Post-translational processing of the glycoproteins of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus.

Intracellular events in the synthesis, glycosylation, and transport of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) glycoproteins have been examined. We have shown by N-glycanase digestion that LCMV strain Arm-4 bears five oligosaccharides on GP-1 and two on GP-2. By pulse-chase labeling experiments in the presence of drugs which inhibit N-linked oligosaccharide addition and processing we demonstrate that addition of high mannose precursor oligosaccharides is necessary for transport and cleavage of the viral GP-C glycoprotein. Moreover, in the presence of tunicamycin which inhibits en bloc addition of these mannose-rich side chains, virus budding was substantially decreased and infectious virions were reduced by more than 1000-fold in the supernatant medium. Incubation in the presence of castantospermine, which permits addition of oligomannosyl-rich chains but blocks further processing, restored transport and cleavage of GP-C and maturation of virions. Finally, by temperature block experiments we have determined that maturation of GP-C oligosaccharides to an endoglycosidase H resistant form precedes cleavage to GP-1 and GP-2. The latter process is most likely to occur in the Golgi or post-Golgi compartment

Cortical fMRI activation to opponents' body kinematics in sport-related anticipation: Expert-novice differences with normal and point-light video

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Neuroscience Letters. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2011 Elsevier B.V.Badminton players of varying skill levels viewed normal and point-light video clips of opponents striking the shuttle towards the viewer; their task was to predict in which quadrant of the court the shuttle would land. In a whole-brain fMRI analysis we identified bilateral cortical networks sensitive to the anticipation task relative to control stimuli. This network is more extensive and localised than previously reported. Voxel clusters responding more strongly in experts than novices were associated with all task-sensitive areas, whereas voxels responding more strongly in novices were found outside these areas. Task-sensitive areas for normal and point-light video were very similar, whereas early visual areas responded differentially, indicating the primacy of kinematic information for sport-related anticipation.Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Chin

Ecological Media Reveal Community Structure Shifts in a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Train

Unique ecological/habitat media derived from four phases of a municipal wastewater treatment plant revealed the highest diversity (2.55-2.86) and evenness (0.79-0.87) for the raw sewage (R) medium. Richness was, however, inoculum- and media-dependent hence inocula R and P recorded the highest counts on media A and F, respectively

Functional imaging of cortical responses in expert and novice badminton players while predicting the direction of a badminton stroke

This journal suppl. entitled: Special Issue: 15th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain MappingINTRODUCTION: Abernethy et al. (2008) showed that expert badminton players can use the kinematic information of the opponent's body movement to predict the direction of a stroke. The purpose of the present study was to compare the brain activity of expert and novice badminton players while carrying out a similar anticipation task. METHODS: In a block design fMRI study, participants viewed 2 s video displays of an opposing player, and pressed a button to indicate which of four possible court positions a stroke was directed. Individual trials were occluded either 80 ms before or 80ms after the ...postprin

Microplastic ingestion decreases energy reserves in marine worms

The indiscriminate disposal of plastic to the environment is of concern. Microscopic plastic litter (<5 mm diameter; 'microplastic') is increasing in abundance in the marine environment, originating from the fragmentation of plastic items and from industry and personal-care products [1]. On highly impacted beaches, microplastic concentrations (<1mm) can reach 3% by weight, presenting a global conservation issue [2]. Microplastics are a novel substrate for the adherence of hydrophobic contaminants [1], deposition of eggs [3], and colonization by unique bacterial assemblages [4]. Ingestion by indiscriminate deposit-feeders has been reported, yet physical impacts remain understudied [1]. Here, we show that deposit-feeding marine worms maintained in sediments spiked with microscopic unplasticised polyvinylchloride (UPVC) at concentrations overlapping those in the environment had significantly depleted energy reserves by up to 50% (Figure 1). Our results suggest that depleted energy reserves arise from a combination of reduced feeding activity, longer gut residence times of ingested material and inflammation.This work was funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; 1-SW-P-N21-000-031-DN-A1-05102. We thank Peter Splatt for SEM imaging assistance, Professor Stuart Bearhop for invaluable comments on the manuscript and Dr. Adil Bakir for UPVC chemistry analyses

Social marketing and healthy eating : Findings from young people in Greece

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12208-013-0112-xGreece has high rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases owing to poor dietary choices. This research provides lessons for social marketing to tackle the severe nutrition-related problems in this country by obtaining insight into the eating behaviour of young adults aged 18–23. Also, the main behavioural theories used to inform the research are critically discussed. The research was conducted in Athens. Nine focus groups with young adults from eight educational institutions were conducted and fifty-nine participants’ views towards eating habits, healthy eating and the factors that affect their food choices were explored. The study found that the participants adopted unhealthier nutritional habits after enrolment. Motivations for healthy eating were good health, appearance and psychological consequences, while barriers included lack of time, fast-food availability and taste, peer pressure, lack of knowledge and lack of family support. Participants reported lack of supportive environments when deciding on food choices. Based on the findings, recommendations about the development of the basic 4Ps of the marketing mix, as well as of a fifth P, for Policy are proposedPeer reviewe

