Brief: Environmental and Sustainable Technology Evaluations (ESTE): Verification of Qualitative Spot Test Kits for Lead in Paint

    EPA Science Inventory

    On April 22, 2008, EPA issued the final Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Program Rule. The rule addresses lead-based paint hazards created by renovation, repair, and painting activities that disturb lead-based paint in target housing and child-occupied facilities. Und...

  1. Transesterification of plant oils using Staphylococcus haemolyticus L62 lipase displayed on Escherichia coli cell surface using the OmpA signal peptide and EstAβ8 anchoring motif.

    PubMed

    Jo, Jin Chul; Kim, Soon-Ja; Kim, Hyung Kwoun

    2014-12-01

    Staphylococcus haemolyticus L62 (SHL62) lipase was displayed on the outer membrane of Escherichia coli using the OmpA signal peptide and the autotransporter EstAβ8 protein. Localization of SHL62 lipase on the outer membrane of E. coli was confirmed using immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. Lipase activity of the displayed SHL62 lipase was also measured using spectrophotometry and pH titration. SHL62 lipase activity of whole cells reached 2.0U/ml culture (OD600nm of 10) when it was measured by the p-nitrophenyl caprylate assay after being induced with 1mM IPTG for 24h. The optimum temperature and pH for the lipase was 45°C and 10, respectively. Furthermore, it maintained more than 90% of maximum lipase activity at up to 50°C and in a pH range of 5-9. The hydrolytic activity assay conduted with various substrates confirmed that p-nitrophenyl caprylate and corn oil were preferred substrates among various synthetic and natural substrates, respectively. The displayed SHL62 lipase produced fatty acid esters from various alcohols and plant oils through transesterification. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Los incendios y su salud

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    El humo de los incendios puede tener un efecto adverso en la salud de las personas, especialmente en aquellas que padecen de enfermedades cardíacas y pulmonares. Vea cómo minimizar su exposición al humo.

  3. Impacts de l`élévation du niveau de la mer sur l'évolution future d'une côte basse à lagune de la péninsule du Cap Bon (Nord-Est de la Tunisie): approche cartographique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brahmi, Noura; Dhieb, Mohsen; Chedly Rabia, Mohamed

    2018-05-01

    La submersion marine est l'une des principales menaces qui pèsent sur les zones humides littorales de la péninsule du Cap Bon. Or, cette menace est amenée à se renforcer en raison du réchauffement climatique qui entraînera une élévation du niveau marin et vraisemblablement un renforcement de l'intensité des tempêtes et des cyclones tropicaux d'ici à l'horizon 2100. L'objectif a donc été d'évaluer la vulnérabilité de la lagune face à la submersion. Dans cette optique, après avoir identifié les enjeux liés à l'élévation du niveau de la mer pour la lagune, nous avons dressé une cartographie prévisionnelle des risques de submersion par l'intermédiaire d'une application cartographique basée sur une modélisation numérique de terrain et analysé les impacts potentiels de ce phénomène. La cartographie est donc amenée à devenir centrale pour l'étude de l'impact du risque de la submersion marine sur les lagunes côtières et la gestion de ces espaces dans les décennies à venir. La cartographie de l'aléa submersion marine a montré que l'ouverture épisodique de brèches lors des tempêtes pourrait entraîner la submersion de l'ensemble du domaine lagunaire et aurait un impact morphogénique essentiel. En effet, le phénomène d'une accélération de l'élévation du niveau marin et d'un renforcement des tempêtes génère le morcellement du cordon littoral qui sépare la lagune de la mer. Par ailleurs, les pertes de matériel sédimentaire pour la plage augmenteront, dans la mesure où, lors d'une tempête, une grande partie des matériaux déplacés par les vagues dans les étangs par submersion ou par ouverture d'une brèche, ne peut être récupérée par la suite. Tout ceci constitue un facteur d'accélération du recul ou de disparition de la plage déjà très érodée. Les impacts de cette submersion pourraient être importants en absence de mesures préventives. Elle aurait ainsi des répercussions profondes sur les syst

  4. QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Vol. 3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lewis, Pattie (Editor)

    2008-01-01

    This is an exciting new chapter for the NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM). The Principal Center's past successes have created new opportunities for partnership and technology implementation. TEERM is continuing to support the current NASA Programs while reaching out and offering our assistance and experience to Constellation. NASA has also assumed Chairmanship responsibility of the Joint Group on Pollution Prevention (JG-PP) and Chairmanship of the JG-PP Working Group (WG). Both JG-PP and TEERM strive to improve mission readiness and reduce risk to personnel and assets by solving joint problems through cooperation. JG-PP and TEERM not only show our commitment to environmental stewardship, but also our commitment to fiscal responsibility.

  5. QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Volume 2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brown, Christina (Editor)

    2007-01-01

    TEERM focuses its validation efforts on technologies that have shown promise in laboratory testing, but lack testing under realistic or field environment. Mature technologies have advantages over those that are still in the developmental stage such as being more likely to be transitioned into a working environment. One way TEERM begins to evaluate the suitability of technologies is through Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). TRLs are a systematic metric/measurement system that supports assessments of the maturity of a particular technology and the consistent comparison of maturity between different types of technology. TEERM generally works on demonstrating/validating alternatives that fall within TRLs 5-9. In instances where a mature technology does not exist for a particular Agency application, TEERM works with technology development groups and programs such as NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP). The IPP's purpose is to identify and document available technologies in light of NASA's needs, evaluate and prioritize those technologies, and reach out to find new partners. All TEERM projects involve multiple partners. Partnering reduces duplication of effort that otherwise might occur if individuals worked their problems alone. Partnering also helps reduce individual contributors' shares of the total cost of technology validation. Through collaboration and financial commitment from project stakeholders and third-party sources, it is possible to fully fund expensive demonstration/validation efforts.

  6. QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Volume 4

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lewis, Pattie L.

    2009-01-01

    In 2004, in one of their first collaborative efforts, Centro Para Prevencao da Poluicao (Portuguese Center for Pollution Prevention or C3P). teamed with Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM) and two Portuguese entities, TAP Portugal (Portuguese National Airline) and OGMA Indtistria Aeron utica de Portugal (Portuguese Aeronautics Industry), to target the reduction of hexavalent chromium, cadmium, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in aircraft maintenance operations. This project focused on two coating systems that utilize non-chrome pretreatments and low-VOC primers and topcoats.

  7. QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies, Volume 8

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ross, Kai T.

    2013-01-01

    Articles in this issue inlude: (1) TEERM Partners with GSDO Program, (2) Materials Management and Substitution Efforts, (3) Recycling and Pollution Control Efforts, and (4) Alternative Energy Efforts.

  8. Transcriptome analysis of blueberry using 454 EST sequencing

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is a major berry crop in the United States, and one that has great nutritional and economical value. Next generation sequencing methodologies, such as 454, have been demonstrated to be successful and efficient in producing a snap-shot of transcriptional activities du...

  9. The Task before Us: A QuEST Reader.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC.

    This publication presents a collection of articles about education drawn from magazines, journals, books, and reports. The collection includes 13 selections touching on key educational issues, challenging ideas, and proposals for change: (1) "First Born, Fast Grown: The Manful Life of Nicholas" (Isabel Wilkerson); (2) "Putting…

  10. ESTs from developed embryos, Chrysoperla rufilabris (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Chrysoperla rufilabris (Burmeister) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), a green lacewing, is a generalist predator commercially sold as a biological control product. Very few molecular genetic analyses of this or similar organisms have been performed. To establish a baseline of expressed sequence data for th...

  11. Il est interdit d'interdire! Il n'est pas interdit d'imposer! Il est recommande de promouvoir (It Is Forbidden to Forbid! It Is Not Forbidden to Set a Rule! It Is Recommended to Promote).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pupier, Paul

    1993-01-01

    Reflecting on the situation in Quebec, this paper attempts to offer a fair solution to the problem of the languages of signage. It is suggested that individuals and groups have the right to show their linguistic identity as well as to express themselves in the languages of their choice, provided that the rights of the addressees are also met. (VWL)

  12. Bases para la elaboracion de unidades didacticas de calidad en el area de ciencias (Fisica y Quimica 3 deg ESO)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maccioni, Elena Lucia

    Este Trabajo Fin de Master tiene como objeto, el estudio previo de la educacion de la ciencia en la actualidad y mas destacable, del diseno de las unidades didacticas segun las metodologias mas frecuentes aplicadas por los diferentes sistemas educativos en el area de las Ciencias teniendo en cuenta la importancia y el efecto de la psicologia del alumnado y todo ello como no puede ser de otro modo bajo el corse de la Legislacion aplicable, Estatal, Autonomica y europea. Con estos antecedentes, se extrae cuales son las preguntas que deben contestarse en la elaboracion de una unidad didactica de calidad en el contexto, generacional (edad y sexo), del Proyecto Educativo de Centro, y de la Programacion del Departamento, discutiendo y justificando cada uno de los apartados en que estructuradamente dividiremos dicha Unidad, con un formato manejable, util, y dinamico en el tiempo que sea un verdadero instrumento educativo de aula. Teniendo en cuenta estas premisas, se procede a hacer una recopilacion de una misma unidad didactica publicada por diferentes editoriales, elegidas no al azar, sino en funcion de su penetracion editorial en nuestros centros de ESO, siendo las elegidas (SM y Oxford). Las diferentes unidades seleccionadas son analizadas de forma critica, atendiendo a los criterios generales de calidad bajo parametros cientificos y normativos, concluyendo con la aportacion final que es la redaccion de unas pautas cientifico-pedagogicas, para redactar unidades didacticas de calidad en el area de la Ciencias, en concreto en la Asignatura de Fisica y Quimica de 3º de ESO.

  13. Análisis del futuro marco de referencia internacional

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cionco, G. R.; Arias, E. F.

    La técnica de interferometría de muy larga línea de base (VLBI) se aplica hoy a la astrometría para el cálculo de posiciones precisas de radiofuentes extragalácticas. Por tratarse de objetos lejanos, sus movimientos propios aparentes pueden considerarse nulos; esta propiedad hace que los catálogos de radiofuentes extragalácticas VLBI constituyan la mejor materialización de un sistema de referencia celeste inercial definido cinemáticamente. La Unión Astronómica Internacional (IAU) recomendó la adopción de un nuevo sistema de referencia celeste internacional materializado por las coordenadas ecuatoriales de objetos extragalácticos observados con le técnica VLBI. Para superar la precisión astrométrica actual es necesaria una mejora en la modelización de aquellos fenómenos que pueden introducir desviaciones sistemáticas en el marco de referencia celeste. El objetivo de este trabajo es poner de manifiesto las sistematicidades presentes en los distintos marcos de referencia elaborados con el próposito de materializar el nuevo sistema de referencia celeste de la IAU. Para la comparación de los distintos marcos de referencia se propone un modelo de tres rotaciones diferenciales más un término lineal que procura absorber los efectos sistemáticos presentes en las coordenadas. Se analiza igualmente la estabilidad de la solución cuando se utilizan distintos conjuntos de objetos de definición.

  14. Comportamiento dinámico de asteroides en la región 23 < a < 26 UA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    López García, F.

    Los Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) pueden ser una fuente de origen de los cometas de corto período. Muchos de los KBOs observados parecen provenir, al igual que el sistema Pluton-Charonte, de órbitas resonantes con Neptuno. Los Centauros son objetos que dinámicamente provienen de órbitas inestables cuyo semieje mayor se encuentra entre las órbitas de Júpiter y Neptuno. Pudiera ser que estos cuerpos fueron expulsados desde la región del cinturón de Kuiper y se encuentran en un proceso de ``scattering" debido a los efectos gravitacionales de los planetas gigantes. Su tiempo de vida dinámico es de algunos millones de años. La evolución orbital de los objetos trans-Neptunianos nos permite conocer su comportamiento anterior, por eso, es importante su relación dinámica con la evolución orbital de Neptuno. El objeto de este trabajo es estudiar el comportamiento dinámico de partículas test que se encuentran entre las resonancias 3:2 con Neptuno y 2:3 con Urano, las cuales comprenden una región de 2 UA aproximadamente. Los primeros resultados indican que la mayoría de los objetos ficticios son eyectados hacia la parte externa del Sistema Solar, mientras que sólo una parte pequeña del total de objetos estudiados, aproximadamente un 7%, son eyectados hacia la parte interna del Sistema Solar, y en algunos casos sus órbitas pueden cruzar la órbita de los planetas terrestres.

  15. Modality effect in false recognition: evidence from Chinese characters.

    PubMed

    Mao, Wei Bin; Yang, Zhi Liang; Wang, Lin Song

    2010-02-01

    ó varias explicaciones que compiten entre sí. En el presente trabajo, los autores estudiaron el efecto de la modalidad en el falso reconocimiento utilizando una condición de presentación en bloques y otra condición de presentación de forma aleatoria. El presente experimento encontró un efecto de la modalidad diferente de los resultados de los estudios anteriores. En concreto, el reconocimiento falso ha resultado ser mayor después del estudio visual que después del estudio auditivo, especialmente en caso de la presentación en bloques en comparación con la condición de presentación aleatoria. Los autores argumentan que este efecto inverso de la modalidad puede ser causado por diferentes características de codificación y procesamiento entre caracteres chinos y palabras inglesas. En comparación con las palabras inglesas, los grafemas visuales de las palabras críticas en chino tienen probabilidad de ser activadas y codificadas en las mentes de los participantes, por tanto, es más difícil discriminar posteriores grafemas internos de los que fueron presentados en la modalidad visual. Por tanto, la presentación visual podría conducir a más falsos reconocimientos que la presentación auditiva en los listados de palabras chinas. Los resultados del presente experimento demostraron que la activación semántica durante las fases de codificación y recuperación jugó un rol importante en el efecto de falso reconocimiento según modalidad y que nuestros resultados se pueden explicar teniendo en cuenta la activación y la vigilancia.

  16. User's Guide for the Updated EST/BEST Software System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shah, Ashwin

    2003-01-01

    This User's Guide describes the structure of the IPACS input file that reflects the modularity of each module. The structured format helps the user locate specific input data and manually enter or edit it. The IPACS input file can have any user-specified filename, but must have a DAT extension. The input file may consist of up to six input data blocks; the data blocks must be separated by delimiters beginning with the $ character. If multiple sections are desired, they must be arranged in the order listed.

  17. EST Readers: Some Principles for Their Design and Use.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Christopher J.

    1983-01-01

    The editor of "Heinemann's Science and Technology Readers" responds to questions concerning the objectives and design of the series. The market for technical readers; reader format and difficulty level; illustrations, technical exercises, and the language teacher; and the intended classroom use are discussed. (MSE)

  18. Estimaciones de cambio climatico para Michoacan: Implicaciones para el sector agropecuario y forestal y para la conservacion de la Mariposa Monarca [In Spanish

    Treesearch

    Cuauhtemoc Saenz-Romero; Gerald E. Rehfeldt; Nicholas L. Crookston; Pierre Duval; Jean Beaulieu

    2009-01-01

    El cambio climatico, conocido comunmente como calentamiento global, es el incremento de la temperatura a nivel mundial y los cambios que de ello derivan, causados por el "efecto invernadero" del bioxido de carbono (CO2) y otros gases emitidos a la atmosfera. El uso de combustibles fosiles (carbon y derivados del petroleo, como gasolina, diesel, combustoleo y...

  19. Ecologia de las lombrices de tierra

    Treesearch

    Grizelle Gonzalez

    2014-01-01

    De los organismos de suelo, las lombrices de tierra son las mas conocidas y a menudo son consideradas las mas importantes por su influencia en el funcionamiento de ecosistemas de suelo (Hendriz y Bohlen, 2002). Tienen un efecto significativo en la estructura del suelo, el ciclo de nutrimentos y ls productividad de las cosechas. En terminos de biomasa, generalmente...

  20. Effects of water extraction in a vulnerable phreatic aquifer: Consequences for groundwater contamination by pesticides, Sint-Jansteen area, The Netherlands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gaus, Irina

    pesticidas y de su tiempo de tránsito esperado hasta los pozos de abastecimiento. Se está desarrollando un modelo matemático para evaluar los efectos de las extracciones sobre el flujo subterráneo natural. Usando el método de seguimiento de partículas se calculan los tiempos de tránsito, y combinando estos resultados con la biodegradación potencial de los pesticidas se diseña un esquema óptimo para la integración de actividades agrícolas y de uso de boca en el área. Esta metodología se muestra para distintos tipos de pesticidas.

  1. Calentamiento global : ¿Efecto invernadero o actividad solar?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mauas, P. J. D.

