Grasses as Biofactories: Scoping out the Opportunities

Key points 1. Plant biopharming is set to dominate commercial recombinant protein expression for specific proteins. 2. The choice of plant species depends on a multitude of factors and is determined on a caseby- case basis. 3. As a leaf based expression system grasses would have to compete predominantly with tobacco and alfalfa. 4. The grass-endophyte symbiosis offers a number of unique possibilities for biopharming

Observing the First Stars and Black Holes

The high sensitivity of JWST will open a new window on the end of the cosmological dark ages. Small stellar clusters, with a stellar mass of several 10^6 M_sun, and low-mass black holes (BHs), with a mass of several 10^5 M_sun should be directly detectable out to redshift z=10, and individual supernovae (SNe) and gamma ray burst (GRB) afterglows are bright enough to be visible beyond this redshift. Dense primordial gas, in the process of collapsing from large scales to form protogalaxies, may also be possible to image through diffuse recombination line emission, possibly even before stars or BHs are formed. In this article, I discuss the key physical processes that are expected to have determined the sizes of the first star-clusters and black holes, and the prospect of studying these objects by direct detections with JWST and with other instruments. The direct light emitted by the very first stellar clusters and intermediate-mass black holes at z>10 will likely fall below JWST's detection threshold. However, JWST could reveal a decline at the faint-end of the high-redshift luminosity function, and thereby shed light on radiative and other feedback effects that operate at these early epochs. JWST will also have the sensitivity to detect individual SNe from beyond z=10. In a dedicated survey lasting for several weeks, thousands of SNe could be detected at z>6, with a redshift distribution extending to the formation of the very first stars at z>15. Using these SNe as tracers may be the only method to map out the earliest stages of the cosmic star-formation history. Finally, we point out that studying the earliest objects at high redshift will also offer a new window on the primordial power spectrum, on 100 times smaller scales than probed by current large-scale structure data.Comment: Invited contribution to "Astrophysics in the Next Decade: JWST and Concurrent Facilities", Astrophysics & Space Science Library, Eds. H. Thronson, A. Tielens, M. Stiavelli, Springer: Dordrecht (2008

Grasses as Biofactories: Scoping out the Opportunities

Plant biopharming is set to dominate commercial recombinant protein expression for specific proteins. The choice of plant species depends on a multitude of factors and is determined on a case- by-case basis. As a leaf based expression system grasses would have to compete predominantly with tobacco and alfalfa. The grass-endophyte symbiosis offers a number of unique possibilities for biopharming

The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix

Looking to the future of zebrafish as a model to understand the genetic basis of eye disease

In this brief commentary, we provide some of our thoughts and opinions on the current and future use of zebrafish to model human eye disease, dissect pathological progression and advance in our understanding of the genetic bases of microphthalmia, andophthalmia and coloboma (MAC) in humans. We provide some background on eye formation in fish and conservation and divergence across vertebrates in this process, discuss different approaches for manipulating gene function and speculate on future research areas where we think research using fish may prove to be particularly effective

Cerebral cavernous malformation is a vascular disease associated with activated RhoA signaling

Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) involves the homozygous inactivating mutations of one of three genes, ccm1, -2, or -3 resulting in hyperpermeable blood vessels in the brain. The CCM1, -2, and -3 proteins form a complex to organize the signaling networks controlling endothelial cell physiology including actin dynamics, tube formation, and adherens junctions. The common biochemical defect with the loss of CCM1, -2, or -3 is increased RhoA activity leading to the activation of Rho-associated coiled coil-forming kinase (ROCK). Inhibition of the ROCK rescues CCM endothelial cell dysfunction, suggesting that the inhibition of RhoA-ROCK signaling may be a therapeutic strategy to prevent or arrest the progression of the CCM lesions

Microgrid cyber security reference architecture.