Detection of selective sweeps in structured populations : a comparison of recent methods

This work was supported by the Marie-Curie Initial Training Network INTERCROSSING (European Commission FP7). OEG was further supported by the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland). Date of Acceptance: 25/08/2015Identifying genomic regions targeted by positive selection has been a longstanding interest of evolutionary biologists. This objective was difficult to achieve until the recent emergence of Next Generation Sequencing, which is fostering the development of large-scale catalogs of genetic variation for increasing number of species. Several statistical methods have been recently developed to analyze these rich datasets but there is still a poor understanding of the conditions under which these methods produce reliable results. This study aims at filling this gap by assessing the performance of genome-scan methods that consider explicitly the physical linkage among SNPs surrounding a selected variant. Our study compares the performance of seven recent methods for the detection of selective sweeps (iHS, nSL, EHHST, xp-EHH, XP-EHHST, XPCLR and hapFLK). We use an individual-based simulation approach to investigate the power and accuracy of these methods under a wide range of population models under both hard and soft sweeps. Our results indicate that XPCLR and hapFLK perform best and can detect soft sweeps under simple population structure scenarios if migration rate is low. All methods perform poorly with moderate to high migration rates, or with weak selection and very poorly under a hierarchical population structure. Finally, no single method is able to detect both starting and nearly completed selective sweeps. However, combining several methods (XPCLR or hapFLK with iHS or nSL) can greatly increase the power to pinpoint the selected region.PostprintPeer reviewe

How Valid Are Measures of Children’s Self-Concept/ Self-Esteem? Factors and Content Validity in Three Widely Used Scales

Children’s self-esteem/self-concept, a core psychological construct, has been measured in an overwhelming number of studies, and the widespread use of such measures should indicate they have well-established content validity, internal consistency and factor structures. This study, sampling a demographically representative cohort in late childhood/early adolescence in Dublin, Ireland (total n = 651), examined three major self-esteem/self-concept scales designed for late childhood/early adolescence: Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children 2 (Piers et al. 2002), Self-Description Questionnaire I (Marsh 1992) and Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter 1985). It also examined findings in light of the salient self factors identified by participants in a linked mixed-methods study. The factor structure of Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was not replicated. The Self-Description Questionnaire I and Self-Perception Profile for Children were replicated only in part although in similar ways. In all three scales, a global/ appearance self evaluation factor accounted for the largest variance in factor analyses. Sport/athletic ability, school ability, school enjoyment, maths and reading ability/enjoyment, behaviour, peer popularity, and parent factors were also identified but did not always reflect existing scale structures. Notably, the factors extracted, or items present in these scales, often did not reflect young people’s priorities, such as friendship over popularity, the importance of family and extended family members, and the significance of incremental personal mastery in activities rather than assessing oneself as comparatively good at preferred activities. The findings raise questions about how self-esteem/self-concept scales are used and interpreted in research with children and young people

Star Formation Rate Indicators in Wide-Field Infrared Survey Preliminary Release

With the goal of investigating the degree to which theMIR luminosity in theWidefield Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) traces the SFR, we analyze 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 {\mu}m data in a sample of {\guillemotright} 140,000 star-forming galaxies or star-forming regions covering a wide range in metallicity 7.66 < 12 + log(O/H) < 9.46, with redshift z < 0.4. These star-forming galaxies or star-forming regions are selected by matching the WISE Preliminary Release Catalog with the star-forming galaxy Catalog in SDSS DR8 provided by JHU/MPA 1.We study the relationship between the luminosity at 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 {\mu}m from WISE and H\alpha luminosity in SDSS DR8. From these comparisons, we derive reference SFR indicators for use in our analysis. Linear correlations between SFR and the 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 {\mu}m luminosity are found, and calibrations of SFRs based on L(3.4), L(4.6), L(12) and L(22) are proposed. The calibrations hold for galaxies with verified spectral observations. The dispersion in the relation between 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 {\mu}m luminosity and SFR relates to the galaxy's properties, such as 4000 {\deg}A break and galaxy color.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Maternal psychological distress in primary care and association with child behavioural outcomes at age three

Observational studies indicate children whose mothers have poor mental health are at increased risk of socio-emotional behavioural difficulties, but it is unknown whether these outcomes vary by the mothers’ mental health recognition and treatment status. To examine this question, we analysed linked longitudinal primary care and research data from 1078 women enrolled in the Born in Bradford cohort. A latent class analysis of treatment status and self-reported distress broadly categorised women as (a) not having a common mental disorder (CMD) that persisted through pregnancy and the first 2 years after delivery (N = 756, 70.1 %), (b) treated for CMD (N = 67, 6.2 %), or (c) untreated (N = 255, 23.7 %). Compared to children of mothers without CMD, 3-year-old children with mothers classified as having untreated CMD had higher standardised factor scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (d = 0.32), as did children with mothers classified as having treated CMD (d = 0.27). Results were only slightly attenuated in adjusted analyses. Children of mothers with CMD may be at risk for socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties. The development of effective treatments for CMD needs to be balanced by greater attempts to identify and treat women. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00787-015-0777-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users