    Here we discuss some evidences suggesting that solar activity affects the terrestrial climate. We pay particular attention to claims, made by different authors, that global warming is due to an increase in solar activity and not to anthropogenic causes like, mainly, the greenhouse effect. We conclude that, although there are evidences suggesting that solar activity affects the climate at Earth, it seems doubtful that this is the main cause of global warming.

  2. Efectos de la radiación UV en la salud

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    La reducción de la capa de ozono disminuye la protección natural que ofrece nuestra atmósfera contra la radiación ultravioleta (UV) perjudicial del sol. Esta página web proporciona una descripción general de los principales problemas de salud relacionados

  3. A salmonid EST genomic study: genes, duplications, phylogeny and microarrays

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Background: Salmonids are of interest because of their relatively recent genome duplication, and their extensive use in wild fisheries and aquaculture. A comprehensive gene list and a comparison of genes in some of the different species provide valuable genomic information for one of the most wide...

  4. Geologic?l History of E?st Siberi?n Se? Shelf

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Safronov, Aleksandr F.

    2016-01-01

    In our study we discuss the traditional and novel concepts of East Siberian Shelf origin with regards to the structure and composition of the Paleozoic and early Mesozoic sediments, coming to the surface on the Siberian Islands ?rchipel?go. The core idea is to summarize the existing concepts of East Siberian Shelf formation and to draw up the…

  5. "Le Style est l'Homme Meme": The Action of Literature.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Marshall

    1997-01-01

    Suggests that doing literary criticism is how teachers and students hear other voices as they read, instead of projections of themselves. Espouses the study of style as the vehicle of literary criticism. Proposes a definition of style. (RS)

  6. Carl L. Estes Lake. Sabine River, Texas. Draft Environmental Statement.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1975-10-01

    Didelphis marsupialis), raccoon (Procyon lotor), mink ( Mustela vison ), nutria, and various rodents. The variety of bird species is fairly large...has another bearing on the welfare of fish in that they contribute significantly to the cycles of nutrients and respiratory gases in the ecosystem. 2.39

  7. A Contrastive Study of Determiner Usage in EST Research Articles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Master, Peter

    1993-01-01

    The determiners in English include three categories: predeterminers, central determiners, and postdeterminers. The focus of the present study is the central determiners because they comprise the largest group and because a minimum of one central determiner is required in the generation of any noun phrase. Furthermore, the central determiners have…

  8. Sine ars scientia nihil est: Leonardo da Vinci and beyond.

    PubMed

    Kickhöfel, Eduardo H P

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this article is to reflect on the relationship between art and science so far as it concerns a symposium on neurosciences. We undertake a historical overview of that relationship, paying particular attention to the sui generis case of Leonardo da Vinci, who very often is regarded as the man who worked on art and science with equal ease. We then explain why his idea of merging these two forms of knowledge failed, considering the clear-cut distinction between art and science in his time. With this clarification, we explore the matter today. We look at Raphael's The Transfiguration, in which the representation of the possessed boy is seen by neuroscientists as indicative of an epileptic seizure. We also look at the ideas of neuroscientists Semir Zeki and Vilayanur Ramachandran, who study particular aspects of brain function and suggest a new merging of art and science.

  9. The role of agri-environment schemes in conservation and environmental management

    PubMed Central

    Batáry, Péter; Dicks, Lynn V; Kleijn, David; Sutherland, William J

    2015-01-01

    la Conservación y el Manejo Ambiental Batáry et al. Resumen Más de la mitad de las tierras europeas está bajo manejo agrícola y así ha sido durante milenios. Muchas especies y ecosistemas de interés de conservación en Europa dependen del manejo agrícola y están mostrando una declinación continua. Los esquemas agro-ambientales (EAA) están diseñados en parte para encarar esto. Los esquemas son una gran fuente de financiamiento para la conservación dentro de la Unión Europea (UE) y el mayor gasto de conservación en Europa. Revisamos la estructura de los EAA actuales a lo largo del continente. Desde que en 2003 una revisión cuestionó la efectividad general de los EAA para la biodiversidad, ha habido una plétora de estudios de caso y meta-análisis que examinan su efectividad. La mayoría de las síntesis demuestran un incremento general en la biodiversidad de las tierras de cultivo en respuesta a los EAA, con la magnitud del efecto dependiente de la estructura y el manejo del terreno circundante. Esto es importante a la luz del crecimiento sucesivo de la UE y las continuas reformas a los EAA. Examinamos el cambio en la magnitud del efecto a través del tiempo al fusionar los conjuntos de datos de tres meta-análisis recientes y encontramos que los esquemas implementados después de la revisión de los programas agro-ambientales de la UE en 2007 no fueron más efectivos que los esquemas implementados antes de la revisión. Además, los esquemas enfocados en las áreas fuera de producción (como los márgenes de campo y los setos vivos) son más efectivos en el mejoramiento de la riqueza de especies que aquellos enfocados en las áreas productivas (como los cultivos arables y los pastizales). Las preguntas sobresalientes de la investigación incluyen si los EAA mejoran los servicios ambientales, si son más efectivos en las áreas agrícolas marginales que en las áreas de cultivo intensivo, si son más o menos rentables para la biodiversidad de las

  10. Relativistic Calculations and Measurements of Energies, Auger Rates, and Lifetimes.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-12-01

    Research and Industry, Denton, Texas, 8-10 November 1982. 7. B. Crasemann: "Efectos Relativ’sticos y de QED Sobre las Transiciones Rayos - X y Auger Entre...INNER-SHELL IONIZATION BY PROTONS X -RAY EMISSION BREIT INTERACTION AUGER TRANSITIONS DIRAC-HARTREE-SLATER COMPUTATIONS SYNCHROTRON RADIATION RESONANT...computations, including relativistic and quantum- electrodynamic effects, of atomic energy levels and of x -ray and Auger transitions in atoms with one or

  11. Distinción Empírica Entre Engagement y Trabajolismo en Enfermeras Hospitalarias de Japón: Efecto Sobre la Calidad del Sueño y el Desempeño Laboral

    PubMed Central

    Kubota, Kazumi; Shimazu, Akihito; Kawakami, Norito; Takahashi, Masaya; Nakata, Akinori; Schaufeli, Wilmar B.

    2016-01-01

    Objetivo El objetivo de este estudio es demostrar la distinción entre engagement y trabajolismo, estudiando su relación con la calidad del sueño y el desempeño laboral. Método Un total de 447 enfermeras de 3 hospitales de Japón fueron entrevistadas mediante un cuestionario autoadministrado que incluía la escala Utrecht (UWES, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale), la Escala de Adicción al Trabajo Holandesa (DUWAS, Dutch Workaholism Scale), preguntas sobre la calidad del sueño (7 ítems) con respecto a (1) dificultad para conciliar el sueño, (2) dificultad para mantener el sueño, (3) despertar temprano por la mañana, (4) dormirse o tomar siestas durante el día, (5) somnolencia diurna excesiva en el trabajo, (6) dificultad para despertarse por la mañana, y (7) despertar cansado en la mañana, y el Cuestionario sobre Salud y Desempeño (CSD) de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Resultados Los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales demostraron que el engagement se relaciona positivamente con la calidad del sueño y el rendimiento laboral, mientras que el trabajolismo tiene una relación negativa con la calidad del sueño y el desempeño laboral. Conclusión Los resultados indican que el engagement y el trabajolismo son conceptualmente diferentes. El primero tiene una connotación positiva, mientras que el segundo se asocia de manera negativa al bienestar (buena calidad del sueño y buen rendimiento en el trabajo). PMID:26752805

  12. Recharge areas and hydrochemistry of carbonate springs issuing from Semmering Massif, Austria, based on long-term oxygen-18 and hydrochemical data evidence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yehdegho, Beyene; Reichl, Peter

    2002-10-01

    la chimie des carbonates. La pCO2 et la concentration en HCO3- diminuent respectivement d'environ 0,22 unité log (atm) et 38,6 mg/l pour un accroissement de 100 m de l'altitude de recharge. Resumen. Se ha muestreado exhaustivamente el contenido en oxígeno-18 y la hidroquímica de los manantiales existentes en el macizo de Semmering (Austria) con el fin de caracterizar las áreas de recarga y su evolución hidroquímica. Se ha determinado el efecto altitudinal del δ18O con datos isotópicos e hidrogeológicos obtenidos en pequeños manantiales originados en rocas cristalinas que sirven como nivel de referencia; los resultados han sido de -0,27‰ por cada 100 m en la zona Morte del macizo, y de -0,21‰/100 m hacia el Sur. Aplicando estos valores, se ha calculado la altitud promedio a la que se produce su recarga. Para los manantiales de caudal elevado en materiales carbonatados, la altitud de recarga varía entre 1.100 y 1.410 m, cosa que es compatible con el marco topográfico e hidrogeológico de las rocas calizas y dolomíticas Mesozoicas propias del Austroalpino Bajo que los alimenta. La composición hidroquímica de los manantiales carbonatados está dominada por los iones calcio, magnesio, bicarbonato y sulfato. Los manantiales están casi saturados en calcita, pero subsaturados en dolomita, excepto en algunos que parecen hallarse cerca de la saturación. Como caracteriza a los suelos en regiones montañosas, la presión parcial de equilibrio del dióxido de carbono (PCO2) es baja, con valores comprendidos entre 10-3,0 y 10-2,5 atm. A largo plazo, el pH y los valores calculados de los índices de saturación en calcita (SIc) y en dolomita (SId), junto con la PCO2 en equilibrio, evidencian una fuerte estacionalidad; en cambio, las concentraciones de calcio, magnesio y bicarbonato prácticamente no varían. Integrando los resultados de δ18O y de la hidroquímica, se demuestra la variabilidad de la química de aguas subterráneas carbonatadas con respecto a la

  13. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the longitudinal relationship between eating pathology and depression.

    PubMed

    Puccio, Francis; Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew; Ong, Deborah; Krug, Isabel

    2016-05-01

    Undertake a meta-analysis to provide a quantitative synthesis of longitudinal studies that assessed the direction of effects between eating pathology and depression. A second aim was to use meta-regression to account for heterogeneity in terms of study-level effect modifiers. A systematic review was conducted on 42 studies that assessed the longitudinal relationship between eating pathology and depression. Of these 42 studies, multilevel random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on 30 eligible studies. Meta-analysis results showed that eating pathology was a risk factor for depression (rm  = 0.13) and that depression was a risk factor for eating pathology (rm  = 0.16). Meta-regression analyses showed that these effects were significantly stronger for studies that operationalized eating pathology as an eating disorder diagnosis versus eating pathology symptoms, and for studies that operationalized the respective outcome measure as a categorical variable (e.g., a diagnosis of a disorder or where symptoms were "present"/"absent") versus a continuous measure. Results also showed that in relation to eating pathology type, the effect of an eating disorder diagnosis and bulimic symptoms on depression was significantly stronger for younger participants. Eating pathology and depression are concurrent risk factors for each other, suggesting that future research would benefit from identifying factors that are etiological to the development of both constructs. Llevar a cabo un meta-análisis para proporcionar una síntesis cuantitativa de los estudios longitudinales que evaluaron la dirección de los efectos entre la alimentación patológica y la depresión. Un segundo objetivo fue utilizar la meta-regresión para dar cuenta de la heterogeneidad en términos de modificadores del efecto a nivel de estudio. MÉTODO: Una revisión sistemática se llevó a cabo en 42 estudios que evaluaron la relación longitudinal entre la alimentación patológica y la depresión. De

  14. Efectos del material particulado (PM) sobre la salud y el medioambiente

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    El tamaño de las partículas se encuentra directamente vinculado con el potencial para provocar problemas de salud. La exposición a estas partículas puede afectar tanto a los pulmones como al corazón. También afectan el medioambiente.

  15. Medicina integrativa en América: De qué forma se está practicando la medicina integrativa en los centros clínicos en los Estados Unidos

    PubMed Central

    Horrigan, Bonnie; Lewis, Sheldon; Abrams, Donald I.; Pechura, Constance

    2012-01-01

    RESUMEN EJECUTIVO El impulso para desarrollar e implementar estrategias de medicina integrativa está enraizado en el deseo de mejorar la atención al paciente. The Bravewell Collaborative, una organización sin ánimo de lucro dedicada a la mejora de la atención sanitaria, define la medicina integrativa como “un enfoque de la medicina que coloca al paciente en el centro y se dirige al conjunto completo de influencias físicas, emocionales, mentales, sociales, espirituales y ambientales que afectan a la salud de la persona. Con una estrategia personalizada que considera las condiciones, necesidades y circunstancias únicas del paciente, utiliza las intervenciones más apropiadas de una variedad de disciplinas científicas para curar la afección y la enfermedad y ayudar a las personas a recobrar y mantener una salud óptima”. En las pasadas dos décadas, se ha documentado un número creciente de centros clínicos que proporcionan medicina integrativa, el número de facultades y escuelas médicas que enseñan estrategias integrativas, el número de investigadores que estudian intervenciones integrativas, y el número de pacientes que solicitan cuidados integrativos. Pero se desconocía si la medicina integrativa se estaba ofreciendo de manera igual, similar, o dispar. Además, mientras que los estudios anteriores se centraban en la prevalencia y el uso de la medicina complementaria o alternativa (MCA) por parte de los pacientes1,2 o de los médicos en hospitales3, enumerando la utilización de terapias MCA individuales, se había recogido muy poca información con respecto a la práctica real de la medicina integrativa que, por definición, trata a la persona en su conjunto. En 2011, The Bravewell Collaborative encargó una encuesta para determinar la forma en que la medicina integrativa se estaba practicando en los Estados Unidos: (1) describiendo las poblaciones de pacientes y las afecciones sanitarias tratadas más habitualmente; (2) definiendo las pr

  16. Translation into French of: “Changes to publication requirements made at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne – what does e-publication mean for you?”. Translated by Christian Feuillet and Valéry Malécot Changements des conditions requises pour la publication faits au XVIII e Congrès International de Botanique à Melbourne – qu’est-ce que la publication électronique représente pour vous?

    PubMed Central

    Knapp, Sandra; McNeill, John; Turland, Nicholas J.

    2011-01-01

    Résumé Les changements au Code International de Nomenclature Botanique sont décidés tous les 6 ans aux Sections de Nomenclature associées aux Congrès Internationaux de Botanique (CIB). Le XVIIIe CIB se tenait à Melbourne, Australie; la Section de Nomenclature s’est réunie les 18-22 juillet 2011 et ses décisions ont été acceptées par le Congrès en session plénière le 30 juillet. Suite à cette réunion, plusieurs modifications importantes ont été apportées au Code et vont affecter la publication de nouveaux noms. Deux de ces changements prendront effet le 1er janvier 2012, quelques mois avant que le Code de Melbourne soit publié. Les documents électroniques publiés en ligne en ‘Portable Document Format’ (PDF) avec un ‘International Standard Serial Number’ (ISSN) ou un ‘International Standard Book Number’ (ISBN) constitueront une publication effective, et l’exigence d’une description ou d’une diagnose en latin pour les noms des nouveaux taxa sera changée en l’exigence d’une description ou d’une diagnose en latin ou en anglais. De plus, à partir du 1er janvier 2013, les noms nouveaux des organismes traités comme champignons devront, pour que la publication soit valide, inclure dans le protologue (tous ce qui est associé au nom au moment de la publication valide) la citation d’un identifiant (‘identifier’) fourni par un dépôt reconnu (tel MycoBank). Une ébauche des nouveaux articles concernant la publication électronique est fournie et des conseils de bon usage sont esquissés. Pour encourager la diffusion des changements adoptés au Code International de Nomenclature pour les algues, les champignons et les plantes, cet article sera publié dans BMC Evolutionary Biology, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Brittonia, Cladistics, MycoKeys, Mycotaxon, New Phytologist, North American Fungi, Novon, Opuscula Philolichenum, PhytoKeys, Phytoneuron, Phytotaxa, Plant Diversity and Resources, Systematic Botany et

  17. Genomics of compositae weeds: EST libraries, microarrays, and evidence of introgression

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    • Premise of Study: Weeds cause considerable environmental and economic damage. However, genomic characterization of weeds has lagged behind that of model plants and crop species. Here we report on the development of genomic tools and resources for 11 weeds from the Compositae family that can serve ...

  18. 9 CFR 307.7 - Safety requirements for electrical stimulating (EST) equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... manual stimulation or before the carcass chain is started in an automatic system. (c) Operation—(1... personnel, the electricity supplied to the stimulating surfaces shall be locked-off when cleaning...

