Reversible morphological changes of assembled supramolecular amphiphiles triggered by pH-modulated host-guest interactions.

Reversible template-directed micellar-size and shape modulation by virtue of host-guest reversible docking of molecular templates at the micellar-solvent interface was achieved in water. By combining a π-electron deficient bipyridinium-based gemini amphiphile which is capable of binding and aligning with a π-electron rich tri(ethylene glycol)-disubstituted 1,5-diaminonaphthalene, a switchable detergent system which operates through the pH-responsive formation of bisammonium dications was realised. The binding of the 1,5-diaminonaphthalene guest to the bipyridinium-based micellar aggregate superstructure can be actuated by the addition of acid and base.

Draft Genome Sequence of Cylindrospermopsis sp. Strain CR12 Extracted from the Minimetagenome of a Nonaxenic Unialgal Culture from a Tropical Freshwater Lake.

Cylindrospermopsis is known to be one of the major bloom-forming cyanobacterial genera in many freshwater environments. We report here the draft genome sequence of a tropical Cylindrospermopsis sp. strain, CR12, which is capable of producing the hepatotoxic cylindrospermopsin.

Is irritable bowel syndrome an infectious disease?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common of all gastroenterological diseases. While many mechanisms have been postulated to explain its etiology, no single mechanism entirely explains the heterogeneity of symptoms seen with the various phenotypes of the disease. Recent data from both basic and clinical sciences suggest that underlying infectious disease may provide a unifying hypothesis that better explains the overall symptomatology.

Ancestral state reconstruction by comparative analysis of a GRN kernel operating in echinoderms.

Diverse sampling of organisms across the five major classes in the phylum Echinodermata is beginning to reveal much about the structure and function of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in development and evolution. Sea urchins are the most studied clade within this phylum, and recent work suggests there has been dramatic rewiring at the top of the skeletogenic GRN along the lineage leading to extant members of the euechinoid sea urchins. Such rewiring likely accounts for some of the observed developmental differences between the two major subclasses of sea urchins-cidaroids and euechinoids.

Limited Genetic Variability Among American Isolates of Grapevine virus E from Vitis spp.

A survey for the presence of Grapevine virus E (GVE, genus Vitivirus, family Betaflexiviridae) in vineyards in New York and California was conducted using macroarray hybridization or reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. In New York, GVE was detected in 10 of 46 vines of Vitis labrusca, one V. riparia, and one Vitis hybrid.

Electronic Structure Description of a Doubly Oxidized Bimetallic Cobalt Complex with Proradical Ligands.

The geometric and electronic structure of a doubly oxidized bimetallic Co complex containing two redox-active salen moieties connected via a 1,2-phenylene linker was investigated and compared to an oxidized monomeric analogue. Both complexes, namely, CoL(1) and Co2L(2), are oxidized to the mono- and dications, respectively, with AgSbF6 and characterized by X-ray crystallography for the monomer and by vis-NIR (NIR = near-infrared) spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations for both the monomer and dimer. Both complexes exhibit a water molecule coordinated in the apical position upon oxidation.

Impact of the Protection and Advocacy Subscale on the Factorial Validity of the Supports Intensity Scale-Adult Version.

The Supports Intensity Scale-Adult Version is a standardized assessment of support needs. This study examined the factorial validity of the standardized portion of the scale, finding that the six-factor model (Home Living, Community Living, Lifelong Learning, Employment, Health and Safety, Social Activities) demonstrated good fit, and that the inclusion of the Protection and Advocacy Scale did not affect fit and contributed unique information. Age and gender impacted intensity of support needs, with those of transition age and in late adulthood having the highest intensities.

Early time courses of recurrent thromboembolism and bleeding during apixaban or enoxaparin/warfarin therapy. A sub-analysis of the AMPLIFY trial.

Risks of recurrence and bleeding are highest during the first weeks of anticoagulant therapy for venous thromboembolism (VTE). We therefore examined the early time course of recurrence and major bleeding in a pre-specified sub-analysis of the AMPLIFY trial, a randomised, double-blind, six-month comparison of oral apixaban with conventional therapy (enoxaparin followed by warfarin) in 5,395 patients with symptomatic proximal deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. Early events were of particular interest because apixaban was given without initial heparin treatment.

Bayesian meta-analytical methods to incorporate multiple surrogate endpoints in drug development process.

A number of meta-analytical methods have been proposed that aim to evaluate surrogate endpoints. Bivariate meta-analytical methods can be used to predict the treatment effect for the final outcome from the treatment effect estimate measured on the surrogate endpoint while taking into account the uncertainty around the effect estimate for the surrogate endpoint. In this paper, extensions to multivariate models are developed aiming to include multiple surrogate endpoints with the potential benefit of reducing the uncertainty when making predictions.

Reorganization of sea urchin gene regulatory networks at least 268 million years ago as revealed by oldest fossil cidaroid echinoid.

Echinoids, or sea urchins, are rare in the Palaeozoic fossil record, and thus the details regarding the early diversification of crown group echinoids are unclear. Here we report on the earliest probable crown group echinoid from the fossil record, recovered from Permian (Roadian-Capitanian) rocks of west Texas, which has important implications for the timing of the divergence of crown group echinoids. The presence of apophyses and rigidly sutured interambulacral areas with two columns of plates indicates this species is a cidaroid echinoid.

