Browse Articles

Erwinia phage Asesino is a nucleus-forming phage that lacks PhuZ

AbstractAs nucleus-forming phages become better characterized, understanding their unifying similarities and unique differences will help us understand how they occupy varied niches and infect diverse hosts. All identified nucleus-forming phages fall within the Chimalliviridae family and share a core genome of 68 unique genes including chimallin, the major nuclear shell protein. A well-studied but non-essential protein encoded by many nucleus-forming phages is PhuZ, a tubulin homolog which aids in capsid migration, nucleus rotation, and nucleus positioning. One clade that represents 24% of all currently known chimalliviruses lacks a PhuZ homolog. Here we show that Erwinia phage Asesino, one member of this PhuZ-less clade, shares a common overall replication mechanism with other characterized nucleus-forming phages despite lacking PhuZ. We show that Asesino replicates via a phage nucleus that encloses phage DNA and partitions proteins in the nuclear compartment and cytoplasm in a manner similar to previously characterized nucleus-forming phages. Consistent with a lack of PhuZ, however, we did not observe active positioning or rotation of the phage nucleus within infected cells. These data show that some nucleus-forming phages have evolved to replicate efficiently without PhuZ, providing an example of a unique variation in the nucleus-based replication pathway.

Co-application of polyethylene oxide (PEO), biochar, and seaweed fertilizer improves desert soil properties

Developmental exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS) impairs the endometrial receptivity

Market integration and resident health in China

Selenium nanoparticles modified niobium MXene for non-enzymatic detection of glucose

AbstractGlucose sensing remains a crucial need as diabetes is a worldwide concern. This work reports the application of Nb2CTx—selenium nanoparticle composite material for the nonenzymatic sensing of glucose. The surface morphology of the synthesized composite was analyzed using various microscopic techniques like scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and its structural properties were analyzed using diffraction and spectroscopic methods. A gold disc electrode was modified using the nanocomposite and tested for glucose in an alkaline medium. The sensing was based on the oxidation of glucose on the catalytic surface. The glucose was quantified amperometrically at a significantly lower overpotential of 0.16 V. The sensor showed a good detection range from 2 to 30 mM with a sensitivity of 4.15 µA mM−1 cm−2 and a detection limit of 1.1 mM.

The mediating role of inflammatory biomarkers in the association between serum copper and sarcopenia

Mechanical characteristics and load-bearing effect of roadway anchorage composite carrier

Integrative bioinformatics approach identifies novel drug targets for hyperaldosteronism, with a focus on SHMT1 as a promising therapeutic candidate

The tree-ring width and interval trend values as indicators of sensitivity to temperature and precipitation in different provenances of European larch

Abstract The study assessed the sensitivity of 20 provenances of European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) growing at provenance experimental trials located in lowland (Siemianice) and upland (Bliżyn) climate in Central Poland to air temperature and precipitation, including drought. The measure of the tree’ sensitivity was their radial growth reactions, i.e. changes in the radial growth in years 1971–2015. We found that rainwater supplies in a soil stored in autumn of the previous year, length of the growing season and thermal conditions in its beginning, as well as thermal and moisture conditions of the year of tree ring formation had a significant impact on the wood volume formed by the larches, regardless of their origin and climatic region in which they grew. The degree of homogeneity of tree’ radial growth reactions to precipitation deficit and high temperature was the lowest in a warmer and drier climate in the lowlands in Central Poland. Larch provenances with the lowest and the highest values of drought resilience components (resistance, recovery, resilience, relative resilience of radial growth) originated in different regions of Poland. Greater resistance to drought was observed in larch provenances growing at the trial located in the uplands. The relative resilience index seems to be the most helpful in predicting the future radial growth reactions of the studied provenances, and consequently their viability and survival, as this index showed the highest variability among trees of a given provenance and was most often significantly different between pairs of provenances.