  19. Plus C'est La Même Chose: Joinery Apprenticeship Arrangements in Scotland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Pauline

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines recent changes in the Scottish apprenticeship system of skill formation for joiners through an occupational skill ecosystem lens. Building trade apprenticeships in Scotland are based around a social partnership model more akin to "dual systems" than typical arrangements elsewhere in the UK. Drawing on in-depth…

  20. Ceci n'est pas un walrus: lexical processing in vigilance performance.

    PubMed

    Neigel, Alexis R; Claypoole, Victoria L; Hancock, Gabriella M; Fraulini, Nicholas W; Szalma, James L

    2018-03-01

    Vigilance, or the ability to sustain attention for extended periods of time, has traditionally been examined using a myriad of symbolic, cognitive, and sensory tasks. However, the current literature indicates a relative lack of empirical investigation on vigilance performance involving lexical processing. To address this gap in the literature, the present study examined the effect of stimulus meaning on vigilance performance (i.e., lure effects). A sample of 126 observers completed a 12-min lexical vigilance task in a research laboratory. Observers were randomly assigned to a standard task (targets and neutral events only) or a lure task (lures, targets, and neutral events presented), wherein lures were stimuli that were categorically similar to target stimuli. A novel analytical approach was utilized to examine the results; the lure groups were divided based on false alarm performance post hoc. Groups were further divided to demonstrate that the presence of lure stimuli significantly affects the decision-making criteria used to assess the performance of lexical vigilance tasks. We also discuss the effect of lure stimuli on measures related to signal detection theory (e.g., sensitivity and response bias).

  1. 9 CFR 307.7 - Safety requirements for electrical stimulating (EST) equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... beam sensors form the enclosure, the stimulating equipment shall be automatically shut off when the sensor signals are broken. (3) Mandatory Warning Devices and Signals. The following warning devices or.... (ii) An ANSI Z53.1-Color Code sign reading (a) “Danger Electrical Hazard” for stimulating voltage...

  2. 9 CFR 307.7 - Safety requirements for electrical stimulating (EST) equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... beam sensors form the enclosure, the stimulating equipment shall be automatically shut off when the sensor signals are broken. (3) Mandatory Warning Devices and Signals. The following warning devices or.... (ii) An ANSI Z53.1-Color Code sign reading (a) “Danger Electrical Hazard” for stimulating voltage...

  3. The Systems Approach: Plus Ca Change, Plus C'est le Meme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sprinthall, Norman A.; Erickson, V. Lois

    1973-01-01

    A systems approach to counselor education is a good step forward if we are willing to face the content question and redefine the objectives of counselor education itself, a redefinition which includes new roles and new functions. Without such a major change, the systems approach may become a mehtod that supports the illusion of change. (Author)

  4. Development and characterization of EST-SSR markers for Artocarpus hypargyreus (Moraceae).

    PubMed

    Liu, Haijun; Tan, Weizheng; Sun, Hongbin; Liu, Yu; Meng, Kaikai; Liao, Wenbo

    2016-12-01

    Polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for Artocarpus hypargyreus (Moraceae), a threatened species endemic to China, to investigate the genetic diversity and structure of the species. Based on the transcriptome data of A. hypargyreus , 63 primer pairs were preliminarily designed and tested, of which 34 were successfully amplified and 10 displayed clear polymorphisms across the 67 individuals from four populations of A. hypargyreus . The results showed the number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 10, and the observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity per locus varied from 0.000 to 0.706 and from 0.328 to 0.807, respectively. These microsatellite markers will be useful in exploring genetic diversity and structure of A. hypargyreus . Furthermore, most loci were successfully cross-amplified in A. nitidus and A. heterophyllus , indicating that they will be of great value for genetic study across this genus.

  5. Aquifer overexploitation: what does it mean?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Custodio, Emilio

    2002-02-01

    actividades humanas y por la propia explotación del acuífero. Sin embargo, en la práctica se suele considerar que hay sobreexplotación cuando se observan o se perciben ciertos resultados negativos de la explotación, tales como un descenso continuado del nivel del agua, un deterioro de su calidad, un encarecimiento del agua extraída, o daños ecológicos. Pero estos efectos no están necesariamente relacionados con el hecho de que la extracción sea mayor que la recarga, puesto que pueden ser simplemente el resultado de interferencias o del dilatado período transitorio que sigue a los cambios en los términos del balance de agua, y cuya duración depende del tamaño del acuífero, y de su permeabilidad y coeficiente de almacenamiento. Las extracciones del acuífero suponen una disminución del almacenamiento de agua subterránea durante este periodo transitorio. Para decidir que grado de "sobreexplotación del acuífero" es aconsejable o admisible hace falta la consideración detallada y actualizada de los efectos de la explotación y las medidas de corrección que se adopten. Para esa decisión no basta con reglas generales y el apoyo de algunas observaciones indirectas. Se necesitan observaciones de control, buen conocimiento del acuífero y cálculos o modelación del comportamiento, y todo ello en el marco de un conjunto de objetivos y políticas establecidas por una institución de gestión, con la implicación de aquellos que tienen un interés en el agua subterránea, y teniendo en cuenta los condicionantes ambientales y sociales. La sobreexplotación de acuíferos, que con frecuencia suele asociarse a algo éticamente malo, no tiene por qué ser necesariamente así durante cierto tiempo, sino una etapa en la evolución hacia un desarrollo sustentable. En la realidad la designación de sobreexplotación de acuíferos es principalmente un adjetivo que trata de calificar a una evolución preocupante bajo determinados puntos de vista, sin que tenga una significaci

  6. Poblacion estelar joven embebida en la nube molecular galactica asociada a la fuente IRAS 18236-1205

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Romero, Ricardo Retes

    2008-06-01

    En esta tesis presento una metodología de seleccion y estudio de la población estelar embebida en la nube molecular galactica asociada a la fuente IRAS 18236-1205. La fuente IRAS posee colores de region Ultra Compacta HII (UCHII) y tiene deteccióon en monosulfuro de carbono (CS), trazador molecular de alta densidad, lo cual da la posibilidad de definir la nube molecular asociada hacia esta region. Lo anterior muestra que esta es buena candidata a región de formación estelar masiva. La metodología de seleccion de la población embebida, est à basada por una parte, en la distribución del gas molecular monoxido de carbono (13CO) asociado a la fuente IRAS, nube molecular seleccionada del mapeo Galactic Ring Survey (GRS) realizado en 13CO. Otros pasos de la seleccion, se basan en los diagramas color-color y color-magnitud con datos del cercano infrarrrojo de 2MASS. Para el estudio de la componente estelar se usaron los catalogos de fuentes puntuales en el cercano, medio y lejano infrarrojo de 2MASS, SPITZER e IRAS, respectivamente. De los diagramas color-color y color-magnitud, usando datos de 2MASS, se construyo un criterio fotométrico para identificar los objetos estelares j ovenes embebidos en la region molecular. Aplicando modelos a la distribución espectral de energía (SED) de algunos ellos, se encontraron parametros estelares de objetos estelares j ovenes embebidos de masa intermedia y alta. Adicionalmente, se encontro un objeto de masa ´ intermedia no identifiado por el catalogo de 2MASS y su efecto sobre el medio interestelar, emision en la banda de [4.5] μm de IRAC-Spitzer asociado a un outflow. Dos de los objetos seleccionados por el criterio fotometrico resultaron ser objetos estelares jovenes de alta e intermedia masa (B1V/B2V y B8V/A0V respectivamente), los cuales deben estar asociados a la emision radiativa responsable de los colores de región UC HII. Otro objeto estelar joven de baja masa (F0V/F5V) fue encontrado en la region de estudio

  7. Intensive therapy before or during the conditioning regimen of allogeneic marrow transplantation in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients: we must choose to reduce Toxicity--a Groupe Ouest-Est d'Etude des Leucemies et Autres Maladies du Sang study.

    PubMed

    Deconinck, Eric; Hunault, Mathilde; Milpied, Noël; Bernard, Marc; Renaud, Marc; Desablens, Bernard; Delain, Martine; Witz, Francis; Lioure, Bruno; Pignon, Bernard; Guyotat, Denis; Berthou, Christian; Jouet, Jean-Pierre; Casassus, Phillipe; Ifrah, Norbert; Boiron, Jean-Michel

    2005-06-01

    To improve the results in the treatment of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients, different strategies have been proposed. The intensification could concern the induction and early consolidation phases, the conditioning regimen before allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT), or both. We analyzed 2 consecutive trials for adult patients in first remission and with the same prognostic features. The Leucemie Aigue Lymphoblastique Paris-Ouest-France (LALPOF) protocol proposed alloBMT with standard conditioning after a classic induction and intensified consolidation scheme; the Groupe Ouest Est des Leucemies Aigues Lymphoblastiques (GOLEAL1) protocol tested an intensified induction and consolidation course before alloBMT with a reinforced conditioning regimen. The 4-year survival rates after alloBMT for LALPOF and GOELAL1 were, respectively, 71% +/- 12% and 36% +/- 13% ( P = .009). The 4-year disease-free survival reached 75% +/- 11% in the LALPOF study and 69% +/- 13% in the GOELAL1 study ( P = .30). The toxic death rate was significantly lower in the LALPOF (2/18) than in the GOELAL1 (6/15) group. Event-free survival at 4 years was significantly higher in LALPOF than in GOELAL1: 66% +/- 11% and 35% +/- 11%, respectively ( P = .02). For adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients in first remission, the intensification of chemotherapy before a reinforced conditioning regimen before alloBMT may lead to an increased toxic death rate.

  8. Characterization of a cold-active esterase from Serratia sp. and improvement of thermostability by directed evolution.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Huang; Zhang, Shaowei; Gao, Haofeng; Hu, Nan

    2016-01-22

    In recent years, cold-active esterases have received increased attention due to their attractive properties for some industrial applications such as high catalytic activity at low temperatures. An esterase-encoding gene (estS, 909 bp) from Serratia sp. was identified, cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli DE3 (BL21). The estS encoded a protein (EstS) of 302 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 32.5 kDa. It showed the highest activity at 10 °C and pH 8.5. EstS was cold active and retained ~92 % of its original activity at 0 °C. Thermal inactivation analysis showed that the T1/2 value of EstS was 50 min at 50 °C (residual activity 41.23 %) after 1 h incubation. EstS is also quite stable in high salt conditions and displayed better catalytic activity in the presence of 4 M NaCl. To improve the thermo-stability of EstS, variants of estS gene were created by error-prone PCR. A mutant 1-D5 (A43V, R116W, D147N) that showed higher thermo-stability than its wild type predecessor was selected. 1-D5 showed enhanced T1/2 of 70 min at 50 °C and retained 63.29 % of activity after incubation at 50 °C for 60 min, which were about 22 % higher than the wild type (WT). CD spectrum showed that the secondary structure of WT and 1-D5 are more or less similar, but an increase in β-sheets was recorded, which enhanced the thermostability of mutant protein. EstS was a novel cold-active and salt-tolerant esterase and half-life of mutant 1-D5 was enhanced by 1.4 times compared with WT. The features of EstS are interesting and can be exploited for commercial applications. The results have also provided useful information about the structure and function of Est protein.

  9. Migration of recharge waters downgradient from the Santa Catalina Mountains into the Tucson basin aquifer, Arizona, USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cunningham, Erin E. B.; Long, Austin; Eastoe, Chris; Bassett, R. L.

    'origine thermonucléaire permettent de caractériser qualitativement les cheminements de l'eau et leurs vitesses. Les isotopes stables ne mettent pas en évidence un effet d'altitude. Les teneurs en tritium indiquent que quelques sources et certains puits fournissent une eau ancienne, alors que l'eau de la plupart des sources date des années soixante ou est plus récente. Resumen Los acuíferos en las cuencas aluviales áridas del sudoeste de los Estados Unidos de América se recargan principalmente por la infiltración procedentes de los arroyos y playas de las propias cuencas y por entradas a lo largo de los límites de las mismas. La cuenca de Tucson, en el sudeste de Arizona es una de ellas. Las Montañas de Santa Catalina forman el contorno septentrional de esta cuenca y reciben una precipitación de más del doble (700mm/año) que la media de la propia cuenca (unos 300mm/año). En este estudio, se utilizaron isótopos ambientales para investigar la infiltración a través de fracturas y juntas superficiales. Se obtuvieron muestras de manantiales y de la escorrentía en las Montañas de Santa Catalina, así como de pozos ubicados al pie de las mismas. Los isótopos estables (Deuterio y Oxígeno-18) y el Tritio procedente de las bombas termonucleares permitieron la caracterización cualitativa de las líneas de flujo y de las velocidades. Los datos procedentes de la medida de isótopos estables no parecen presentar un efecto de altitud. Los valores de Tritio indican que aunque algunos pozos y manantiales descargan agua previa a los ensayos termonucleares, la mayoría descargan aguas de fecha posterior a 1960.

  10. Satisfaction with medication in coronary disease treatment: psychometrics of the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication.

    PubMed

    Liberato, Ana Carolina Sauer; Rodrigues, Roberta Cunha Matheus; São-João, Thaís Moreira; Alexandre, Neusa Maria Costa; Gallani, Maria Cecília Bueno Jayme

    2016-06-07

    ão através da Morisky Self-Reported Measure of Medication Adherence Scale [Medida de Auto-Relato de Adesão ao Tratamento Medicamentoso] e proporção de aderência. Os efeitos Teto e Chão foram analisados considerando os 15% piores e 15% melhores escores possíveis obtidos no TSQM; Praticidade foi avaliada pelo tempo gasto na aplicação do TSQM durante a entrevista; Aceitabilidade foi verificada pela proporção de itens não respondidos e participantes que responderam todos os itens; Confiabilidade foi verificada com o coeficiente alfa de Cronbach e Validade através da validade de construto convergente entre o TSQM e as medidas de adesão. o TSQM foi facilmente aplicado. O efeito teto foi encontrado no domínio efeitos colaterais e o efeito chão foi encontrado nos domínios efeitos colaterais e satisfação global. Evidência de confiabilidade foi próxima de satisfatória em todos os domínios. A validade de construto convergente foi parcialmente apoiada. a versão brasileira do TSQM apresenta evidência de aceitabilidade e praticidade embora sua validade tenha sido pouco apoiada e consistência interna adequada foi observada em um domínio. testar las propiedades psicométricas de la versión brasileña del Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication - TSQM (versión 1.4), considerando los efectos techo y suelo, factibilidad, aceptabilidad, confiabilidad y validez. participantes con enfermedad coronaria (n=190) fueron reclutados de una clínica ambulatoria de cardiología en un hospital universitario en el sudeste de Brasil y entrevistados para evaluar su satisfacción con la medicación con el TSQM (versión 1.4) y su adhesión con la Morisky Self-Reported Measure of Medication Adherence Scale y proporción de adhesión. Los efectos techo y suelo fueron analizados considerando los 15% peores y mejores puntuaciones en el TSQM; la factibilidad fue evaluada por el tiempo gasto durante las entrevistas de TSQM; la aceptabilidad por la proporción de ítems no

  11. Dinámica y crecimiento de los granos de polvo en la nebulosa protoplanetaria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de La Fuente Marcos, Carlos

    2001-06-01

    En el escenario estándar de la formación planetaria, los planetesimales (cuerpos de tamaño kilométrico) crecen a partir de granos de polvo, similares a los interestelares, embebidos en un disco gaseoso denominado nebulosa protoplanetaria. Durante esta etapa, los movimientos del gas pueden tener gran influencia en la dinámica y el crecimiento de los granos de polvo, dado que el flujo kepleriano del gas frena el movimiento de los mismos haciendo que caigan hacia el Sol, y la turbulencia inhibe la inestabilidad gravitacional de la capa de polvo. Aunque se acepta que los planetesimales fueron los elementos constituyentes de los planetas, todavía se desconoce cómo se produjo la formación de los mismos. Por esta razón, en los estudios más recientes, existe un renovado interés por comprender mejor la evolución de la capa de polvo inmersa en el disco gaseoso de la Nebulosa. El gas que fluye en el disco puede engendrar estructuras carentes de simetría axial, como por ejemplo ondas espirales y vórtices, a partir de gran variedad de mecanismos de excitación e inestabilidad. En 1995, Barge y Sommeria pusieron de manifiesto que la existencia de vórtices gaseosos persistentes en la nebulosa solar tendría importantes consecuencias sobre la formación de los planetesimales y el posterior crecimiento de los planetas gigantes. La investigación desarrollada en esta Tesis analiza la relación entre el polvo y el gas debida al acoplamiento por fricción dinámica entre ambos; en concreto, se estudia el efecto del flujo medio del gas sobre la dinámica de las partículas de polvo. El primer objetivo es investigar en profundidad los procesos de captura y crecimiento de los granos de polvo dentro de un vórtice y su posible relevancia en cuanto a la formación de los planetesimales. El segundo objetivo es la exploración de los efectos de ondas espirales propagándose en el disco gaseoso sobre la dinámica y el crecimiento de las partículas. La presencia de líneas de

