scholarly journals Evolutionary History of Endogenous Human Herpesvirus 6 Reflects Human Migration out of Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amr Aswad ◽  
Giulia Aimola ◽  
Darren Wight ◽  
Pavitra Roychoudhury ◽  
Cosima Zimmermann ◽  
...  

Abstract Human herpesvirus 6A and 6B (HHV-6) can integrate into the germline, and as a result, ∼70 million people harbor the genome of one of these viruses in every cell of their body. Until now, it has been largely unknown if 1) these integrations are ancient, 2) if they still occur, and 3) whether circulating virus strains differ from integrated ones. Here, we used next-generation sequencing and mining of public human genome data sets to generate the largest and most diverse collection of circulating and integrated HHV-6 genomes studied to date. In genomes of geographically dispersed, only distantly related people, we identified clades of integrated viruses that originated from a single ancestral event, confirming this with fluorescent in situ hybridization to directly observe the integration locus. In contrast to HHV-6B, circulating and integrated HHV-6A sequences form distinct clades, arguing against ongoing integration of circulating HHV-6A or “reactivation” of integrated HHV-6A. Taken together, our study provides the first comprehensive picture of the evolution of HHV-6, and reveals that integration of heritable HHV-6 has occurred since the time of, if not before, human migrations out of Africa.

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (02) ◽  
pp. 26-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayle Ehrenman

This article discusses data mining that draws upon extensive work in areas such as statistics, machine learning, pattern recognition, databases, and high-performance computing to discover interesting and previously unknown information in data. More specifically, data mining is the analysis of 10 large data sets to find relationships and patterns that aren’t readily apparent, and to summarize the data in new and useful ways. Data mining technology has enabled earth scientists from NASA to discover changes in the global carbon cycle and climate system, and biologists to map and explore the human genome. Data mining is not restricted solely to vast banks of data with unlimited ways of analyzing it. Manufacturers, such as W.L. Gore (the maker of GoreTex) use commercially available data mining tools to warehouse and analyze their data, and improve their manufacturing process. Gore uses data mining tools from analytic software vendor SAS for statistical modeling in its manufacturing process.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. M. Rubayet Ul Alam ◽  
M. Rafiul Islam ◽  
M. Shaminur Rahman ◽  
Ovinu Kibria Islam ◽  
M. Anwar Hossain

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, causes the unfathomable pandemic in the history of humankind. Bangladesh is also a victim of this critical situation. To investigate the genomic features of the pathogen, the first complete genome of the virus has very recently been published. Therefore, the long awaiting questions regarding the possible origin and typing of the strain(s) can now be answered. Here, we endeavor to mainly discuss the published reports or online-accessed data (results) regarding those issues and presented a comprehensive picture of the typing of the virus alongside the probable origin of the sub-clade containing Bangladeshi strain. Our observation suggested that this strain might have originated from the United Kingdom (UK) or other European countries epidemiologically linked to the UK. According to different genotyping classification schemes, this strain belongs to A2a clade under G major clade, is of B and/or L type, and is a SARS-CoV-2a sub-strain. The complete genome data will surely increase in the forwarding days in Bangladesh. However, a mass regional sequencing approach targeting the partial or complete genome can link the epidemiological data and may help in further clinical interventions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (`1) ◽  
pp. 49-68
Author(s):  
Piotr Wojnicz

The Catholic Church is naturally associated with migrants and its history and doctrine areinextricably linked with the migration of people. Many of the documents of the Catholic Church referto the history of human migration. The responsibility of the Catholic Church for migrants has deephistorical and theological roots. The Catholic Church sees both the positive and the negative sidesof this phenomenon The pastoral care of migrants is a response to the needs of these people. It doesnot replace the territorial structures. They both work closely together and complement each other.The primary objective of the pastoral care of migrants is to enable migrants to integrate with thelocal community. An important element of these structures are religious orders of men and women.The most important thing for migrants is the Christian attitude of the local community tothem. Church repeatedly stressed the importance of hospitality to migrants. Both human andChristian attitude towards migrants expresses itself in a good reception, which is the main factorin overcoming the inevitable difficulties, preventing opposites and solving various problems. Thisattitude helps to alleviate the problems associated with the process of social integration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Alexis P. Rodriguez ◽  
Kenneth L. Tanaka ◽  
Ali M. Bramson ◽  
Gregory J. Leonard ◽  
Victor R. Baker ◽  
...  

AbstractThe clockwise spiral of troughs marking the Martian north polar plateau forms one of the planet’s youngest megastructures. One popular hypothesis posits that the spiral pattern resulted as troughs underwent poleward migration. Here, we show that the troughs are extensively segmented into enclosed depressions (or cells). Many cell interiors display concentric layers that connect pole- and equator-facing slopes, demonstrating in-situ trough erosion. The segmentation patterns indicate a history of gradual trough growth transversely to katabatic wind directions, whereby increases in trough intersections generated their spiral arrangement. The erosional event recorded in the truncated strata and trough segmentation may have supplied up to ~25% of the volume of the mid-latitude icy mantles. Topographically subtle undulations transition into troughs and have distributions that mimic and extend the troughs’ spiraling pattern, indicating that they probably represent buried trough sections. The retention of the spiral pattern in surface and subsurface troughs is consistent with the megastructure’s stabilization before its partial burial. A previously suggested warm paleoclimatic spike indicates that the erosion could have occurred as recently as ~50 Ka. Hence, if the removed ice was redeposited to form the mid-latitude mantles, they could provide a valuable source of near-surface, clean ice for future human exploration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Elizabeth Mathyer ◽  
Erin A. Brettmann ◽  
Alina D. Schmidt ◽  
Zane A. Goodwin ◽  
Inez Y. Oh ◽  
...  

