Plastid proteome prediction for diatoms and other algae with secondary plastids of the red lineage

The plastids of ecologically and economically important algae from phyla such as stramenopiles, dinoflagellates and cryptophytes were acquired via a secondary endosymbiosis and are surrounded by three or four membranes. Nuclear-encoded plastid-localized proteins contain N-terminal bipartite targeting peptides with the conserved amino acid sequence motif ‘ASAFAP’. Here we identify the plastid proteomes of two diatoms, Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, using a customized prediction tool (ASAFind) that identifies nuclear-encoded plastid proteins in algae with secondary plastids of the red lineage based on the output of SignalP and the identification of conserved ‘ASAFAP’ motifs and transit peptides. We tested ASAFind against a large reference dataset of diatom proteins with experimentally confirmed subcellular localization and found that the tool accurately identified plastid-localized proteins with both high sensitivity and high specificity. To identify nucleus-encoded plastid proteins of T. pseudonana and P. tricornutum we generated optimized sets of gene models for both whole genomes, to increase the percentage of full-length proteins compared with previous assembly model sets. ASAFind applied to these optimized sets revealed that about 8% of the proteins encoded in their nuclear genomes were predicted to be plastid localized and therefore represent the putative plastid proteomes of these algae

Analyzing X-Ray Pulsar Profiles: Geometry and Beam Pattern of Her X-1

We report on our analysis of a large sample of energy dependent pulse profiles of the X-ray binary pulsar Hercules X-1. We find that all data are compatible with the assumption of a slightly distorted magnetic dipole field as sole cause of the asymmetry of the observed pulse profiles. Further the analysis provides evidence that the emission from both poles is equal. We determine an angle of 20 deg between the rotation axis and the local magnetic axis. One pole has an offset of 5 deg from the antipodal position of the other pole. The beam pattern shows structures that can be interpreted as pencil- and fan-beam configurations. Since no assumptions on the polar emission are made, the results can be compared with various emission models. A comparison of results obtained from pulse profiles of different phases of the 35-day cycle indicates different attenuation of the radiation from the poles being responsible for the change of the pulse shape during the main-on state. These results also suggest the resolution of an ambiguity within a previous analysis of pulse profiles of Cen X-3, leading to a unique result for the beam pattern of this pulsar as well. The analysis of pulse profiles of the short-on state indicates that a large fraction of the radiation cannot be attributed to the direct emission from the poles. We give a consistent explanation of both the evolution of the pulse profile and the spectral changes with the 35-day cycle in terms of a warped precessing accretion disk.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures. To appear in ApJ 529 #2, 1 Feb 200

Wooden steps to shallow depths: A new bathymodiolin mussel, Vadumodiolus teredinicola, inhabits shipworm burrows in an ancient submarine forest

Large mussels of the mytilid subfamily Bathymodiolinae are common inhabitants of deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, where gill-borne symbionts allow them to utilize energy-rich compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and methane to support abundant growth. This subfamily also includes smaller symbiont-bearing mussels found on deep-sea wood and organic deposits. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that wood association is ancestral to bathymodiolin evolution. This observation led to the "wooden steps" hypothesis, which proposed that wood and other large organic deposits have acted as evolutionary steppingstones, introducing the progenitors of the modern vent and seep Bathymodiolinae to their remote environments. Although this hypothesis implies an evolutionary trajectory from shallow to deep water, no bathymodiolin species that grows and reproduces at depths less than 100 m has yet been formally described. Here we describe a new bathymodiolin genus and species, Vadumodiolus teredinicola, found growing and reproducing at a depth of 18 m in uninhabited shipworm burrows in the remnants of an ancient submerged bald cypress forest off the coast of Alabama. These results demonstrate that the bathymodiolin radiation has not been limited to deep water and that specific association with wood has led to the successful invasion of both deep and shallow marine environments

Determinants of completion of advance directives: a cross-sectional comparison of 649 outpatients from private practices versus 2158 outpatients from a university clinic

Objectives To compare outpatients from private practices and outpatients from a university clinic regarding the determinants of completion of advance directives (AD) in order to generalise results of studies from one setting to the other. Five determinants of completion of AD were studied: familiarity with AD, source of information about AD, prior experiences with own life-threatening diseases or family members in need of care and motives in favour and against completion of AD.Design Observational cross-sectional study.Setting Private practices and a university clinic in Germany in 2012.Participants 649 outpatients from private practices and 2158 outpatients from 10 departments of a university clinic.Outcome measures Completion of AD, familiarity with AD, sources of information about AD (consultation), prior experiences (with own life-threatening disease and family members in need of care), motives in favour of or against completion of AD, sociodemographic data.Results Determinants of completion of AD did not differ between outpatients from private practices versus university clinic outpatients. Prior experience with severe disease led to a significantly higher rate of completion of AD (33%/36% with vs 24%/24% without prior experience). Participants with completion of AD had more often received legal than medical consultation before completion, but participants without completion of AD are rather aiming for medical consultation. The motives in favour of or against completion of AD indicated inconsistent patterns.Conclusions Determinants of completion of AD are comparable in outpatients from private practices and outpatients from a university clinic. Generalisations from university clinic samples towards a broader context thus seem to be legitimate. Only one-third of patients with prior experience with own life-threatening diseases or family members in need of care had completed an AD as expression of their autonomous volition. The participants’ motives for or against completion of AD indicate that ADs are considered a kind of ‘negative autonomy’ as instruments to prevent particular forms of therapy. Interactive, repeated and situation-based AD discussions might reach a higher percentage of patients and concurrently enable personal volitions and thereby strengthen individual ‘positive autonomy’.</p