  12. Workload and associated factors: a study in maritime port in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Cezar-Vaz, Marta Regina; Bonow, Clarice Alves; Almeida, Marlise Capa Verde de; Sant'Anna, Cynthia Fontella; Cardoso, Leticia Silveira

    2016-11-28

    ísica e esforço total apresentaram maior efeito sobre a carga global de trabalho, indicando elevada carga global no trabalho portuário (134 trabalhadores - 58,8%). Permaneceram associados, estatisticamente, com níveis elevados da carga de trabalho: idade (p = 0,044), ser trabalhador da capatazia (p = 0,006), trabalhar somente no período noturno (p = 0,025), tabagismo (p = 0,037) e uso de drogas ilícitas (p = 0,029). a carga de trabalho, nesse tipo de atividade, foi alta, sendo a categoria profissional e o turno de trabalho os fatores que contribuíram para o aumento, enquanto a idade mostrou-se fator associado à sua diminuição. identificar el efecto de las demandas mentales, físicas de tiempo y de desempeño, el esfuerzo total y la frustración en la carga de trabajo global, al mismo tiempo que se analizan la carga global de trabajo portuario y los factores asociados que contribuyen principalmente a su disminución o aumento. estudio transversal cuantitativo desarrollado con 232 trabajadores portuarios. Para la recolección de datos se aplicó un cuestionario estructurado con variables de caracterización, ocupacionales, tabaquismo y uso de drogas ilícitas así como también variables sobre la carga en las tareas desarrolladas en el trabajo, en base en el cuestionario NASA Task Load Index. Para el análisis de los datos se utilizó análisis de regresión de Poisson. las demandas exigencia física y esfuerzo total presentaron mayor efecto sobre la carga global de trabajo, indicando una elevada carga global en el trabajo portuario (134 trabajadores 58,8%). Estaban asociados estadísticamente con niveles elevados de la carga de trabajo: la edad (p = 0,044); ser trabajador de la capatacía (p = 0,006); trabajar solamente en el periodo nocturno (p = 0,025); tabaquismo (p = 0,037); y uso de drogas ilícitas (p = 0,029). la carga de trabajo en este tipo de actividad fue alta, siendo la categoría profesional y el turno de trabajo los factores que contribuyeron para

  13. Generacion de Nuevas Capacidades en el Ejercito de Guatemala para el Combate al Trafico de Drogas y Delitos Conexos (Generating New Capacities within the Guatemalan Army in Order to Combat Drug Trafficking and Related Crimes)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-06-13

    la pérdida de control territorial por parte del Estado en el tema de seguridad y la poca credibilidad que la sociedad tiene en sus fuerzas...de seguridad civil y segundo: como efecto no buscado de la presión ejercida por el gobierno de Colombia y el de México en alianza con los Estados...naturales y líneas rectas que unen detalles topográficos fijados y descritos en el mismo Laudo. Para la defensa de la seguridad nacional, el Ejército

  14. Discordance gradient-surface dans le rétrécissement mitral: le gradient moyen transmitral est-il un critère de sévérité ou un indice de tolérance du rétrécissement mitral serré?

    PubMed Central

    Najih, Hayat; Arous, Salim; Laarje, Aziza; Baghdadi, Dalila; Benouna, Mohamed Ghali; Azzouzi, Leila; Habbal, Rachida

    2016-01-01

    Le rétrécissement mitral (RM) rhumatismal demeure une valvulopathie fréquente dans les pays en voie de développement. Cependant, les pays industrialisés ont vu l'émergence ces dernières années de nouvelles étiologies de RM; notamment l'origine médicamenteuse et/ou toxique responsable de valvulopathies restrictives aussi bien sténosantes que régurgitantes. Pour cette raison, l'évaluation échocardiographique du RM et surtout, la définition de critères objectifs pour conclure au caractère serré du RM reste toujours d'actualité. Les objectifs du travail sont: évaluer l'existence ou non d'une corrélation directe entre le gradient moyen transmitral (GMT) et la sévérité du RM chez les patients porteurs d'un RM serré ou très serré (critère primaire) et analyser les différents paramètres qui conditionnent le gradient moyen transmitral (GMT) (Critère secondaire). Il s'agit d'une étude transversale monocentrique incluant tous les patients admis au service de Cardiologie du CHU Ibn Rochd de Casablanca pour un RM serré ou très serré, sur une période d'une année (Janvier 2014 à Décembre 2014). Nous avons analysés séparément deux groupes de patients : ceux avec un gradient moyen transmitral<10 mmHg (groupe 1) et ceux avec un gradient>10mmHg (groupe2). 50 patients porteurs d'un RM serré ou très serré ont été inclus. L'âge moyen de nos patients est de 41,7 ans avec prédominance féminine (sex ratio: 0,25). 64% de nos patients avaient un RM serré et 36% avaient un RM très serré. 52% (26 patients) avaient un GMT <10mmHg et 48% (24 patients) avaient un gradient moyen >10mmHg, ce qui suggère l'absence de corrélation directe entre la sévérité du RM et le GMT (coefficient de Pearson R: -0,137). Pour la dyspnée, 80% des patients du groupe 1 étaient dyspnéiques stade II de la NYHA et 70% des patients du groupe 2 étaient dyspnéiques stade III (41%) ou IV (29%) de la NYHA, ce qui signifie l'existence d'une corr

  15. Safety of immediate endoscopic sphincterotomy in acute suppurative cholangitis caused by choledocholithiasis

    PubMed Central

    Ito, Tomoyasu; Sai, Jin Kan; Okubo, Hironao; Saito, Hiroaki; Ishii, Shigeto; Kanazawa, Ryo; Tomishima, Ko; Watanabe, Sumio; Shiina, Shuichiro

    2016-01-01

    AIM: To examine the safety of immediate endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) in patients with acute suppurative cholangitis (ASC) caused by choledocholithiasis, as compared with elective EST. METHODS: Patients with ASC due to choledocholithiasis were allocated to two groups: Those who underwent EST immediately and those who underwent EBD followed by EST 1 wk later because they were under anticoagulant therapy, had a coagulopathy (international normalized ratio > 1.3, partial thromboplastin time greater than twice that of control), or had a platelet count < 50000 × 103/μL. One of four trainees [200-400 cases of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)] supervised by a specialist (> 10000 cases of ERCP) performed the procedures. The success and complication rates associated with EST in each group were examined. RESULTS: Of the 87 patients with ASC, 59 were in the immediate EST group and 28 in the elective EST group. EST was successful in all patients in both groups. There were no complications associated with EST in either group of patients, although white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, total bilirubin, and serum concentrations of liver enzymes just before EST were significantly higher in the immediate EST group than in the elective EST group. CONCLUSION: Immediate EST can be as safe as elective EST for patients with ASC associated with choledocholithiasis provided they are not under anticoagulant therapy, or do not have a coagulopathy or a platelet count < 50000 × 103/μL. Moreover, the procedure was safely performed by a trainee under the supervision of an experienced specialist. PMID:26862368

  16. Efectos dinámicos de las resonancias orbitales en el Sistema Solar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gallardo, T.

    2016-08-01

    We describe the different orbital resonances in the Solar System that primarily affect minor bodies and some satellites. We present an idea of how to study the two body and three body mean motion resonances, secular resonances and Kozai-Lidov mechanism and the conclusions that can be drawn from these studies. Weak resonances generate subtle periodic orbital variations and produce temporary concentrations of objects while strong resonances can generate large variations in eccentricity and inclination risking the orbital stability.

  17. Empirically Supported Treatment’s Impact on Organizational Culture and Climate

    PubMed Central

    Patterson-Silver Wolf, David A.; Dulmus, Catherine N.; Maguin, Eugene

    2012-01-01

    Objectives With the continued push to implement empirically supported treatments (ESTs) into community-based organizations, it is important to investigate whether working condition disruptions occur during this process. While there are many studies investigating best practices and how to adopt them, the literature lacks studies investigating the working conditions in programs that currently use ESTs. Method This study compared the culture and climate scores of a large organization’s programs that use ESTs and those programs indicating no EST usage. Results Of the total 55 different programs (1,273 frontline workers), 27 programs used ESTs. Results indicate that the programs offering an EST had significantly more rigid and resistant cultures, compared to those without any ESTs. In regard to climate, programs offering an EST were significantly less engaged, less functional, and more stressed. Conclusion Outcomes indicate a significant disruption in organizational culture and climate for programs offering ESTs. PMID:23243379

  18. Empirically Supported Treatment's Impact on Organizational Culture and Climate.

    PubMed

    Patterson-Silver Wolf, David A; Dulmus, Catherine N; Maguin, Eugene

    2012-11-01

    OBJECTIVES: With the continued push to implement empirically supported treatments (ESTs) into community-based organizations, it is important to investigate whether working condition disruptions occur during this process. While there are many studies investigating best practices and how to adopt them, the literature lacks studies investigating the working conditions in programs that currently use ESTs. METHOD: This study compared the culture and climate scores of a large organization's programs that use ESTs and those programs indicating no EST usage. RESULTS: Of the total 55 different programs (1,273 frontline workers), 27 programs used ESTs. Results indicate that the programs offering an EST had significantly more rigid and resistant cultures, compared to those without any ESTs. In regard to climate, programs offering an EST were significantly less engaged, less functional, and more stressed. CONCLUSION: Outcomes indicate a significant disruption in organizational culture and climate for programs offering ESTs.

  19. A large scale analysis of cDNA in Arabidopsis thaliana: generation of 12,028 non-redundant expressed sequence tags from normalized and size-selected cDNA libraries.

    PubMed

    Asamizu, E; Nakamura, Y; Sato, S; Tabata, S

    2000-06-30

    For comprehensive analysis of genes expressed in the model dicotyledonous plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were accumulated. Normalized and size-selected cDNA libraries were constructed from aboveground organs, flower buds, roots, green siliques and liquid-cultured seedlings, respectively, and a total of 14,026 5'-end ESTs and 39,207 3'-end ESTs were obtained. The 3'-end ESTs could be clustered into 12,028 non-redundant groups. Similarity search of the non-redundant ESTs against the public non-redundant protein database indicated that 4816 groups show similarity to genes of known function, 1864 to hypothetical genes, and the remaining 5348 are novel sequences. Gene coverage by the non-redundant ESTs was analyzed using the annotated genomic sequences of approximately 10 Mb on chromosomes 3 and 5. A total of 923 regions were hit by at least one EST, among which only 499 regions were hit by the ESTs deposited in the public database. The result indicates that the EST source generated in this project complements the EST data in the public database and facilitates new gene discovery.

  20. Calcium supplementation for reducing weight in people with obesity; an overview of systematic reviews

    PubMed

    Aguilera Eguía, Raúl; Jorquera Pino, Paula Jessica; Salgado, Claudia Jaqueline; Flores, Cherie

    2016-09-20

    Introducción: actualmente la obesidad es considerada un problema de salud pública, y en la mayor parte de los países ha evolucionado como una pandemia, presentando un incremento en su prevalencia y severidad.Objetivo:resumir las revisiones sistemáticas Cochrane y no Cochrane que evalúen el efecto de la suplementación de calcio en la disminución de grasa corporal en personas obesas.Materiales y métodos: se realizó una búsqueda en la base de datos Medline (1980-septiembre 2015), Metabuscador TripDatabase y Epistemonikos (hasta septiembre 2015), Cochrane BVS (hasta septiembre 2015), se buscó de forma manual en revistas relacionadas con el tema de interés, en actas de congresos, se realizó seguimiento de referencias relevantes y se contactó con expertos en el área.Resultados: la búsqueda preliminar arrojó un total de 7.163 artículos potencialmente elegibles, según los criterios de elegibilidad incluimos 2 revisiones sistemáticas de estudios clínicos aleatorizados.Conclusión: el suplemento de calcio al parecer sería efectivo en la disminución de grasa corporal, DM -0,51 (-1,27, 0,25); (p = 0,19), presentando "baja evidencia" según la metodología GRADE, esto quiere decir que "es muy probable que investigaciones adicionales tengan un impacto importante en la confianza de la estimación del efecto y es probable que cambie".

  1. [Not Available].

    PubMed

    Aguilera Eguía, Raúl; Jorquera Pino, Paula Jessica; Salgado, Claudia Jaqueline; Flores, Cherie

    2016-07-19

    Introducción: según la Organización Mundial de la Salud, la obesidad se puede definir como una acumulación anormal o excesiva de grasa que puede ser yatrogénica para la salud.Objetivo: resumir las revisiones sistemáticas Cochrane y no Cochrane que evalúen el efecto de la suplementación de calcio para la disminución del Índice de masa corporal en personas obesas.Materiales y métodos: se realizó una búsqueda en la base de datos Medline (1980 - septiembre de 2015), Metabuscador TripDatabase y Epistemonikos (hasta septiembre de 2015), Cochrane BVS (hasta septiembre de 2015); se buscó de forma manual en revistas relacionadas con el tema de interés; se buscaron actas de congresos y se realizaron seguimientos de referencias relevantes y se contactó con expertos en el área.Resultados: la búsqueda preliminar arrojó un total de 7.163 artículos potencialmente elegibles. Según los criterios de elegibilidad incluimos dos revisiones sistemáticas de estudios clínicos aleatorizados.Conclusión: el suplemento de calcio, al parecer, no incidiría en la disminución del índice de masa corporal, DM 0,12 (-0,62, 0,86); p = 0,75, presentando "muy baja evidencia" según GRADE, esto quiere decir que "presenta una gran incertidumbre sobre la estimación del efecto".

  2. Diversity of garlic (Allium sativum L.) using SSR, EST and AFLP markers

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Germplasm from the center of origin/diversity is important for the breeding and fingerprinting crop plants. In this study we utilized both dominant and co-dominant markers for the characterization of garlic samples from diverse geographic origins to assess the relative utility of these markers to id...

  3. An EST database of the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrephas suspensa (Diptera:Tephritidae)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The ability to create transgenic strains of economically and medically important insect species has the potential to greatly improve existing biological control methods, which is a major goal of our laboratory at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, USDA, Agricultural Rese...

  4. Development and characterization of EST-SSR markers for Artocarpus hypargyreus (Moraceae)1

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Haijun; Tan, Weizheng; Sun, Hongbin; Liu, Yu; Meng, Kaikai; Liao, Wenbo

    2016-01-01

    Premise of the study: Polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for Artocarpus hypargyreus (Moraceae), a threatened species endemic to China, to investigate the genetic diversity and structure of the species. Methods and Results: Based on the transcriptome data of A. hypargyreus, 63 primer pairs were preliminarily designed and tested, of which 34 were successfully amplified and 10 displayed clear polymorphisms across the 67 individuals from four populations of A. hypargyreus. The results showed the number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 10, and the observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity per locus varied from 0.000 to 0.706 and from 0.328 to 0.807, respectively. Conclusions: These microsatellite markers will be useful in exploring genetic diversity and structure of A. hypargyreus. Furthermore, most loci were successfully cross-amplified in A. nitidus and A. heterophyllus, indicating that they will be of great value for genetic study across this genus. PMID:28101438

  5. Development and characterization of EST-SSR markers for Begonia luzhaiensis (Begoniaceae)1

    PubMed Central

    Tseng, Yu-Hsin; Huang, Han-Yau; Xu, Wei-Bin; Yang, Hsun-An; Liu, Yan; Peng, Ching-I; Chung, Kuo-Fang

    2017-01-01

    Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for Begonia luzhaiensis (Begoniaceae) to assess genetic diversity and population genetic structure. Methods and Results: Based on the transcriptome data of B. luzhaiensis, 60 primer pairs were selected for initial validation, of which 16 yielded polymorphic microsatellite loci in 57 individuals. The number of alleles observed for these 16 loci ranged from one to nine. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and from 0.000 to 0.804 with averages of 0.370 and 0.404, respectively. Five loci could be successfully amplified in B. leprosa. Conclusions: The expressed sequence tag–simple sequence repeat markers are the first specifically developed for B. luzhaiensis and the first developed in Begonia sect. Coelocentrum. These markers will be useful for future studies of the genetic structure and phylogeography of B. luzhaiensis. PMID:28529834

  6. Is Exercise Stress Testing a Cost-Saving Strategy For Risk Assessment of Pediatric Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome Patients?

    PubMed Central

    Moltedo, Jose M.; Iyer, Ramesh V.; Forman, Howard; Fahey, John; Rosenthal, Geoffrey; Snyder, Christopher S.

