Hsp-90 and the biology of nematodes

BACKGROUND: Hsp-90 from the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is unique in that it fails to bind to the specific Hsp-90 inhibitor, geldanamycin (GA). Here we surveyed 24 different free-living or parasitic nematodes with the aim of determining whether C. elegans Hsp-90 was the exception or the norm amongst the nematodes. We combined these data with codon evolution models in an attempt to identify whether hsp-90 from GA-binding and non-binding species has evolved under different evolutionary constraints.<BR/>RESULTS: We show that GA-binding is associated with life history: free-living nematodes and those parasitic species with free-living larval stages failed to bind GA. In contrast, obligate parasites and those worms in which the free-living stage in the environment is enclosed within a resistant egg, possess a GA-binding Hsp-90. We analysed Hsp-90 sequences from fifteen nematode species to determine whether nematode hsp-90s have undergone adaptive evolution that influences GA-binding. Our data provide evidence of rapid diversifying selection in the evolution of the hsp-90 gene along three separate lineages, and identified a number of residues showing significant evidence of adaptive evolution. However, we were unable to prove that the selection observed is correlated with the ability to bind geldanamycin or not.<BR/>CONCLUSION: Hsp-90 is a multi-functional protein and the rapid evolution of the hsp-90 gene presumably correlates with other key cellular functions. Factors other than primary amino acid sequence may influence the ability of Hsp-90 to bind to geldanamycin

Diverse Spatial, Temporal, and Sexual Expression of Recently Duplicated Androgen-Binding Protein Genes in \u3ci\u3eMus musculus\u3c/i\u3e

Background The genes for salivary androgen-binding protein (ABP) subunits have been evolving rapidly in ancestors of the house mouse Mus musculus, as evidenced both by recent and extensive gene duplication and by high ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitution rates. This makes ABP an appropriate model system with which to investigate how recent adaptive evolution of paralogous genes results in functional innovation (neofunctionalization). Results It was our goal to find evidence for the expression of as many of the Abp paralogues in the mouse genome as possible. We observed expression of six Abpa paralogues and five Abpbg paralogues in ten glands and other organs located predominantly in the head and neck (olfactory lobe of the brain, three salivary glands, lacrimal gland, Harderian gland, vomeronasal organ, and major olfactory epithelium). These Abp paralogues differed dramatically in their specific expression in these different glands and in their sexual dimorphism of expression. We also studied the appearance of expression in both late-stage embryos and postnatal animals prior to puberty and found significantly different timing of the onset of expression among the various paralogues. Conclusion The multiple changes in the spatial expression profile of these genes resulting in various combinations of expression in glands and other organs in the head and face of the mouse strongly suggest that neofunctionalization of these genes, driven by adaptive evolution, has occurred following duplication. The extensive diversification in expression of this family of proteins provides two lines of evidence for a pheromonal role for ABP: 1) different patterns of Abpa/Abpbg expression in different glands; and 2) sexual dimorphism in the expression of the paralogues in a subset of those glands. These expression patterns differ dramatically among various glands that are located almost exclusively in the head and neck, where the sensory organs are located. Since mice are nocturnal, it is expected that they will make extensive use of olfactory as opposed to visual cues. The glands expressing Abp paralogues produce secretions (lacrimal and salivary) or detect odors (MOE and VNO) and thus it appears highly likely that ABP proteins play a role in olfactory communication

Attitudes to risk management in space projects

This paper aims to examine the personalities of people currently working in the delivery of space projects. The study employed an online survey which included twenty-fi ve Likert scale questions based on risk decision scenarios and personality questions. A total of 50 responses were collected from people with experience in the delivery of space projects. The results of this study suggest that people who have experience in space project delivery have a high level and long term view, are fair and pleasing, extroverted and logical decision takers, prefer to freeze scope and respect deadlines and to make team consensus decisions. The results also show that the respondents are prepared to make risky decisions depending on the situation and case

Implementation of a risk management simulation tool

Risk management is an essential part of project management. Proactive management of risk in projects helps increase the success rate of projects and the reduction of potential costs. The paper presents a new tool for implementing the risk management process in projects. The tool allows participants to understand a project further, and to analyse risks in a project using various methods such as risk exposure and Monte Carlo method. From the results of the study, the tool helps in improving the understanding and implementation of risk management in projects. The tool implementation and results are discussed in this paper