Recent Innovations & Daily Problems. A new prosthesis in inguinal hernia repair:preliminary results of a pilot study.

Introduction: Elective surgery for inguinal hernia is affected by very low mortality « 1 per 10000 operation); in contrast, when surgery is carried out for complicated inguinal hernia, risks of postoperative complication are higher. TAPP is a world-wide accepted surgical practice in the treatment of elective bilateral or recurrent inguinal hernia, above all in young patients. Few exploratory studies were published on laparoscopic approach in the treatment of urgent complicated inguinal hernia. Aim of this study was to analyze feasibility (operative time, conversion rate), safety (postoperative morbidity, length of hospital stay) and quality of life (acute and chronic pain, return to work) of trans-abdominal pre-peritoneal laparoscopic hernia repair in acute incarcerated inguinal hernia. Rationale of laparoscopic trans-abdominal approach is the easier hernia reduction under vision and a better exploration of the abdominal cavity. Methods: from September 2012 to September 2013, 15 consecutive patients admitted in emergency at the Division of General Surgery of University "Sapienza", Polo Pontino, for acute incarcerated inguinal hernia were submitted to TAPP using 3 trocars (1 of 10 mm and 2 of 5mm) and polyester prosthesis fixed by fibrin glue. Exclusion criteria for laparoscopic approach were age III, previous abdominal surgery, signs of strangulated hernia. All of them were evaluated for operative time, conversion rate, postoperative morbidity, organ resection or other surgery required. All patients were scored for pain by Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) during postoperative in hospital stay at 7 days, 1,6 and 12 months after surgery. Results: median follow-up was 16 months and 12 as minimum. In all cases reduction of hernia was always possible and none conversion to open surgery was recorded, median operative time was 89 minutes (55-137 as range), omental resection was carried out in one patient (6,6%), no other organ resections needed, whereas contralateral hernia was diagnosed and repaired at the same time in 4 patients (26,6%). No major complications were observed, median blood loss was 100 ml, minor morbidity was contained to 18% represented by fever and wound infection of surgical umbilical scar. Median in hospital stay was 1,5 days with 1-5 days as range. Postoperative median acute pain, measured by visual analogic scale (VAS), was 2 (range:0-4), none patient referred any pain during follow-up. Median time of return to work was 6,5 days, ranged between 3 to 15 days. Patients' compliance to treatment and to follow-up was complete as well their satisfaction. Conclusions: In centres skilled for laparoscopy in emergency, TAPP could be considered a feasible and safe technique. In well-selected patients (especially if emolled in controlled clinical trial) TAPP could represent an alternative surgical approach for complicated incarcerated inguinal hernia to conventional open surgery even in urgency. The main advantages of laparoscopic approach are the ability to perform surgical hernia reduction under vision, a better exploration and evaluation of abdominal cavity and diagnosis and treatment of eventual contralateral defect of wall, otherwise often missed. Finally, the good control of acute and chronic pain, faster return to normal activity and work, better aesthetic results contributed to total satisfaction and compliance of the patients

The Initial Phase of the Argumentative Discussions Between Parents and Children

This chapter examines the initial phase of parent\u2013child argumentative discussions during mealtime. The conceptual tool adopted for the analysis is based on the pragma-dialectical ideal model of a critical discussion (van Eemeren &amp; Grootendorst\u201a 2004). The types of issues leading parents and children to engage in argumentative discussions during mealtime as well as the contribution that parents and children provide to the inception of argumentation are described and discussed. The analysis of the initial phase of parent\u2013child argumentative discussions also considers the role played by the specificity of the parent\u2013child relationship and the distinctive features of the activity of family mealtime for the beginning of an argumentative discussion. Exemplary argumentative sequences that bring to light the results obtained through the qualitative analysis of a larger corpus of argumentative discussions between parents and children are presented and discussed