    2006-01-01

    Background: In Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) patients the loss of pre-excitation in a single heartbeat during exercise stress testing (EST) is a predictor of low risk of sudden death. The purpose of this study was to: 1) assess the frequency of loss of pre-excitation in a single heartbeat during exercise testing, and 2) compare the cost of EST versus trans-catheter electrophysiology study (EPS) in the risk assessment of WPW patients. Methods: A retrospective review of 50 cases of patients with WPW who underwent EST was conducted including demographics, history of supraventricular tachycardia, associated congenital heart disease, maximum heart rate achieved, and loss of pre-excitation in a single heartbeat. Hospital costs of EST and EPS were compared. Results: Of the 50 patients who underwent EST, 4 (8%), lost pre-excitation in a single heartbeat during EST. No differences were found regarding gender, age at diagnosis or EST, history of supraventricular tachycardia, presence of congenital heart disease or maximal heart rate. A cost comparison, utilizing the cost data: EST ($62.75) and EPS ($5,597) found EST to be a cost-saving approach in WPW patients. With 4 patients losing pre-excitation during EST, the cost saving of EST was $22,388 for this population of WPW patients. Conclusions: A frequency of 8% loss of pre-excitation was found in a pediatric sample that underwent EST. Additionally, EST was shown to be a cost-saving strategy in risk assessment of pediatric WPW patients. PMID:21845141

  7. The residual and direct effects of reduced-risk and conventional miticides on twospotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liburd, O.E.; White, J.C.; Rhodes, E.M.

    2007-03-15

    The residual effects of several reduced-risk and conventional miticides were evaluated in strawberries (Fragaria z ananassa Duchesne) on the twospotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) and on 2 predatory mites, Neoseiulus californicus McGregor and Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae). Experiments were conducted in the laboratory and greenhouse. The greenhouse experiments also tested the direct effects of the miticides on TSSM. The efficacy of conventional and reduced-risk miticides was evaluated on strawberry leaf discs and on whole plants for control of TSSM. Furthermore, the residual effects of these miticides were evaluated on whole strawberry plants against selective predatorymore » mites. For TSSM, 5 treatments were evaluated: a conventional miticide; fenbutatin-oxide (Vendex[reg]) and 3 reduced-risk miticides; binfenazate (Acramite 50WP[reg]), activated garlic extract (Repel[reg]), sesame seed and castor oil (Wipeout[reg]), and a water-treated control. For predatory mites, the residual effects of only Acramite[reg] and Vendex[reg] were evaluated. Acramite[reg] was the most effective acaricide in reducing TSSM populations in both the laboratory and greenhouse experiments. Vendex[reg] and Wipeout[reg] were also effective in the laboratory, but did not cause significant reduction of TSSM in the greenhouse. Repel[reg] was the least effective of the 4 pesticides evaluated. Neither Acramite[reg] nor Vendex[reg] had a significant effect on either predatory mite species. However, there appeared to be more predatory mites on the Vendex[reg]-treated plants than on the Acramite[reg]-treated plants. There were significantly more predatory mites of both species on the cue plants, which were inoculated with TSSM versus the non-cue plants, which were not inoculated. (author) [Spanish] Los efectos residuales en poblaciones de la 'arana roja', Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranichidae) y de los acaros

  8. [In Process Citation].

    PubMed

    Martín Álvarez, Estefanía; Jiménez Cabanillas, María Victoria; Peña Caballero, Manuela; Serrano López, Laura; Kajarabille, Naroa; Díaz Castro, Javier; Ochoa Herrera, Julio José; Maldonado Lozano, José

    2016-03-25

    Introducción: el recién nacido prematuro de muy bajo peso (RNMBP) es inmunológicamente inmaduro y además presenta una alteración de las barreras naturales de defensa. Objetivo: evaluar los efectos que pueda tener la administración de calostro orofaríngeo, administrado durante los primeros 15 días posnatales, sobre los niveles de inmunoglobulina A (IgA) sérica en recién nacidos prematuros de muy bajo peso durante el primer mes de vida. Material y métodos: se desarrolló un estudio de intervención no aleatorizado con grupo control, en el que se incluyeron 38 recién nacidos con ≤ 32 + 6 semanas de gestación y/o menores de 1.500 g de peso. Los sujetos recibieron 0,2 ml de calostro de su madre cada 4 h, iniciándose el procedimiento en las primeras 24 h de vida hasta el 15.o día postnatal. Se midieron los niveles de IgA en la sangre al nacimiento, 3. er , 15.o y 30.o días de vida. Se registraron datos perinatales al nacimiento y durante el periodo de seguimiento. Resultados: IgA sérica aumentó de forma estadísticamente significativa en el grupo de intervención (M1 15,84 μg/ml, M2 20,07 μg/ml, M3 23,65 μg/ml, M4 30,34 μg/ml, p 0,001) y en el grupo control (M1 12,48 μg/ml, M2 16,48 μg/ml, p 0,018; M3 19,41 μg/ml, M4 22,48 μg/ml, p 0,001). Al mes de vida, los niveles de IgA sérica fueron significativamente mayores en el grupo de intervención que en el grupo control (p 0,026). Conclusiones: este estudio sugiere que la administración de calostro orofarínge.

  9. RASTREO DEL CANCER COLORRECTAL CONOCIMIENTO Y ACTITUD DE LA POBLACION

    PubMed Central

    CASAL, ENRIQUE R.; VELAZQUEZ, ELIZABETH N.; MEJIA, RAUL M.; CUNEO, ALDO; PEREZ-STABLE, ELISEO J.

    2014-01-01

    Resumen El rastreo de cáncer colorrectal (CCR) cuenta con fuertes evidencias en su favor. Datos preliminares indican que a pesar de ello no se lleva a cabo con la frecuencia adecuada. Se intenta aquí determinar, dentro de un Sistema de Salud que cuenta con los recursos necesarios, los elementos que facilitan o generan barreras para concretar esta práctica preventiva, cuántos individuos lo ponen en práctica y qué predice esta conducta. Se realizó una encuesta telefónica a los afiliados de una Obra Social de empleados de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, de los que 132 completaron el cuestionario (tasa de respuesta 70%). Los elementos considerados facilitadores del rastreo obtuvieron respuestas afirmativas en el 64 a 97%, mientras que los que definían barreras un 11 a 27%. En este último grupo, una categoría diferenciada la constituía el miedo a los efectos adversos: 39%, y el sentimiento de vergüenza relacionado con los procedimientos: 30%. Un 33% de los encuestados tenían hecho un método de rastreo, mayoritariamente de sangre oculta (27), sigmoideoscopía (11) y colonoscopía (20). Una mayoría afirmó que “se haría el procedimiento si el médico se lo recomendara” (95%), o “no se lo haría excepto que su médico se lo aconseje” (87%). Contestar afirmativamente que “los médicos hacen lo mejor para los pacientes” se asoció con haberse hecho un método de rastreo de CCR, OR 1.55 (IC 95%: 1.02-2.37) p: 0.04. El grupo de individuos estudiado parece bien predispuesto para el rastreo del CCR, la recomendación médica sería aquí un determinante prominente para ponerlo en práctica. PMID:19414294

  10. PubMed

    Domínguez, Vanihamín; Aguiñiga, Itzen; Moreno, Leticia; Torres, Beatriz; Santiago-Osorio, Edelmiro

    2017-12-01

    Introducción. El caseinato de sodio, una sal de la caseína utilizada como agente proinflamatorio en ratones, es capaz de inducir granulopoyesis en vivo e incrementar la producción de citocinas esenciales en dicho evento.Objetivo. Evaluar si el caseinato de sodio es capaz de inducir un efecto biológico en células de origen linfoide y la producción de citocinas involucradas con este linaje.Materiales y métodos: Se utilizaron ratones hembra BALB/c de 8 a 12 semanas de edad. Los animales se inyectaron cuatro veces, con intervalos de 48 horas, por vía intraperitoneal con 1 ml de caseinato de sodio (10 % de SFB p/v). La población de linfocitos B y la incorporación de bromodesoxiuridina (BrdU) se analizaron mediante citometría de flujo. La detección de la interleucina 7 se evaluó mediante la técnica de ELISA.Resultados. Tras la inyección por vía intraperitoneal, el número de linfocitos B 220+ provenientes del bazo de ratones tratados con caseinato de sodio aumentó comparados con los que solo recibieron el vehículo como tratamiento (89,01±1,03 Vs. 75,66±2,08), así como la incorporación de BrdU en células B220+ (38,59±4,48 Vs. 11,82±1,04). Se evidenció, asimismo, el incremento en la concentración de la interleucina 7 (IL-7) en el suero de los ratones tratados con caseinato de sodio, comparados con los que solo recibieron el vehículo (62,1±17,5 Vs. 26,9±4,4 pg/ml).Conclusión. El caseinato de sodio fue capaz de aumentar el número de linfocitos B en bazo de ratones, así como inducir la producción de IL-7, citocina clave para la linfopoyesis B.

  11. Biomechanics of Ergometric Stress Test: regional and local effects on elastic, transitional and muscular human arteries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valls, G.; Torrado, J.; Farro, I.; Bia, D.; Zócalo, Y.; Lluberas, S.; Craiem, D.; Armentano, Rl

    2011-09-01

    Ergometric exercise stress tests (EST) give important information about the cardiovascular (CV) response to increased demands. The expected EST-related changes in variables like blood pressure and heart rate are known, but those in the arterial biomechanics are controversial and incompletely characterized. In this context, this work aims were to characterize the regional and local arterial biomechanical behaviour in response to EST; to evaluate its temporal profile in the post-EST recovery phase; and to compare the biomechanical response of different to EST. Methods: In 16 non-trained healthy young subjects the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and the carotid, femoral and brachial arterial distensibility were non-invasively evaluated before (Rest) and after EST. Main results: The EST resulted in an early increase in the arterial stiffness, evidenced by both, regional and local parameters (pulse wave velocity increase and distensibility reduction). When analyzing conjunctly the different post-EST recovery stages there were quali-quantitative differences among the arterial local stiffness response to EST. The biomechanical changes could not be explained only by blood pressure variations.

  12. Resonances and Tides in Natural Satellites Systems. (Breton Title: Ressonâncias e Marés em Sistemas de Satélites Naturais.) Resonancias y Mareas en Sistemas de Satélites Naturales

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Callegari, Nelson, Jr.

    2006-12-01

    sica, e não a descrição detalhada dos conceitos aqui discutidos. Describimos en este trabajo algunos aspectos de la dinámica de resonancias de movimientos promedio. Será dado un énfasis mayor al caso de las resonancias entre satélites regulares de los planetas gigantes, aunque también son discutidos brevemente algunos aspectos de la física de resonancias en sistemas panetarios extrasolares. La importancia del estudio de las resonancias en sistemas de satélites es discutida más detalladamente através de ejemplos, mostrando cómo ciertas resonancias y los efectos de disipación por mareas pueden ser la clave de parte de la explicación de algunos fenómenos aún no comprendidos en el Sistema Solar. Entre varios ejemplos se destacan el problema de la superficie remodelada del satélite Enceladus, la existencia de volcanes activos en Io y la posible existencia de un océano subterráneo en Europa. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo la divulgación de algunos tópicos en Mecánica Celeste y Planetología para un público universitario de ciencias exactas, en particular Astronomía y Física, y no la descripción detallada de los conceptos aquí discutidos.

  13. Mapping genes to human chromosome 19

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Connolly, Sarah

    1996-05-01

    For this project, 22 Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) were fine mapped to regions of human chromosome 19. An EST is a short DNA sequence that occurs once in the genome and corresponds to a single expressed gene. {sup 32}P-radiolabeled probes were made by polymerase chain reaction for each EST and hybridized to filters containing a chromosome 19-specific cosmid library. The location of the ESTs on the chromosome was determined by the location of the ordered cosmid to which the EST hybridized. Of the 22 ESTs that were sublocalized, 6 correspond to known genes, and 16 correspond to anonymous genes. Thesemore » localized ESTs may serve as potential candidates for disease genes, as well as markers for future physical mapping.« less

  14. Global features of ionospheric slab thickness derived from JPL TEC and COSMIC observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, He; Liu, Libo

    2016-04-01

    The ionospheric equivalent slab thickness (EST) is the ratio of total electron content (TEC) to F2-layer peak electron density (NmF2), describing the thickness of the ionospheric profile. In this study, we retrieve EST from Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) TEC data and NmF2 retrieved from Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) ionospheric radio occultation data. The diurnal, seasonal and solar activity variations of global EST are analyzed as the excellent spatial coverage of JPL TEC and COSMIC data. During solstices, daytime EST in the summer hemisphere is larger than that in the winter hemisphere, except in some high-latitude regions; and the reverse is true for the nighttime EST. The peaks of EST often appear at 0400 local time. The pre-sunrise enhancement in EST appears in all seasons, while the post-sunset enhancement in EST is not readily observed in equinox. The dependence of EST on solar activity is very complicated. Furthermore, an interesting phenomenon is found that EST is enhanced from 0° to 120° E in longitude and 30° to 75° S in latitude during nighttime, just to the east of Weddell Sea Anomaly, during equinox and southern hemisphere summer.

  15. Regulated assembly and disassembly of the yeast telomerase quaternary complex

    PubMed Central

    Tucey, Timothy M.

    2014-01-01

    The enzyme telomerase, which elongates chromosome termini, is a critical factor in determining long-term cellular proliferation and tissue renewal. Hence, even small differences in telomerase levels can have substantial consequences for human health. In budding yeast, telomerase consists of the catalytic Est2 protein and two regulatory subunits (Est1 and Est3) in association with the TLC1 RNA, with each of the four subunits essential for in vivo telomerase function. We show here that a hierarchy of assembly and disassembly results in limiting amounts of the quaternary complex late in the cell cycle, following completion of DNA replication. The assembly pathway, which is driven by interaction of the Est3 telomerase subunit with a previously formed Est1–TLC1–Est2 preassembly complex, is highly regulated, involving Est3-binding sites on both Est2 and Est1 as well as an interface on Est3 itself that functions as a toggle switch. Telomerase subsequently disassembles by a mechanistically distinct pathway due to dissociation of the catalytic subunit from the complex in every cell cycle. The balance between the assembly and disassembly pathways, which dictate the levels of the active holoenzyme in the cell, reveals a novel mechanism by which telomerase (and hence telomere homeostasis) is regulated. PMID:25240060

  16. Rapid transcriptome characterization and parsing of sequences in a non-model host-pathogen interaction; pea-Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background White mold, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most important diseases of pea (Pisum sativum L.), however, little is known about the genetics and biochemistry of this interaction. Identification of genes underlying resistance in the host or pathogenicity and virulence factors in the pathogen will increase our knowledge of the pea-S. sclerotiorum interaction and facilitate the introgression of new resistance genes into commercial pea varieties. Although the S. sclerotiorum genome sequence is available, no pea genome is available, due in part to its large genome size (~3500 Mb) and extensive repeated motifs. Here we present an EST data set specific to the interaction between S. sclerotiorum and pea, and a method to distinguish pathogen and host sequences without a species-specific reference genome. Results 10,158 contigs were obtained by de novo assembly of 128,720 high-quality reads generated by 454 pyrosequencing of the pea-S. sclerotiorum interactome. A method based on the tBLASTx program was modified to distinguish pea and S. sclerotiorum ESTs. To test this strategy, a mixture of known ESTs (18,490 pea and 17,198 S. sclerotiorum ESTs) from public databases were pooled and parsed; the tBLASTx method successfully separated 90.1% of the artificial EST mix with 99.9% accuracy. The tBLASTx method successfully parsed 89.4% of the 454-derived EST contigs, as validated by PCR, into pea (6,299 contigs) and S. sclerotiorum (2,780 contigs) categories. Two thousand eight hundred and forty pea ESTs and 996 S. sclerotiorum ESTs were predicted to be expressed specifically during the pea-S. sclerotiorum interaction as determined by homology search against 81,449 pea ESTs (from flowers, leaves, cotyledons, epi- and hypocotyl, and etiolated and light treated etiolated seedlings) and 57,751 S. sclerotiorum ESTs (from mycelia at neutral pH, developing apothecia and developing sclerotia). Among those ESTs specifically expressed, 277 (9.8%) pea ESTs

  17. Geostatistical mapping of leakance in a regional aquitard, Oak Ridges Moraine area, Ontario, Canada

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Desbarats, A. J.; Hinton, M. J.; Logan, C. E.; Sharpe, D. R.