The quest for a mechanistic understanding of biodiversity-ecosystem services relationships.

Ecosystem services (ES) approaches to biodiversity conservation are currently high on the ecological research and policy agendas. However, despite a wealth of studies into biodiversity's role in maintaining ES (B-ES relationships) across landscapes, we still lack generalities in the nature and strengths of these linkages. Reasons for this are manifold, but can largely be attributed to (i) a lack of adherence to definitions and thus a confusion between final ES and the ecosystem functions (EFs) underpinning them, (ii) a focus on uninformative biodiversity indices and singular hypotheses and (iii) top-down analyses across large spatial scales and overlooking of context-dependency.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) for assessment of microbial water quality: current progress, challenges, and future opportunities.

Water quality is an emergent property of a complex system comprised of interacting microbial populations and introduced microbial and chemical contaminants. Studies leveraging next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are providing new insights into the ecology of microbially mediated processes that influence fresh water quality such as algal blooms, contaminant biodegradation, and pathogen dissemination. In addition, sequencing methods targeting small subunit (SSU) rRNA hypervariable regions have allowed identification of signature microbial species that serve as bioindicators for sewage contamination in these environments.

Severe adverse events associated with local anaesthesia in cataract surgery: 1 year national survey of practice and complications in the UK.

Background: Recent years have seen a major change in practice of local anaesthesia (LA) for cataract surgery.

Aims: (1) To estimate current usage of LA techniques for cataract surgery, (2) to estimate the incidence of severe adverse events associated with each LA technique, (3) to compare with our previous 2003 study.

Methods: This was a prospective, observational study of routine practice.

Microbial diversity and activity in the Nematostella vectensis holobiont: insights from 16S rRNA gene sequencing, isolate genomes, and a pilot-scale survey of gene expression.

We have characterized the molecular and genomic diversity of the microbiota of the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, a cnidarian model for comparative developmental and functional biology and a year-round inhabitant of temperate salt marshes. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene clone libraries revealed four ribotypes associated with N. vectensis at multiple locations and times.

Gene expression in WAT from healthy humans and monkeys correlates with FGF21-induced browning of WAT in mice.

Objective: Identify a gene expression signature in white adipose tissue (WAT) that reports on WAT browning and is associated with a healthy phenotype.

Methods: RNA from several different adipose depots across three species were analyzed by whole transcriptome profiling, including 1) mouse subcutaneous white fat, brown fat, and white fat after in vivo treatment with FGF21; 2) human subcutaneous and omental fat from insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant patients; and 3) rhesus monkey subcutaneous fat from healthy and dysmetabolic individuals.

Results: A "browning" signature in mice was identified by cross-referencing the FGF21-induced signature in WAT with the brown adipose tissue (BAT) vs.

Beyond Mendelian randomization: how to interpret evidence of shared genetic predictors.

Objective: Mendelian randomization is a popular technique for assessing and estimating the causal effects of risk factors. If genetic variants which are instrumental variables for a risk factor are shown to be additionally associated with a disease outcome, then the risk factor is a cause of the disease. However, in many cases, the instrumental variable assumptions are not plausible, or are in doubt.

Increases in Network Ties Are Associated With Increased Cohesion Among Intervention Participants.

Objective: Many behavior change programs are delivered in group settings to manage implementation costs and to foster support and interactions among group members in order to facilitate behavior change. Understanding the group dynamics that evolve in group settings (e.g.

Uncertainty in the Bayesian meta-analysis of normally distributed surrogate endpoints.

We investigate the effect of the choice of parameterisation of meta-analytic models and related uncertainty on the validation of surrogate endpoints. Different meta-analytical approaches take into account different levels of uncertainty which may impact on the accuracy of the predictions of treatment effect on the target outcome from the treatment effect on a surrogate endpoint obtained from these models. A range of Bayesian as well as frequentist meta-analytical methods are implemented using illustrative examples in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, where the treatment effect on disability worsening is the primary outcome of interest in healthcare evaluation, while the effect on relapse rate is considered as a potential surrogate to the effect on disability progression, and in gastric cancer, where the disease-free survival has been shown to be a good surrogate endpoint to the overall survival.

Genotyping of Cucumber mosaic virus isolates in western New York State during epidemic years: Characterization of an emergent plant virus population.

In the early 2000s an epidemic of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) spread within the Midwestern and Eastern US affecting snap and dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivation. Fifty one CMV isolates from this period were partially characterized from varied hosts by sequencing a section from each of the three genomic RNAs.

Carbon storage in old-growth forests of the Mid-Atlantic: toward better understanding the eastern forest carbon sink.

Few old-growth stands remain in the matrix of secondary forests that dominates the eastern North American landscape. These remnant stands offer insight on the potential carbon (C) storage capacity of now-recovering secondary forests. We surveyed the remaining old-growth forests on sites characteristic of the general Mid-Atlantic United States and estimated the size of multiple components of forest C storage.

Phenomenological model of stochastic, spatiotemporal, intensity dynamics of stimulated Brillouin scattering in a two-mode optical fiber.

We present a simple numerical model that is used in conjunction with a systematic algorithm for parameter optimization to understand the three-dimensional stochastic intensity dynamics of stimulated Brillouin scattering in a two-mode optical fiber. The primary factors driving the complex dynamics appear to be thermal density fluctuations, transverse pump fluctuations, and asymmetric transverse mode fractions over the beam cross-section.