The Transcriptional Gradient in Negative-Strand RNA Viruses Suggests a Common RNA Transcription Mechanism.

We introduce a novel model of nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus (NNSV) transcription. Previous models have relied on polymerase behavioral differences in the highly conserved intergenic sequences. Our model hypothesizes the transcriptional gradient in NNSVs is explained through a simple model with two parameters associated with the viral polymerase.

Stochastic model of vesicular stomatitis virus replication reveals mutational effects on virion production.

We present the first complete stochastic model of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) intracellular replication. Previous models developed to capture VSV's intracellular replication have either been ODE-based or have not represented the complete replicative cycle, limiting our ability to understand the impact of the stochastic nature of early cellular infections on virion production between cells and how these dynamics change in response to mutations. Our model accurately predicts changes in mean virion production in gene-shuffled VSV variants and can capture the distribution of the number of viruses produced.

Ten simple rules for managing laboratory information.

Information is the cornerstone of research, from experimental (meta)data and computational processes to complex inventories of reagents and equipment. These 10 simple rules discuss best practices for leveraging laboratory information management systems to transform this large information load into useful scientific findings.

The Opioid Epidemic: A Review of the Contributing Factors, Negative Consequences, and Best Practices.

The opioid epidemic is a significant public health crisis that has caused extensive harm and devastation in the United States. This literature review aimed to identify the contributing factors and negative consequences of the epidemic, as well as best practices for healthcare providers in managing the epidemic. Overprescribing opiates and opioids, lack of education and opportunity, and being unmarried or divorced were some of the identified contributing factors to dependence on opioids.

is required for maintenance of the low mutation rates in plant mitochondrial and plastid genomes.

Mitochondrial and plastid genomes in land plants exhibit some of the slowest rates of sequence evolution observed in any eukaryotic genome, suggesting an exceptional ability to prevent or correct mutations. However, the mechanisms responsible for this extreme fidelity remain unclear. We tested seven candidate genes involved in cytoplasmic DNA replication, recombination, and repair (, , , , , , and ) for effects on mutation rates in the model angiosperm by applying a highly accurate DNA sequencing technique (duplex sequencing) that can detect newly arisen mitochondrial and plastid mutations even at low heteroplasmic frequencies.