    2001-01-01

    The Newmarket Till forms a regionally extensive aquitard separating two major aquifer systems in the Greater Toronto area, Canada. The till is incised, and sometimes eroded entirely, by a network of sand- and gravel-filled channels forming productive aquifers and, locally, high-conductivity windows between aquifer systems. Leakage through the till may also be substantial in places. This study investigates the spatial variability of aquitard leakance in order to assess the relative importance of recharge processes to the lower aquifers. With a large database derived from water-well records and containing both hard and soft information, the Sequential Indicator Simulation method is used to generate maps of aquitard thickness and window probability. These can be used for targeting channel aquifers and for identifying potential areas of recharge to the lower aquifers. Conductivities are modeled from sparse data assuming that their correlation range is much smaller than the grid spacing. Block-scale leakances are obtained by upscaling nodal values based on simulated conductivity and thickness fields. Under the "aquifer-flow'' assumption, upscaling is performed by arithmetic spatial averaging. Histograms and maps of upscaled leakances show that heterogeneities associated with aquitard windows have the largest effect on regional groundwater flow patterns. Résumé. La moraine glaciaire de Newmarket constitue un imperméable d'extension régionale séparant deux systèmes aquifères dans la région du Grand Toronto (Canada). La moraine est entaillée, et parfois entièrement érodée, par un réseau de chenaux comblés de sables et de graviers formant des aquifères productifs et, localement, des «fenêtres», zones à forte conductivité hydraulique reliant les systèmes aquifères. Une drainance au travers de la moraine peut également être significative par endroits. Cette étude s'intéresse à la variabilité spatiale de la drainance au travers de l

  18. Efficacy of single-session abreactive ego state therapy for combat stress injury, PTSD, and ASD.

    PubMed

    Barabasz, Arreed; Barabasz, Marianne; Christensen, Ciara; French, Brian; Watkins, John G

    2013-01-01

    Using abreactive Ego State Therapy (EST), 36 patients meeting DSM-IV-TR and PTSD checklist (PCL) criteria were exposed to either 5-6 hours of manualized treatment or placebo in a single session. EST emphasizes repeated hypnotically activated abreactive "reliving" of the trauma experience combined with therapists' ego strength. Both the placebo and EST treatment groups showed significant reductions in PTSD checklist scores immediately posttreatment (placebo: mean 17.34 points; EST: mean 53.11 points) but only the EST patients maintained significant treatment effect at 4-week and 16- to 18-week follow-ups. Abreactive EST appears to be an effective and durable treatment for PTSD inclusive of combat stress injury and acute stress disorder.

  19. Effect of electrical stimulation of the lower esophageal sphincter using endoscopically implanted temporary stimulation leads in patients with reflux disease.

    PubMed

    Banerjee, Rupa; Pratap, Nitesh; Kalpala, Rakesh; Reddy, D Nageshwar

    2014-03-01

    Electrical stimulation therapy (EST) has been shown to increase lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure in animals; however, data on the effect of EST on LES pressure in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are lacking. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of EST on LES pressure and esophageal function in patients with GERD. Patients with a diagnosis of GERD responsive to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), increased esophageal acid on 24-h pH monitoring off GERD medications, basal LES pressure >5 mmHg, hernia <2 cm and esophagitis EST was delivered 6-12 h post-implant per protocol using (i) short-pulse 200 μs, 20 Hz, and (ii) intermediate-pulse 3 ms, 20 Hz, each for 20 min at varying amplitudes. High-resolution manometry was performed pre-, during and post-EST. Symptoms of heartburn, chest or abdominal pain and dysphagia pre-, during and post-stimulation and 7 days post-procedure were recorded. Continuous cardiac monitoring was performed during and after the EST to evaluate any effect of EST on cardiac rhythm. Six male patients (mean age 34.6 years) underwent successful endoscopic lead implantation; the first patient had premature lead dislodgement and did not undergo EST. The remaining five patients underwent successful EST. All patients had a significant increase in LES pressure with all sessions of EST. There was no effect on swallow-induced LES relaxation, And there were no EST-related adverse symptoms or any cardiac rhythm abnormalities. In patients with GERD, short-term EST delivered using electrodes endoscopically implanted in the LES results in a significant increase in LES pressure without affecting patients' swallow function or causing any adverse symptoms or cardiac rhythm disturbances. EST may offer

  20. The Need to Mobilize Armor in Afghanistan

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-02-20

    success. 1 Kenneth W. Estes, Marines Under Armor (Naval Institute Press,2000)34 2 Increasing Combat...4 Kenneth W. Estes, Marines Under Armor (Naval Institute Press,2000) 202 5 Kenneth W. Estes, Marines Under ... Armor (Naval Institute Press,2000) 198- 202 6 Kenneth W. Estes, Marines Under Armor (Naval Institute Press,2000) 203 8 mechanized unit was needed to

  1. Endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation for the removal of bile duct stones.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jin Hong; Yang, Min Jae; Hwang, Jae Chul; Yoo, Byung Moo

    2013-12-14

    Endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation (EPLBD) with endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) has been widely used as the alternative to EST along with endoscopic mechanical lithotripsy (EML) for the removal of large or difficult bile duct stones. Furthermore, EPLBD without EST was recently introduced as its simplified alternative technique. Thus, we systematically searched PubMed, Medline, the Cochrane Library and EMBASE, and analyzed all gathered data of EPLBD with and without EST, respectively, by using a single standardized definition, reviewing relevant literatures, published between 2003 and June 2013, where it was performed with large-diameter balloons (12-20 mm). The outcomes, including the initial success rate, the rate of needs for EML, and the overall success rate, and adverse events were assessed in each and compared between both of two procedures: "EPLBD with EST" and "EPLBD without EST". A total of 2511 procedures from 30 published articles were included in EPLBD with EST, while a total of 413 procedures from 3 published articles were included in EPLBD without EST. In the results of outcomes, the overall success rate was 96.5% in EPLBD with EST and 97.2% in EPLBD without EST, showing no significant difference between both of them. The initial success rate (84.0% vs 76.2%, P < 0.001) and the success rate of EPLBD without EML (83.2% vs 76.7%, P = 0.001) was significantly higher, while the rate of use of EML was significantly lower (14.1% vs 21.6%, P < 0.001), in EPLBD with EST. The rate of overall adverse events, pancreatitis, bleeding, perforation, other adverse events, surgery for adverse events, and fatal adverse events were 8.3%, 2.4%, 3.6%, 0.6%, 1.7%, 0.2% and 0.2% in EPLBD with EST and 7.0%, 3.9%, 1.9%, 0.5%, 0.7%, 0% and 0% in EPLBD without EST, respectively, showing no significant difference between both of them. In conclusion, recent accumulated results of EPLBD with or even without EST suggest that it is a safe and effective procedure for the

  2. Equivalent formation strength as a proxy tool for exploring the existence and distribution of gas hydrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamada, Y.; Yamada, Y.; Sanada, Y.; Nakamura, Y.; Kido, Y. N.; Moe, K.

    2017-12-01

    Gas hydrates bearing layer can be normally identified by a basement simulating reflector (BSR) or well logging because of their high acoustic- and electric impedance compared to the surrounding formation. These characteristics of the gas hydrate can also represent contrast of in-situ formation strength. We here attempt to describe gas hydrate bearing layers based on the equivalent strength (EST). The Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 02 was executed 2015 off the eastern margin of the Indian Peninsula to investigate distribution and occurrence of gas hydrates. From 25 drill sites, downhole logging data, cored samples, and drilling performance data were collected. Recorded drilling performance data was converted to the EST, which is a developed mechanical strength calculated only by drilling parameters (top drive torque, rotation per minute , rate of penetration , and drill bit diameter). At a representative site, site 23, the EST shows constant trend of 5 to 10 MPa, with some positive peaks at 0 - 270 mbsf interval, and sudden increase up to 50 MPa above BSR depth (270 - 290 mbsf). Below the BSR, the EST stays at 5-10 MPa down to the bottom of the hole (378 mbsf). Comparison of the EST with logging data and core sample description suggests that the depth profiles of the EST reflect formation lithology and gas hydrate content: the EST increase in the sand-rich layer and the gas hydrate bearing zone. Especially in the gas hydrate zone, the EST curve indicates approximately the same trend with that of P-wave velocity and resistivity measured by downhole logging. Cross plot of the increment of the EST and resistivity revealed the relation between them is roughly logarithmic, indicating the increase and decrease of the EST strongly depend on the saturation factor of gas hydrate. These results suggest that the EST, proxy of in-situ formation strength, can be an indicator of existence and amount of the gas-hydrate layer. Although the EST was calculated

  3. A study of alternative splicing in the pig

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Since at least half of the genes in mammalian genomes are subjected to alternative splicing, alternative pre-mRNA splicing plays an important contribution to the complexity of the mammalian proteome. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) provide evidence of a great number of possible alternative isoforms. With the EST resource for the domestic pig now containing more than one million porcine ESTs, it is possible to identify alternative splice forms of the individual transcripts in this species from the EST data with some confidence. Results The pig EST data generated by the Sino-Danish Pig Genome project has been assembled with publicly available ESTs and made available in the PigEST database. Using the Distiller package 2,515 EST clusters with candidate alternative isoforms were identified in the EST data with high confidence. In agreement with general observations in human and mouse, we find putative splice variants in about 30% of the contigs with more than 50 ESTs. Based on the criteria that a minimum of two EST sequences confirmed each splice event, a list of 100 genes with the most distinct tissue-specific alternative splice events was generated from the list of candidates. To confirm the tissue specificity of the splice events, 10 genes with functional annotation were randomly selected from which 16 individual splice events were chosen for experimental verification by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Six genes were shown to have tissue specific alternatively spliced transcripts with expression patterns matching those of the EST data. The remaining four genes had tissue-restricted expression of alternative spliced transcripts. Five out of the 16 splice events that were experimentally verified were found to be putative pig specific. Conclusions In accordance with human and rodent studies we estimate that approximately 30% of the porcine genes undergo alternative splicing. We found a good correlation between EST predicted tissue-specificity and experimentally

  4. Observations of teachers in Ilorin, Nigeria on their practices of corporal punishment that are potentially injurious to their pupils' eyes.

    PubMed

    Mahmoud, Abdulraheem Olarongbe; Ayanniyi, Abdulkabir Ayansiji; Salman, Medinat Folorunso

    2011-01-01

    To document the observations of elementary school teachers (ESTs) in Ilorin, Nigeria on their practice of some types of corporal punishment (CP) that could result in eye injuries among their pupils. A short battery of questions that explored ESTs' observations on attitudes to, and knowledge of some commonly used CP practices was self-administered on 172 consenting teachers from six sampled schools. The potentials for their pupils to sustain eye injuries while receiving such CP practices were inferred from the usage of items with sharp and protruding ends to administer CP, and the application of CP onto pupils' body parts that are in close proximity to the eye such as the head and face. Only 50 of the 172 ESTs favored the practice of CP of pupils by their teachers. Analyses of several potentially moderating variables on this response such as ESTs' ages, years of EST teaching experience, school, and class or grade that EST teaches did not prove significant. Over three-quarters of ESTs (80.2%) had ever observed that pupils were being disciplined by ESTs with a cane. About a fifth of them had also observed that ESTs applied CP to the head (19.8%) and the face (16.3%) of pupils. Findings suggest that ESTs' commonly employed CP practices have significant injurious potential to their pupils' eyes. It is recommended that CP be abolished in elementary schools, and instead alternative nonabusive methods of disciplining erring pupils by teachers be introduced.

  5. Efecto del gas nebular sobre la dinámica de un protoplaneta Joviano

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cionco, R. G.; Brunini, A.

    In order to describe a realist scenario to investigate the formation of giant planets, we analyze the physical structure of the primordial gaseous circumsolar disk, the environment where protoplanets growth. We calculate the gas drag efect onto embrios of 1 M⊕ at 5.2 AU with a new formulation of the dinamycal friction effect. We have found a strong radial migration of the protoplanet, that, in comparison whith the predictions of other formulations of gas drag is, at least, one order of magnitude larger. This result casts doubts about the possible survival of these kinds of planetary embrios. The implications for the modelling of the planetary systems are discussed.

  6. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Meats, A.

    recapturadas en las dos formas de trampas no fue acompanado por una reduccion en su coeficiente de variacion y cuando las tasas de moscas recapturadas fue alto, el porcentaje de las trampas que capturaron ninguna mosca bajo solo un poco con un aumento en la tasa de las moscas recapturadas, esto indico que no es practicable bajar la heterogenicidad de dispersion de las moscas esteriles por medio de un aumento el numero de moscas liberadas. Muy a menudo se encontro un desajusto entre los patrones de dispersion de las moscas naturales y esteriles, y las implicaciones de esto para la eficiencia de la tecnica del insecto esteril (TIE) fueron investigadas en un estudio de simulacion con los grados de desajustes observados obtenidos de los datos del monitoreo y se considero que la razon general del numero de moscas esteriles a moscas naturales fueron 100:1. La simulacion indico que los desajustes en los patrones de dispersion pueden resultar en una tasa impuesta sobre el aumento de las moscas naturales de hasta 3.5 veces mas alta que la tasa intentada (i.e., 0.35 en vez de 0.1). El efecto de un desajuste siempre reduce la eficiencia de TIS. Se discute la razon para esta asimetria y una comparicion hecha con el sistema de hospedero-parasitoid y otros sistemas. Se sugiere una estrategia de liberacion para contrarrestar este efecto. (author)« less

  7. Effects of pre-irradiation conditioning of Medfly pupae (Diptera: Tephritidae): Hypoxia and quality of sterile males

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nestel, D.; Nemny-Lavy, E.; Islam, S.M.

    detrimente a la calidad de las moscas que la irradiacion en atmosferas con proporcion normal de oxigeno. Aunque esta ha sido por mucho tiempo parte del protocolo de irradiacion en plantas de produccion de mosca esteril, hasta ahora no se ha medido el contenido de oxigeno dentro de los recipientes de empaque de pupa durante la irradiacion. El presente estudio investigo los contenidos de O{sub 2} en los contenedores de pupas de la mosca de las frutas del Mediterraneo (Ceratitis capitata Wiedeman), la habilidad de pupas de crear hipoxia dentro de los contenedores, y los efectos del contenido de O{sub 2} durante la irradiacion del contenedor en la calidad y capacidad de apareamiento de moscas esteriles. Pupas de un dia antes de emerger como adultos crearon atmosferas de maxima hipoxia dentro del empaque en aproximadamente una hora. La proporcion de consumo de O{sub 2} en contenedores sellados es dependiente de la edad de la pupa, y de la temperatura de incubacion. La temperatura de incubacion no afecto significativamente la calidad ni la capacidad de apareamiento de machos derivados de pupas irradiadas bajo condiciones de hipoxia. Sin embargo, la capacidad de apareamiento de machos irradiados como pupas en contenedores abiertos y en condiciones oxigenadas fue drasticamente afectada. En comparacion a los resultados anteriores, atmosferas de 2% y 10% O{sub 2} durante la irradiacion no afectaron la capacidad de apareamiento de moscas esteriles. Polvo fluorescente, aplicado a pupas para marcar las moscas esteriles, no tuvo efectos sobre la capacidad de las pupas de crear hipoxia. Los resultados de este estudio se discuten en base a las practicas actuales de produccion e irradiacion. (author)« less

  8. 76 FR 2131 - Federal Radiological Preparedness Coordinating Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-12

    ... place on January 20, 2011. The session open to the public will be from 9 a.m. EST to 10 a.m. EST. Send....m. EST to 10 a.m. EST, at the Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport located at 1999... caption as soon as possible. Authority: 44 CFR 351.10(a) and 351.11(a). Timothy W. Manning, Deputy...

  9. Braking the bandwagon: scrutinizing the science and politics of empirically supported therapies.

    PubMed

    Hagemoser, Steven D

    2009-12-01

    Proponents of empirically supported therapies (ESTs) argue that because manualized ESTs have demonstrated efficacy in treating a range of psychological disorders, they should be the treatments of choice. In this article, the author uses a hypothetical treatment for obesity to highlight numerous flaws in EST logic and argues for common factors as a more clinically relevant but empirically challenging approach. The author then explores how political variables may be contributing to the expansion of EST and the resulting restriction of practitioner autonomy. Last, the author argues that EST is best viewed as 1 component of a more comprehensive evidence-based practice framework. The author concludes with some cautionary statements about the perils of equating the EST paradigm with the scientist-practitioner ideal.

  10. "Cheap" "c'est quoi"? Immigrant Teenagers in Quest of Multilingual Competence and Identity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kasanga, Luanga Adrien

    2008-01-01

    Second generation immigrants tend to shift their loyalty from their own languages ("immigrant language") to the language of the host country ("societal language"), given the socioeconomically weak vitality position of the immigrant languages. This language shift makes intergenerational communication, especially with folk left…

  11. Characterization of expressed resistance gene analogs (RGAs) from peanut expressed sequence tags (ESTs)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the most important food legume crops grown worldwide, and is a major source for edible oil and protein. However, due to low genetic variation, peanut is very vulnerable to a variety of pathogens, such as early leaf spot, late leaf spot, rust and Toma...