One Last Puff? - Public Smoking Bans and Smoking Behavior

This paper investigates the short-term effects of public smoking bans on individual smoking behavior. In 2007 and 2008, state-level smoking bans were gradually introduced in all of Germany's sixteen federal states. We exploit this variation in the timing of state bans to identify the effect that smoke-free policies had on individuals' smoking propensity and smoking intensity. Using rich longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, our difference-in-differences estimates show that the introduction of smoke-free legislation in Germany did not change average smoking behavior within the population. However, our estimates also point to important heterogeneous effects. Groups that go out more often, and hence are more exposed to the constraints of public smoking bans in everyday life, did adjust their smoking behavior. Specifically, we find that young, unmarried individuals, and those living in urban areas are groups that are both less likely to smoke and smoke less intensively following the introduction of public smoking bans. Furthermore, effects on individual smoking habits proved stronger in states that had more strict smoking bans. Public smoking bans, therefore, have important health benefits over and above the reduction in exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke that is their immediate and prime objective.Das vorliegende Papier untersucht anhand von Daten des Sozio-Oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) die kurzfristige Wirkung von öffentlichen Rauchverboten auf das Rauchverhalten in Deutschland. In den Jahren 2007 und 2008 wurden sukzessive Rauchverbote in allen sechzehn Bundesländern eingeführt. Diese zeitliche Variation erlaubt die Messung der Auswirkung von Rauchverboten auf die Wahrscheinlichkeit von Individuen zu rauchen sowie auf die Höhe ihres Zigarettenkonsums. Die Ergebnisse unserer Differenzen-in-Differenzen Schätzungen zeigen, dass die Verbote das durchschnittliche Rauchverhalten in der Bevölkerung insgesamt nicht beeinflussten. Doch finden wir relevante Effekte für Personengruppen, die traditionell häufiger ausgehen (jüngere Jahrgänge, unverheiratete Personen und Einwohner größerer Städte). Diese sind durch ihr häufigeres Ausgehverhalten den Beschränkungen von Rauchverboten im Alltag stärker ausgesetzt und weisen in Folge der Verbote niedrigere Wahrscheinlichkeiten auf, zu rauchen. Ferner finden sich Hinweise, dass sich striktere Rauchverbote stärker auf das Rauchverhalten auswirkten. Rauchverbote haben somit, neben ihrem eigentlichen Ziel, das Ausmaß des Passivrauchens im öffentlichen Raum zu reduzieren, eine wichtige und zusätzliche gesundheitsfördernde Wirkung

Do Hospitals Respond to Increasing Prices by Supplying Fewer Services?

Medical providers often have a significant influence on treatment decisions which they can use in their own financial interest. Classical models of supplier-induced demand predict that medical providers will supply fewer services if they face increasing prices. We test this prediction based on a reform of hospital financing in Germany. Uniquely, this reform changed the overall level of reimbursement - with increasing prices for some hospitals and decreasing prices for others - without affecting the relative prices for different types of patients. Based on administrative data, we find that hospitals do indeed react to increasing prices by reducing service supply.Anbieter von medizinischen Leistungen treffen häufig Behandlungsentscheidungen für ihre Patienten und haben die Möglichkeit, bei diesen Entscheidungen ihre eigenen finanziellen Interessen zu berücksichtigen. Klassische Modelle der Theorie der 'angebotsinduzierten Nachfrage' prognostizieren, dass medizinische Anbieter auf höhere Preise reagieren, indem sie weniger Leistungen erbringen. Wir testen diese Vorhersage auf Grundlage einer Reform der Krankenhausfinanzierung in Deutschland. Das Besondere an der Finanzierungsreform in Deutschland ist, dass die Reform die Preise für Krankenhäuser verändert hat - mit steigenden Preisen für einige Krankenhäuser und sinkenden Preisen für andere - ohne dabei die relativen Preise für die Behandlung unterschiedlicher Patientengruppen oder unterschiedlicher Krankheiten zu beeinflussen. Unter Nutzung administrativer Daten finden wir, dass Krankenhäuser tatsächlich weniger Leistungen erbringen, wenn die Preise steigen

META Score: An International Consensus Scoring System on Mesh-Tissue Adhesions

Background: Currently, the lack of consensus on postoperative mesh-tissue adhesion scoring leads to incomparable scientific results. The aim of this study was to develop an adhesion score recognized by experts in the field of hernia surgery. Methods: Authors of three or more previously published articles on both mesh-tissue adhesion scores and postoperative adhesions were marked as experts. They were queried on seven items using a modified Delphi method. The items concerned the utility of adhesion scoring models, the appropriateness of macroscopic and microscopic variables, the range and use of composite scores or subscores, adhesion-related complications and follow-up length. This study comprised two questionnaire-based rounds and one consensus meeting. Results: The first round was completed by 23 experts (82%), the second round by 18 experts (64%). Of those 18 experts, ten were able to participate in the final consensus meeting and all approved the final proposal. From a total of 158 items, consensus was reached on 90 items. The amount of mesh surface covered with adhesions, tenacity and thickness of adhesions and organ involvement was concluded to be a minimal set of variables to be communicated separately in each future study on mesh adhesions. Conclusion: The MEsh Tissue Adhesion scoring system is the first consensus-based scoring system with a wide backing of renowned experts and can be used to assess mesh-related adhesions. By including this minimal set of variables in future research interstudy comparability and objectivity can be increased and eventually linked to clinically relevant outcomes