Confronting an identity crisis - how to "brand" systems engineering

Systems Engineering is not a new discipline; the term has been in use since World War II. Yet, while there has been no shortage of definitions of the term over the years (not all of which are consistent), there is little consensus on the scope of Systems Engineering. This is particularly true in relation to other overlapping disciplines such as System Dynamics, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Project Management, Soft Systems Methodology, Specialist Engineering, and Control Theory, which share many of the origins and techniques of Systems Engineering. This paper presents a landscape of disciplines and suggests that INCOSE should “brand” Systems Engineering strategically, defining explicitly its position within this landscape including its points of parity (overlaps) and points of difference with other disciplines. Actively branding Systems Engineering will broaden its appeal and attract more interest from stakeholders outside the current Systems Engineering community. INCOSE’s “market share” relative to its biggest systems competitor—Project Management—is falling, so even though INCOSE membership is rising, more needs to be done to promote the profession

Transposon insertion mapping with PIMMS, Pragmatic Insertional Mutation Mapping System

The PIMMS (Pragmatic Insertional Mutation Mapping System) pipeline has beendeveloped for simple conditionally essential genome discovery experiments in bacteria.Capable of using raw sequence data files alongside a FASTA sequence of thereference genome and GFF file, PIMMS will generate a tabulated output of each codingsequence with corresponding mapped insertions accompanied with normalized resultsenabling streamlined analysis. This allows for a quick assay of the genome to identifyconditionally essential genes on a standar d desktop computer prioritizing results forfurther investigation

Triaging informative cis-regulatory elements for the combinatorial control of temporal gene expression during Plasmodium falciparum intraerythrocytic development

Background: Over 2700 genes are subject to stage-specific regulation during the intraerythrocytic development of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Bioinformatic analyses have identified a large number of over-represented motifs in the 5′ flanking regions of these genes that may act as cis-acting factors in the promoter-based control of temporal expression. Triaging these lists to provide candidates most likely to play a role in regulating temporal expression is challenging, but important if we are to effectively design in vitro studies to validate this role. Methods: We report here the application of a repeated search of variations of 5′ flanking sequences from P. falciparum using the Finding Informative Regulatory Elements (FIRE) algorithm. Results: Our approach repeatedly found a short-list of high scoring DNA motifs, for which cognate specific transcription factors were available, that appear to be typically associated with upregulation of mRNA accumulation during the first half of intraerythrocytic development. Conclusions: We propose these cis-trans interactions may provide a combinatorial promoter-based control of gene expression to complement more global mechanisms of gene regulation that can account for temporal control during the second half of intraerythrocytic development

Analysis of the influence of students discipline in the process of learning the English language, in students of 4th year of public school Edgar Arvizú, in Managua department, on the second semester of 2017

This study was made in the Edgar Arvizú school, Managua, Nicaragua. There were selected 10th grade students. In this study, we focus on how discipline can affect the process of learning English as a second language. There were found many examples of how it affects and also why it affects. On the other hand, there were also found many solutions to those problems and with that it is expected the teacher can take them into account and at the end get a meaningful learning from students

A consensus approach to vertebrate de novo transcriptome assembly from RNA-seq data: assembly of the duck (Anas platyrhynchos) transcriptome

For vertebrate organisms where a reference genome is not available, de novo transcriptome assembly enables a cost effective insight into the identification of tissue specific or differentially expressed genes and variation of the coding part of the genome. However, since there are a number of different tools and parameters that can be used to reconstruct transcripts, it is difficult to determine an optimal method. Here we suggest a pipeline based on (1) assessing the performance of three different assembly tools (2) using both single and multiple k-mer (MK) approaches (3) examining the influence of the number of reads used in the assembly (4) merging assemblies from different tools. We use an example dataset from the vertebrate Anas platyrhynchos domestica (Pekin duck). We find that taking a subset of data enables a robust assembly to be produced by multiple methods without the need for very high memory capacity. The use of reads mapped back to transcripts (RMBT) and CEGMA (Core Eukaryotic Genes Mapping Approach) provides useful metrics to determine the completeness of assembly obtained. For this dataset the use of MK in the assembly generated a more complete assembly as measured by greater number of RMBT and CEGMA score. Merged single k-mer assemblies are generally smaller but consist of longer transcripts, suggesting an assembly consisting of fewer fragmented transcripts. We suggest that the use of a subset of reads during assembly allows the relatively rapid investigation of assembly characteristics and can guide the user to the most appropriate transcriptome for particular downstream use. Transcriptomes generated by the compared assembly methods and the final merged assembly are freely available for download at http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1032613