Interpretable flash flood susceptibility mapping in Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin using H2O Auto-ML

Contraction ratio of multifidus and erector spinae muscles in unilateral sacroiliac joint pain: A cross-sectional trial

AbstractSacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain is one of the most prevalent reasons for disability, it affects the contraction ratio of the muscles of the back. Imaging is critical for diagnosing back muscles. The purpose of this study was to look at changes in the muscle contraction ratio of the lumbar multifidus (LM) and erector spinae (ES) in unilateral SIJ pain. This research included 60 individuals (30 with unilateral SIJ pain and 30 healthy people (who served as matching controls). The contraction ratio of back muscles such as ES and LM was assessed using real-time ultrasonography, and the results were compared between the affected and non-affected sides in patients with unilateral SIJ pain, and healthy participants as well. In the study group, the contraction ratio of ES and LM muscles on the non-affected side was significantly higher than on the affected side (p < 0.05). as well as a significant increase in contraction ratio of the ipsilateral side (affected matched control side) LM of the healthy group compared with that of the non-affected side of the study group (p < 0.001), while there was no significant difference in contraction ratio of the contralateral (unaffected matched control side) ES of the healthy group compared with that of the non-affected side of the study group. The results of this trial demonstrate that patients with unilateral SIJ pain exhibited a substantially lower muscle contraction ratio in the ES and LM of the affected side than the non-affected side in the study group, as well as a significant increase in the contraction ratio of the ES and MF on the ipsilateral side of the control group compared with that of the study group. However, there was no significant change in the contraction ratio of the contralateral ES in healthy individuals compared to the non-affected side of the study group. The findings of the study may help in designing an appropriate exercise program to deal with patients with SIJ pain.

Modified Green-Ampt model for infiltration analysis in loess area and its parameter determination and verification

Isotemporal substitution of physical activity patterns and sitting time with obesity indicators among workers in São Paulo

Improving quality of strawberry by novel essential oil nanoemulsions of Echinophora platyloba combined with Aloe vera gel and gum arabic

Evaluation of five questionnaires for obstructive sleep apnea screening in the elderly

Identification of biomarkers for knee osteoarthritis through clinical data and machine learning models

Results from the PROmoting Early Childhood Outside cluster randomized trial evaluating an outdoor play intervention in early childhood education centres

Abstract Participation in outdoor play is beneficial for the health, well-being, and development of children. Early childhood education centers (ECECs) can provide equitable access to outdoor play. The PROmoting Early Childhood Outside (PRO-ECO) study is a pilot randomized trial that evaluates the PRO-ECO intervention on children’s outdoor play participation. The PRO-ECO intervention included four components: ECEC outdoor play policy; educator training; ECEC outdoor space modification; and parent engagement. This study included eight ECECs delivering licensed care to children ( n  = 217) aged 2.5 to 6 years in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Using a wait-list control cluster randomized trial design, ECECs were randomly allocated to either the intervention arm ( n  = 4) or the wait-list control arm ( n  = 4). Change in the proportion and diversity of observed outdoor play behaviour during scheduled outdoor time was measured. Outcome data were collected at baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up. The intervention effect on children’s outdoor play participation was examined using logistic regression mixed effect models. Controlling for gender, weather and temperature, there were no changes in children’s outdoor play participation following implementation of the PRO-ECO intervention in the between-group analysis. Within-group comparisons also revealed no change in play participation following the PRO-ECO intervention, however, the intervention group showed a positive effect (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 0.97, 1.70) in play participation 6 months after implementation of the intervention. The findings indicate that further analyses on child- and ECEC-level outcomes collected as part of the PRO-ECO study, including the diversity of children’s play, is required to effectively assess the impact of this intervention.

Phase transitions, Dirac and Weyl semimetal states in Mn1−xGexBi2Te4

A novel voting measure for identifying influential nodes in complex networks based on local structure

Optimized molecule detection in localization microscopy with selected false positive probability

AbstractSingle-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) allows imaging beyond the diffraction limit. Detection of molecules is a crucial initial step in SMLM. False positive detections, which are not quantitatively controlled in current methods, are a source of artifacts that affect the entire SMLM analysis pipeline. Furthermore, current methods lack standardization, which hinders reproducibility. Here, we present an optimized molecule detection method which combines probabilistic thresholding with theoretically optimal filtering. The probabilistic thresholding enables control over false positive detections while optimal filtering minimizes false negatives. A theoretically optimal Poisson matched filter is used as a performance benchmark to evaluate existing filtering methods. Overall, our approach allows the detection of molecules in a robust, single-parameter and user-unbiased manner. This will minimize artifacts and enable data reproducibility in SMLM.