  12. Errare machinale est: the use of error-related potentials in brain-machine interfaces

    PubMed Central

    Chavarriaga, Ricardo; Sobolewski, Aleksander; Millán, José del R.

    2014-01-01

    The ability to recognize errors is crucial for efficient behavior. Numerous studies have identified electrophysiological correlates of error recognition in the human brain (error-related potentials, ErrPs). Consequently, it has been proposed to use these signals to improve human-computer interaction (HCI) or brain-machine interfacing (BMI). Here, we present a review of over a decade of developments toward this goal. This body of work provides consistent evidence that ErrPs can be successfully detected on a single-trial basis, and that they can be effectively used in both HCI and BMI applications. We first describe the ErrP phenomenon and follow up with an analysis of different strategies to increase the robustness of a system by incorporating single-trial ErrP recognition, either by correcting the machine's actions or by providing means for its error-based adaptation. These approaches can be applied both when the user employs traditional HCI input devices or in combination with another BMI channel. Finally, we discuss the current challenges that have to be overcome in order to fully integrate ErrPs into practical applications. This includes, in particular, the characterization of such signals during real(istic) applications, as well as the possibility of extracting richer information from them, going beyond the time-locked decoding that dominates current approaches. PMID:25100937

  13. Broomsticks Flying in Circles: Playing with Narrative in Eleanor Estes's "The Witch Family"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gargano, Elizabeth

    2010-01-01

    The author contends that reading some narratives of make-believe can become for many children the ultimate form of fantasy play, providing them with a sense of control absent in their real world. She employs terms from French structuralist critic Gérard Genette, from Austrian child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, and from English pediatrician D. W.…

  14. Student Involvement in an EST Reading Course for Remedial Students: A Case Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    St. Louis, Rubena; Pereira, Silvia

    2003-01-01

    Discusses an English for science and technology course at Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela in which students were allowed to choose reading activities and alternative forms of assessment were implemented. Results of a questionnaire used to evaluate the course are provided. (Author/VWL)

  15. Use of EST-SSR loci flanking regions for phylogenetic analysis of genus Arachis

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    All wild peanut collections in the genus Arachis were assigned to nine taxonomy sections on the bases of cross-compatibility and morphologic character clustering. These nine sections consist of 80 species from the most ancient to the most advanced, providing a diverse genetic resource for phylogenet...

  16. Enabling Narrow(est) IWA Coronagraphy with STIS BAR5 and BAR10 Occulters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schneider, Glenn; Gaspar, Andras; Debes, John; Gull, Theodore; Hines, Dean; Apai, Daniel; Rieke, George

    2017-09-01

    The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph's (STIS) BAR5 coronagraphic occulter was designed to provide high-contrast, visible-light, imaging in close (> 0.15") angular proximity to bright point-sources. We explored and verified the functionality and utility of the BAR5 occulter. We also investigated, and herein report on, the use of the BAR10 rounded corners as narrow-angle occulters and compare IWA vs. contrast performance for the BAR5, BAR10, and Wedge occulters. With that, we provide recommendations for the most efficacious BAR5 and BAR10 use on-orbit in support of GO science.

  17. The plenoptic camera as a wavefront sensor for the European Solar Telescope (EST)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rodríguez-Ramos, Luis F.; Martín, Yolanda; Díaz, José J.; Piqueras, J.; Rodríguez-Ramos, J. M.

    2009-08-01

    The plenoptic wavefront sensor combines measurements at pupil and image planes in order to obtain wavefront information from different points of view simultaneously, being capable to sample the volume above the telescope to extract the tomographic information of the atmospheric turbulence. After describing the working principle, a laboratory setup has been used for the verification of the capability of measuring the pupil plane wavefront. A comparative discussion with respect to other wavefront sensors is also included.

  18. Development and characterization of EST-SSR markers for Ottelia acuminata var. jingxiensis (Hydrocharitaceae).

    PubMed

    Li, Zhi-Zhong; Lu, Meng-Xue; Saina, Josphat K; Gichira, Andrew W; Wang, Qing-Feng; Chen, Jin-Ming

    2017-11-01

    Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were derived from transcriptomic data for Ottelia acuminata (Hydrocharitaceae), a species comprising five endemic and highly endangered varieties in China. Sixteen novel SSR markers were developed for O. acuminata var. jingxiensis . One to eight alleles per locus were found, with a mean of 2.896. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and 0.000 to 0.793, respectively. Interestingly, in cross-varietal amplification, 13 out of the 16 loci were successfully amplified in O. acuminata var. acuminata , and 12 amplified in each of the other three varieties of O. acuminata . These newly developed SSR markers will facilitate further study of genetic variation and provide important genetic data needed for appropriate conservation of natural populations of all varieties of O. acuminata .

  19. Estrone specific molecularly imprinted polymeric nanospheres: synthesis, characterization and applications for electrochemical sensor development.

    PubMed

    Congur, Gulsah; Senay, Hilal; Turkcan, Ceren; Canavar, Ece; Erdem, Arzum; Akgol, Sinan

    2013-06-28

    The aim of this study is (i) to prepare estrone-imprinted nanospheres (nano-EST-MIPs) and (ii) to integrate them into the electrochemical sensor as a recognition layer. N-methacryloyl-(l)-phenylalanine (MAPA) was chosen as the complexing monomer. Firstly, estrone (EST) was complexed with MAPA and the EST-imprinted poly(2-hyroxyethylmethacrylate-co-N-methacryloyl-(l)-phenylalanine) [EST-imprinted poly(HEMA-MAPA)] nanospheres were synthesized by surfactant- free emulsion polymerization method. The specific surface area of the EST-imprinted poly(HEMA-MAPA) nanospheres was found to be 1275 m2/g with a size of 163.2 nm in diameter. According to the elemental analysis results, the nanospheres contained 95.3 mmole MAPA/g nanosphere. The application of EST specific MIP nanospheres for the development of an electrochemical biosensor was introduced for the first time in our study by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. This nano-MIP based sensor presented a great specificity and selectivity for EST.

  20. Distribution and probable physiological role of esterases in reproductive, digestive, and fat-body tissues of the adult cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boh.

    PubMed

    Jones, B R; Bancroft, H R

    1986-06-01

    Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to examine gut, Malpighian tube, fat-body, testes, and ovarioles tissues of the adult cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boh. Esterases for which the inheritance has been reported previously by Terranova using whole-body homogenates were detected in dissected tissues and the probable physiological function of each allozyme is suggested. EST-1 occurs most frequently in ovarioles and female fat bodies. EST-2 is most often found in fat bodies and may be important in lipid turnover. No sex difference was observed. EST-3S is found in fat bodies and reproductive tissue, while EST-3F is always located in gut tissues, indicating that EST-3 is not controlled by a single autosomal locus with two codominant alleles as previously reported. EST-4, the most abundant esterase, can be detected in gut tissue at any age and is probably involved in digestion. EST-5 contains four allozymes which appear most frequently in testes and may be important during reproduction.

  1. Genome-wide analysis of esterase-like genes in the striped rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis.

    PubMed

    Wang, Baoju; Wang, Ying; Zhang, Yang; Han, Ping; Li, Fei; Han, Zhaojun

    2015-06-01

    The striped rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, a destructive pest of rice, has developed high levels of resistance to certain insecticides. Esterases are reported to be involved in insecticide resistance in several insects. Therefore, this study systematically analyzed esterase-like genes in C. suppressalis. Fifty-one esterase-like genes were identified in the draft genomic sequences of the species, and 20 cDNA sequences were derived which encoded full- or nearly full-length proteins. The putative esterase proteins derived from these full-length genes are overall highly diversified. However, key residues that are functionally important including the serine residue in the active site are conserved in 18 out of the 20 proteins. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most of these genes have homologues in other lepidoptera insects. Genes CsuEst6, CsuEst10, CsuEst11, and CsuEst51 were induced by the insecticide triazophos, and genes CsuEst9, CsuEst11, CsuEst14, and CsuEst51 were induced by the insecticide chlorantraniliprole. Our results provide a foundation for future studies of insecticide resistance in C. suppressalis and for comparative research with esterase genes from other insect species.

  2. Development of simple sequence repeat markers and diversity analysis in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).

    PubMed

    Wang, Zan; Yan, Hongwei; Fu, Xinnian; Li, Xuehui; Gao, Hongwen

    2013-04-01

    Efficient and robust molecular markers are essential for molecular breeding in plant. Compared to dominant and bi-allelic markers, multiple alleles of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers are particularly informative and superior in genetic linkage map and QTL mapping in autotetraploid species like alfalfa. The objective of this study was to enrich SSR markers directly from alfalfa expressed sequence tags (ESTs). A total of 12,371 alfalfa ESTs were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Total 774 SSR-containing ESTs were identified from 716 ESTs. On average, one SSR was found per 7.7 kb of EST sequences. Tri-nucleotide repeats (48.8 %) was the most abundant motif type, followed by di-(26.1 %), tetra-(11.5 %), penta-(9.7 %), and hexanucleotide (3.9 %). One hundred EST-SSR primer pairs were successfully designed and 29 exhibited polymorphism among 28 alfalfa accessions. The allele number per marker ranged from two to 21 with an average of 6.8. The PIC values ranged from 0.195 to 0.896 with an average of 0.608, indicating a high level of polymorphism of the EST-SSR markers. Based on the 29 EST-SSR markers, assessment of genetic diversity was conducted and found that Medicago sativa ssp. sativa was clearly different from the other subspecies. The high transferability of those EST-SSR markers was also found for relative species.

  3. Eigenstate-specific temperatures in two-level paramagnetic spin lattices.

    PubMed

    Masthay, Mark B; Eads, Calley N; Johnson, Amber N; Keil, Robert G; Miller, Philip; Jones, Ross E; Mashburn, Joe D; Fannin, Harry B

    2017-12-07

    Increasing interest in the thermodynamics of small and/or isolated systems, in combination with recent observations of negative temperatures of atoms in ultracold optical lattices, has stimulated the need for estimating the conventional, canonical temperature T c conv of systems in equilibrium with heat baths using eigenstate-specific temperatures (ESTs). Four distinct ESTs-continuous canonical, discrete canonical, continuous microcanonical, and discrete microcanonical-are accordingly derived for two-level paramagnetic spin lattices (PSLs) in external magnetic fields. At large N, the four ESTs are intensive, equal to T c conv , and obey all four laws of thermodynamics. In contrast, for N < 1000, the ESTs of most PSL eigenstates are non-intensive, differ from T c conv , and violate each of the thermodynamic laws. Hence, in spite of their similarities to T c conv at large N, the ESTs are not true thermodynamic temperatures. Even so, each of the ESTs manifests a unique functional dependence on energy which clearly specifies the magnitude and direction of their deviation from T c conv ; the ESTs are thus good temperature estimators for small PSLs. The thermodynamic uncertainty relation is obeyed only by the ESTs of small canonical PSLs; it is violated by large canonical PSLs and by microcanonical PSLs of any size. The ESTs of population-inverted eigenstates are negative (positive) when calculated using Boltzmann (Gibbs) entropies; the thermodynamic implications of these entropically induced differences in sign are discussed in light of adiabatic invariance of the entropies. Potential applications of the four ESTs to nanothermometers and to systems with long-range interactions are discussed.

  4. A global picture of ionospheric slab thickness derived from GIM TEC and COSMIC radio occultation observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, He; Liu, Libo; Chen, Yiding; Le, Huijun; Wan, Weixing

    2016-01-01

    The ionospheric equivalent slab thickness (EST), defined as the ratio of total electron content (TEC) to F2 layer peak electron density (NmF2), describes the thickness of the ionospheric profile. In this study, we retrieve EST from TEC data obtained from Global Ionospheric Map (GIM) and NmF2 retrieved from Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) ionospheric radio occultation data. The diurnal, seasonal, and solar activity variations of global EST are analyzed as the excellent spatial coverage of GIM and COSMIC data. During solstices, daytime EST in the summer hemisphere is larger than that in the winter hemisphere, except in some high-latitude regions, and the reverse is true for the nighttime EST. The peaks of EST often appear at 0400 local time. The presunrise enhancement in EST appears in all seasons, while the postsunset enhancement in EST is not readily observed in equinox. Both enhancements are attributed to the more remarkable electron density decay of NmF2 compared to that of TEC. The dependence of EST on solar activity is related to the inconsistent solar activity dependences of electron density at different altitudes. Furthermore, it is interesting that EST is enhanced from 0° to 120°E in longitude and 30° to 75°S in latitude during nighttime, just to the east of Weddell Sea Anomaly, during equinox and the Southern Hemisphere summer. This phenomenon is supposed to be related to the effects of geomagnetic declination-related plasma vertical drifts.

  5. Analysis of expressed sequence tags from the four main developmental stages of Trypanosoma congolense

    PubMed Central

    Helm, Jared R.; Hertz-Fowler, Christiane; Aslett, Martin; Berriman, Matthew; Sanders, Mandy; Quail, Michael A.; Soares, Marcelo B.; Bonaldo, Maria F.; Sakurai, Tatsuya; Inoue, Noboru; Donelson, John E.

    2009-01-01

    Trypanosoma congolense is one of the most economically important pathogens of livestock in Africa. Culture-derived parasites of each of the three main insect stages of the T. congolense life cycle, i.e., the procyclic, epimastigote and metacyclic stages, and bloodstream stage parasites isolated from infected mice, were used to construct stage-specific cDNA libraries and expressed sequence tags (ESTs or cDNA clones) in each library were sequenced. Thirteen EST clusters encoding different variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs) were detected in the metacyclic library and twenty-six VSG EST clusters were found in the bloodstream library, six of which are shared by the metacyclic library. Rare VSG ESTs are present in the epimastigote library, and none were detected in the procyclic library. ESTs encoding enzymes that catalyze oxidative phosphorylation and amino acid metabolism are about twice as abundant in the procyclic and epimastigote stages as in the metacyclic and bloodstream stages. In contrast, ESTs encoding enzymes involved in glycolysis, the citric acid cycle and nucleotide metabolism are about the same in all four developmental stages. Cysteine proteases, kinases and phosphatases are the most abundant enzyme groups represented by the ESTs. All four libraries contain T. congolense-specific expressed sequences not present in the T. brucei and T. cruzi genomes. Normalized cDNA libraries were constructed from the metacyclic and bloodstream stages, and found to be further enriched for T. congolense-specific ESTs. Given that cultured T. congolense offers an experimental advantage over other African trypanosome species, these ESTs provide a basis for further investigation of the molecular properties of these four developmental stages, especially the epimastigote and metacyclic stages for which it is difficult to obtain large quantities of organisms. The T. congolense EST databases are available at: http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Projects/T_congolense/EST_index.shtml. PMID

  6. Construction of a Full-Length Enriched cDNA Library and Preliminary Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags from Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris tigris

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Changqing; Liu, Dan; Guo, Yu; Lu, Taofeng; Li, Xiangchen; Zhang, Minghai; Ma, Jianzhang; Ma, Yuehui; Guan, Weijun

    2013-01-01

    In this study, a full-length enriched cDNA library was successfully constructed from Bengal tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, the most well-known wild Animal. Total RNA was extracted from cultured Bengal tiger fibroblasts in vitro. The titers of primary and amplified libraries were 1.28 × 106 pfu/mL and 1.56 × 109 pfu/mL respectively. The percentage of recombinants from unamplified library was 90.2% and average length of exogenous inserts was 0.98 kb. A total of 212 individual ESTs with sizes ranging from 356 to 1108 bps were then analyzed. The BLASTX score revealed that 48.1% of the sequences were classified as a strong match, 45.3% as nominal and 6.6% as a weak match. Among the ESTs with known putative function, 26.4% ESTs were found to be related to all kinds of metabolisms, 19.3% ESTs to information storage and processing, 11.3% ESTs to posttranslational modification, protein turnover, chaperones, 11.3% ESTs to transport, 9.9% ESTs to signal transducer/cell communication, 9.0% ESTs to structure protein, 3.8% ESTs to cell cycle, and only 6.6% ESTs classified as novel genes. By EST sequencing, a full-length gene coding ferritin was identified and characterized. The recombinant plasmid pET32a-TAT-Ferritin was constructed, coded for the TAT-Ferritin fusion protein with two 6× His-tags in N and C-terminal. After BCA assay, the concentration of soluble Trx-TAT-Ferritin recombinant protein was 2.32 ± 0.12 mg/mL. These results demonstrated that the reliability and representativeness of the cDNA library attained to the requirements of a standard cDNA library. This library provided a useful platform for the functional genome and transcriptome research of Bengal tigers. PMID:23708105

  7. Construction of a full-length enriched cDNA library and preliminary analysis of expressed sequence tags from Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris tigris.