This document describes a microgrid cyber security reference architecture. First, we present a high-level concept of operations for a microgrid, including operational modes, necessary power actors, and the communication protocols typically employed. We then describe our motivation for designing a secure microgrid; in particular, we provide general network and industrial control system (ICS)-speci c vulnerabilities, a threat model, information assurance compliance concerns, and design criteria for a microgrid control system network. Our design approach addresses these concerns by segmenting the microgrid control system network into enclaves, grouping enclaves into functional domains, and describing actor communication using data exchange attributes. We describe cyber actors that can help mitigate potential vulnerabilities, in addition to performance bene ts and vulnerability mitigation that may be realized using this reference architecture. To illustrate our design approach, we present a notional a microgrid control system network implementation, including types of communica- tion occurring on that network, example data exchange attributes for actors in the network, an example of how the network can be segmented to create enclaves and functional domains, and how cyber actors can be used to enforce network segmentation and provide the neces- sary level of security. Finally, we describe areas of focus for the further development of the reference architecture

BHPR research: qualitative1. Complex reasoning determines patients' perception of outcome following foot surgery in rheumatoid arhtritis

Background: Foot surgery is common in patients with RA but research into surgical outcomes is limited and conceptually flawed as current outcome measures lack face validity: to date no one has asked patients what is important to them. This study aimed to determine which factors are important to patients when evaluating the success of foot surgery in RA Methods: Semi structured interviews of RA patients who had undergone foot surgery were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted to explore issues that were important to patients. Results: 11 RA patients (9 ♂, mean age 59, dis dur = 22yrs, mean of 3 yrs post op) with mixed experiences of foot surgery were interviewed. Patients interpreted outcome in respect to a multitude of factors, frequently positive change in one aspect contrasted with negative opinions about another. Overall, four major themes emerged. Function: Functional ability & participation in valued activities were very important to patients. Walking ability was a key concern but patients interpreted levels of activity in light of other aspects of their disease, reflecting on change in functional ability more than overall level. Positive feelings of improved mobility were often moderated by negative self perception ("I mean, I still walk like a waddling duck”). Appearance: Appearance was important to almost all patients but perhaps the most complex theme of all. Physical appearance, foot shape, and footwear were closely interlinked, yet patients saw these as distinct separate concepts. Patients need to legitimize these feelings was clear and they frequently entered into a defensive repertoire ("it's not cosmetic surgery; it's something that's more important than that, you know?”). Clinician opinion: Surgeons' post operative evaluation of the procedure was very influential. The impact of this appraisal continued to affect patients' lasting impression irrespective of how the outcome compared to their initial goals ("when he'd done it ... he said that hasn't worked as good as he'd wanted to ... but the pain has gone”). Pain: Whilst pain was important to almost all patients, it appeared to be less important than the other themes. Pain was predominately raised when it influenced other themes, such as function; many still felt the need to legitimize their foot pain in order for health professionals to take it seriously ("in the end I went to my GP because it had happened a few times and I went to an orthopaedic surgeon who was quite dismissive of it, it was like what are you complaining about”). Conclusions: Patients interpret the outcome of foot surgery using a multitude of interrelated factors, particularly functional ability, appearance and surgeons' appraisal of the procedure. While pain was often noted, this appeared less important than other factors in the overall outcome of the surgery. Future research into foot surgery should incorporate the complexity of how patients determine their outcome Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Analysis of operations and cyber security policies for a system of cooperating Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System (FACTS) devices.

Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems (FACTS) devices are installed on electric power transmission lines to stabilize and regulate power flow. Power lines protected by FACTS devices can increase power flow and better respond to contingencies. The University of Missouri Rolla (UMR) is currently working on a multi-year project to examine the potential use of multiple FACTS devices distributed over a large power system region in a cooperative arrangement in which the FACTS devices work together to optimize and stabilize the regional power system. The report describes operational and security challenges that need to be addressed to employ FACTS devices in this way and recommends references, processes, technologies, and policies to address these challenges