AbstractThe genetic modules that contribute to human evolution are poorly understood. Here we investigate positive selection in the Epidermal Differentiation Complex locus for skin barrier adaptation in diverse HapMap human populations (CEU, JPT/CHB, and YRI). Using Composite of Multiple Signals and iSAFE, we identify selective sweeps for LCE1A-SMCP and involucrin (IVL) haplotypes associated with human migration out-of-Africa, reaching near fixation in European populations. CEU-IVL is associated with increased IVL expression and a known epidermis-specific enhancer. CRISPR/Cas9 deletion of the orthologous mouse enhancer in vivo reveals a functional requirement for the enhancer to regulate Ivl expression in cis. Reporter assays confirm increased regulatory and additive enhancer effects of CEU-specific polymorphisms identified at predicted IRF1 and NFIC binding sites in the IVL enhancer (rs4845327) and its promoter (rs1854779). Together, our results identify a selective sweep for a cis regulatory module for CEU-IVL, highlighting human skin barrier evolution for increased IVL expression out-of-Africa.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Zen ◽  
Jan C. Thomas ◽  
Eric V. Mueller ◽  
Bhisham Dhurandher ◽  
Michael Gallagher ◽  
...  

AbstractA new instrument to quantify firebrand dynamics during fires with particular focus on those associated with the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) has been developed. During WUI fires, firebrands can ignite spot fires, which can rapidly increase the rate of spread (ROS) of the fire, provide a mechanism by which the fire can pass over firebreaks and are the leading cause of structure ignitions. Despite this key role in driving wildfire dynamics and hazards, difficulties in collecting firebrands in the field and preserving their physical condition (e.g. dimensions and temperature) have limited the development of knowledge of firebrand dynamics. In this work we present a new, field-deployable diagnostic tool, an emberometer, designed to provide measurement of firebrand fluxes and information on both the geometry and the thermal conditions of firebrands immediately before deposition by combining a visual and infrared camera. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted to calibrate and validate the developed imaging techniques. The emberometer was then deployed in the field to explore firebrand fluxes and particle conditions for a range of fire intensities in natural pine forest environments. In addition to firebrand particle characterization, field observations with the emberometer enabled detailed time history of deposition (i.e. firebrand flux) relative to concurrent in situ fire behaviour observations. We highlight that deposition was characterised by intense, short duration “showers” that can be reasonably associated to spikes in the average fire line intensity. The results presented illustrate the potential use of an emberometer in studying firebrand and spot fire dynamics.


Author(s):  
O. Mousis ◽  
D. H. Atkinson ◽  
R. Ambrosi ◽  
S. Atreya ◽  
D. Banfield ◽  
...  

AbstractRemote sensing observations suffer significant limitations when used to study the bulk atmospheric composition of the giant planets of our Solar System. This impacts our knowledge of the formation of these planets and the physics of their atmospheres. A remarkable example of the superiority of in situ probe measurements was illustrated by the exploration of Jupiter, where key measurements such as the determination of the noble gases’ abundances and the precise measurement of the helium mixing ratio were only made available through in situ measurements by the Galileo probe. Here we describe the main scientific goals to be addressed by the future in situ exploration of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, placing the Galileo probe exploration of Jupiter in a broader context. An atmospheric entry probe targeting the 10-bar level would yield insight into two broad themes: i) the formation history of the giant planets and that of the Solar System, and ii) the processes at play in planetary atmospheres. The probe would descend under parachute to measure composition, structure, and dynamics, with data returned to Earth using a Carrier Relay Spacecraft as a relay station. An atmospheric probe could represent a significant ESA contribution to a future NASA New Frontiers or flagship mission to be launched toward Saturn, Uranus, and/or Neptune.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (S330) ◽  
pp. 148-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edouard J. Bernard

AbstractWe took advantage of the Gaia DR1 to combine TGAS parallaxes with Tycho-2 and APASS photometry to calculate the star formation history (SFH) of the solar neighbourhood within 250 pc using the colour-magnitude diagram fitting technique. We present the determination of the completeness within this volume, and compare the resulting SFH with that calculated from the Hipparcos catalogue within 80 pc of the Sun. We also show how this technique will be applied out to ~5 kpc thanks to the next Gaia data releases, which will allow us to quantify the SFH of the thin disc, thick disc and halo in situ, rather than extrapolating based on the stars from these components that are today in the solar neighbourhood.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (S359) ◽  
pp. 62-66
Author(s):  
Carlo Cannarozzo ◽  
Carlo Nipoti ◽  
Alessandro Sonnenfeld ◽  
Alexie Leauthaud ◽  
Song Huang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe evolution of the structural and kinematic properties of early-type galaxies (ETGs), their scaling relations, as well as their stellar metallicity and age contain precious information on the assembly history of these systems. We present results on the evolution of the stellar mass-velocity dispersion relation of ETGs, focusing in particular on the effects of some selection criteria used to define ETGs. We also try to shed light on the role that in-situ and ex-situ stellar populations have in massive ETGs, providing a possible explanation of the observed metallicity distributions.


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