    PubMed

    Liu, Changqing; Liu, Dan; Guo, Yu; Lu, Taofeng; Li, Xiangchen; Zhang, Minghai; Ma, Jianzhang; Ma, Yuehui; Guan, Weijun

    2013-05-24

    In this study, a full-length enriched cDNA library was successfully constructed from Bengal tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, the most well-known wild Animal. Total RNA was extracted from cultured Bengal tiger fibroblasts in vitro. The titers of primary and amplified libraries were 1.28 × 106 pfu/mL and 1.56 × 109 pfu/mL respectively. The percentage of recombinants from unamplified library was 90.2% and average length of exogenous inserts was 0.98 kb. A total of 212 individual ESTs with sizes ranging from 356 to 1108 bps were then analyzed. The BLASTX score revealed that 48.1% of the sequences were classified as a strong match, 45.3% as nominal and 6.6% as a weak match. Among the ESTs with known putative function, 26.4% ESTs were found to be related to all kinds of metabolisms, 19.3% ESTs to information storage and processing, 11.3% ESTs to posttranslational modification, protein turnover, chaperones, 11.3% ESTs to transport, 9.9% ESTs to signal transducer/cell communication, 9.0% ESTs to structure protein, 3.8% ESTs to cell cycle, and only 6.6% ESTs classified as novel genes. By EST sequencing, a full-length gene coding ferritin was identified and characterized. The recombinant plasmid pET32a-TAT-Ferritin was constructed, coded for the TAT-Ferritin fusion protein with two 6× His-tags in N and C-terminal. After BCA assay, the concentration of soluble Trx-TAT-Ferritin recombinant protein was 2.32 ± 0.12 mg/mL. These results demonstrated that the reliability and representativeness of the cDNA library attained to the requirements of a standard cDNA library. This library provided a useful platform for the functional genome and transcriptome research of Bengal tigers.

  8. 76 FR 35902 - Federal Radiological Preparedness Coordinating Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-20

    ... on July 11, 2011. The session open to the public will be from 9 a.m. EST to 10 a.m. EST. Send written... meeting on July 11, 2011 from 9 a.m. EST to 10 a.m. EST, at 1800 South Bell Street, Room 803A and 803B... caption as soon as possible. Authority: 44 CFR 351.10(a) and 351.11(a). Timothy W. Manning, Deputy...

  9. Comparing the treatment outcomes of endoscopic papillary dilation and endoscopic sphincterotomy for removal of bile duct stones.

    PubMed

    Ochi, Y; Mukawa, K; Kiyosawa, K; Akamatsu, T

    1999-01-01

    To compare the clinical usefulness of endoscopic papillary dilation (EPD) and endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) for removal of bile duct stones, 110 patients with stones up to 15 mm in diameter and less than 10 in number were randomly treated with either EPD (55 patients) or EST (55 patients). The patients were followed up for a median period of 23 months and endoscopic manometry with the administration of morphine was carried out in 17 patients who were observed more than 12 months after the procedures to evaluate the post-procedure papillary function. Duct clearance was achieved in 51 EPD (92.7%) and 54 EST patients (98.1%, not significantly different). Forty EPD (78.4%) and 51 EST patients (94.4%) achieved duct clearance in the initial procedure (P=0.02). Early complications occurred in one EPD (2.0%) and in three EST patients (5.6%, P=0.62). Complications during the follow-up period occurred in two EPD and eight EST patients. Recurrence of bile duct stones was observed in two EPD and three EST patients (P=0.98). Acute cholecystitis was observed in one EPD and five EST patients (P=0.06) and among patients with gall-bladder stones in situ, the rate of acute cholecystitis after EPD was significantly lower than that after EST (P=0.03). Endoscopic manometry showed the existence of a choledochoduodenal pressure gradient only after EPD, while papillary contractile function was observed after both procedures. In conclusion, both EPD and EST are safe therapeutic modalities, although EPD is more clinically effective in decreasing the risk of acute cholecystitis in patients with gall-bladder stones in situ and in preserving post-procedure papillary function.

  10. Methodes de caracterisation des proprietes thermomecaniques d'un acier martensitique =

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ausseil, Lucas

    Le but de l'etude est de developper des methodes permettant de mesurer les proprietes thermomecaniques d'un acier martensitique lors de chauffe rapide. Ces donnees permettent d'alimenter les modeles d'elements finis existant avec des donnees experimentales. Pour cela, l'acier 4340 est utilise. Cet acier est notamment utilise dans les roues d'engrenage, il a des proprietes mecaniques tres interessantes. Il est possible de modifier ses proprietes grâce a des traitements thermiques. Le simulateur thermomecanique Gleeble 3800 est utilise. Il permet de tester theoriquement toutes les conditions presentes dans les procedes de fabrication. Avec les tests de dilatation realises dans ce projet, les temperatures exactes de changement de phases austenitiques et martensitiques sont obtenues. Des tests de traction ont aussi permis de deduire la limite d'elasticite du materiau dans le domaine austenitique allant de 850 °C a 1100 °C. L'effet des deformations sur la temperature de debut de transformation est montre qualitativement. Une simulation numerique est aussi realisee pour comprendre les phenomenes intervenant pendant les essais.

  11. Colobome maculaire unilatérale: à propos d’un cas

    PubMed Central

    El Bahloul, Meriem; Chraïbi, Fouad; Mohammed, Marrakchi; Abdellaoui, Meriem; Benatiya, Idriss

    2017-01-01

    Le colobome maculaire est une affection congénitale en rapport avec une anomalie de fermeture de la fissure fœtale, pouvant être intégré dans un cadre héréditaire. Il se caractérise cliniquement par une acuité visuelle basse avec une lésion excavée maculaire où le tissu rétinien normal est absent ou rudimentaire et la sclère est ectasique. La tomographie en cohérence optique maculaire est fortement évocatrice du diagnostic et le bilan électrophysiologique s'il est demandé est altéré. Le diagnostic différentiel se pose avec les pathologies entrainant une lésion atrophique et excavée de la macula, particulièrement la toxoplasmose congénitale. PMID:29184607

  12. Efectos Especiales de Anclaje (Estudio sobre Regresiones de Juicios Condicionales). Parte 1: Distincion entre Efectos Aditivos y Efectos Multiplicativos en el Fenomeno de Anclaje (Special Effects of Anchoring (Study on Regression of Conditional Judgements) Part 1: Distinction Between Additive Effects and Multiplicative Effects in the Phenomenon of Anchoring). Publication No. 17.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lopez Alonso, A. O.

    A linear relationship was found between judgements given by 160 subjects to 7 objects presented as single stimuli (alpha judgements) and judgements given to the same objects presented with a condition (gamma judgements). This relationship holds for alpha judgements and the gamma judgements that belong to a family of constant stimulus and varying…

  13. Dual-porosity modeling of groundwater recharge: testing a quick calibration using in situ moisture measurements, Areuse River Delta, Switzerland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alaoui, Abdallah; Eugster, Werner

    sensitivité ont montré que l'investigation de la couverture du sol est suffisante pour l'estimation locale de la RN du fait que l'eau traversant le plan du flux nul se trouverait sous la zone des racines et échapperait à l'évapotranspiration. La RN simulée sur les 0.70 m du sol sous les conditions d'équilibre était de 364 mm, ce qui est comparable aux mesures. Se propone un método sencillo para calibrar el modelo de doble porosidad "MACRO" mediante medidas in-situ obtenidas por TDR durante un breve ensayo de infiltración (2,8 horas), con el objetivo de estimar la recarga local al acuífero. Ésta ha sido modelada de dos formas: considerando los 3 m de suelo no saturado y empleando sólo desde la capa superior hasta el plano de flujo nulo (de 0 a 0,70 m). Se compara la recarga modelada con la recarga local medida en campo, la cual fue de 313 mm durante un ciclo anual (del 15 de octubre de 1990 al 15 de octubre de 1991). Las mejores simulaciones corresponden a la hipótesis de columna entera no saturada en condiciones de equilibrio, excluyendo el efecto de macroporos (valor de 330 mm), mientras que el resultado obtenido para condiciones de no equilibrio en la recarga local está sobreestimado (378 mm). Los análisis de sensibilidad muestran que la investigación del horizonte superior del suelo es suficiente para estimar la recarga local en este caso, ya que el agua almacenada por debajo de esta profundidad parece estar fuera del alcance típico de las raíces de la vegetación y no puede ser evapotranspirada. La recarga modelada en condiciones de equilibrio para la capa superior de 0,70 m de espesor es de 364 mm, valor aceptable respecto a las medidas.

  14. Textilome abdominal: à propos d'un cas

    PubMed Central

    Serghini, Issam; El Fikri, Abdelghani; Salim Lalaoui, Jaafar; Zoubir, Mohamed; Boui, Mohammed; Boughanem, Mohamed

    2011-01-01

    Le textilome est une complication postopératoire très rare mais bien connue. Il peut s'agir d'un corps étranger composé de compresse(s) ou champ(s) chirurgicaux laissés au niveau d'un foyer opératoire. La découverte du textilome abdominale est généralement tardive. L'anamnèse est donc essentielle pour diagnostic vu que la clinique n'est pas concluante. La clinique associe des troubles chroniques du transit à des syndromes sub-occlusifs, le cliché d'abdomen sans préparation est peu contributif. L’échographie est fiable. La tomodensitométrie permet un diagnostic topographique précis. Certaines équipes proposent des explorations par IRM. Nous rapportons un cas de textilome intra abdominale, chez une patiente opérée 6 mois auparavant d'un fibrome utérin. PMID:22355422

  15. Comparison of esterase gene amplification, gene expression and esterase activity in insecticide susceptible and resistant strains of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål).

    PubMed

    Vontas, J G; Small, G J; Hemingway, J

    2000-12-01

    Organophosphorus and carbamate insecticide resistance in Nilaparvata lugens is based on amplification of a carboxylesterase gene, Nl-EST1. An identical gene occurs in susceptible insects. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to demonstrate that Nl-EST1 is amplified 3-7-fold in the genome of resistant compared to susceptible planthoppers. Expression levels were similar to amplification levels, with 1-15-fold more Nl-EST1 mRNA in individual insects and 5-11-fold more Nl-EST1 mRNA in mass whole body homogenates of resistant females compared to susceptibles. These values corresponded to an 8-10-fold increase in esterase activity in the head and thorax of individual resistant insects. Although amplification, expression and activity levels of Nl-EST1 in resistant N. lugens were similar, the correlation between esterase activity and Nl-EST1 mRNA levels in resistant individuals was not linear.

  16. Improving stress testing compliance following chest pain presentations to the emergency department.

    PubMed

    Chung, Kevin; Playford, David; Macdonald, Stephen P J

    2012-10-01

    To determine whether a booked appointment time improves early outpatient exercise stress testing (EST) guideline adherence in patients discharged from the ED following assessment for possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In this pre and post study with a historical control group, patients classified as intermediate risk after negative ECG and serial troponin work-up for possible ACS were referred for EST. The intervention group were given an appointment time for EST at discharge, and the control group were given a referral but asked to book their own appointment. The primary outcome measure was the proportion in each group who attended for EST. Secondary outcomes were time to EST and rates of death, myocardial infarction and coronary revascularisation within 30 days in both groups. In addition, we explored reasons for non-attendance for EST for the intervention group. There were 96 participants in the intervention group (mean age 55 ± 3 years) and 121 controls (mean age 62 ± 3 years). Seventy-two (75%) of the intervention group attended for EST compared with 38 (31%) of the control group, P < 0.001 after adjustment for differences in baseline variables. A poor understanding of the rationale for EST was a significant factor in patient non-attendance. Pre-booked appointment times for EST improve timely attendance among patients discharged from the ED with intermediate-risk ACS. Compliance might improve further with patient education. © 2012 The Authors. EMA © 2012 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

  17. Informatic selection of a neural crest-melanocyte cDNA set for microarray analysis

    PubMed Central

    Loftus, S. K.; Chen, Y.; Gooden, G.; Ryan, J. F.; Birznieks, G.; Hilliard, M.; Baxevanis, A. D.; Bittner, M.; Meltzer, P.; Trent, J.; Pavan, W.

    1999-01-01

    With cDNA microarrays, it is now possible to compare the expression of many genes simultaneously. To maximize the likelihood of finding genes whose expression is altered under the experimental conditions, it would be advantageous to be able to select clones for tissue-appropriate cDNA sets. We have taken advantage of the extensive sequence information in the dbEST expressed sequence tag (EST) database to identify a neural crest-derived melanocyte cDNA set for microarray analysis. Analysis of characterized genes with dbEST identified one library that contained ESTs representing 21 neural crest-expressed genes (library 198). The distribution of the ESTs corresponding to these genes was biased toward being derived from library 198. This is in contrast to the EST distribution profile for a set of control genes, characterized to be more ubiquitously expressed in multiple tissues (P < 1 × 10−9). From library 198, a subset of 852 clustered ESTs were selected that have a library distribution profile similar to that of the 21 neural crest-expressed genes. Microarray analysis demonstrated the majority of the neural crest-selected 852 ESTs (Mel1 array) were differentially expressed in melanoma cell lines compared with a non-neural crest kidney epithelial cell line (P < 1 × 10−8). This was not observed with an array of 1,238 ESTs that was selected without library origin bias (P = 0.204). This study presents an approach for selecting tissue-appropriate cDNAs that can be used to examine the expression profiles of developmental processes and diseases. PMID:10430933

  18. Assembly of 500,000 inter-specific catfish expressed sequence tags and large scale gene-associated marker development for whole genome association studies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Catfish Genome Consortium; Wang, Shaolin; Peatman, Eric

    2010-03-23

    Background-Through the Community Sequencing Program, a catfish EST sequencing project was carried out through a collaboration between the catfish research community and the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute. Prior to this project, only a limited EST resource from catfish was available for the purpose of SNP identification. Results-A total of 438,321 quality ESTs were generated from 8 channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and 4 blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) libraries, bringing the number of catfish ESTs to nearly 500,000. Assembly of all catfish ESTs resulted in 45,306 contigs and 66,272 singletons. Over 35percent of the unique sequences had significant similarities tomore » known genes, allowing the identification of 14,776 unique genes in catfish. Over 300,000 putative SNPs have been identified, of which approximately 48,000 are high-quality SNPs identified from contigs with at least four sequences and the minor allele presence of at least two sequences in the contig. The EST resource should be valuable for identification of microsatellites, genome annotation, large-scale expression analysis, and comparative genome analysis. Conclusions-This project generated a large EST resource for catfish that captured the majority of the catfish transcriptome. The parallel analysis of ESTs from two closely related Ictalurid catfishes should also provide powerful means for the evaluation of ancient and recent gene duplications, and for the development of high-density microarrays in catfish. The inter- and intra-specific SNPs identified from all catfish EST dataset assembly will greatly benefit the catfish introgression breeding program and whole genome association studies.« less

  19. Efficacy of abreactive ego state therapy for PTSD: trauma resolution, depression, and anxiety.

    PubMed

    Christensen, Ciara; Barabasz, Arreed; Barabasz, Marianne

    2013-01-01

    Using manualized abreactive Ego State Therapy (EST), 30 subjects meeting DSM-IV-TR and Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) criteria were exposed to either 5-6 hours of treatment or the Ochberg Counting Method (placebo) in a single session. EST emphasized repeated hypnotically activated abreactive "reliving" of the trauma and ego strengthening by the cotherapists. Posttreatment 1-month and 3-month follow-ups showed EST to be an effective treatment for PTSD. Using the Davidson Trauma Scale, Beck Depression II, and Beck Anxiety Scales, EST subjects showed significant positive effects from pretreatment levels at all posttreatment measurement periods in contrast to the placebo treatment. Most of the EST subjects responded and showed further improvement over time.

  20. Is Openness to Using Empirically Supported Treatments Related to Organizational Culture and Climate?

    PubMed

    Patterson Silver Wolf Adelv Unegv Waya, David A; Dulmus, Catherine N; Maguin, Eugene

    2013-01-01

    The overall purpose of this study is to investigate workers' openness towards implementing a new empirically supported treatment (EST) and whether the workers' openness scores relate to their workplace culture and climate scores. Participants in this study (N=1273) worked in a total of 55 different programs in a large child and family services organization and completed a survey measuring their attitudes toward ESTs. Results indicate that work groups that measure themselves as being more open to using ESTs rated their organizational cultures as being significantly more proficient and significantly less resistant to change. With ESTs becoming the gold standard for professional social work practices, it is important to have accessible pathways to EST implementation.